Golf Scoring and Fee
In every form of play, the goal is to play as few shots per round as possible. Scores for each hole can be described as follows:
| Term on a scoreboard |
Specific term | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| -4 | triple-eagle (condor) | four strokes under par |
| -3 | double-eagle (albatross) | three strokes under par |
| -2 | eagle | two strokes under par |
| -1 | birdie | one stroke under par |
| 0 | par or even | strokes equal to par |
| +1 | bogey | one stroke more than par |
| +2 | double bogey | two strokes over par |
| +3 | triple bogey | three strokes over par |
The two basic forms of playing golf are match play and stroke play.
- In match play, two players (or two teams) play every hole as a separate contest against each other. The party with the lower score wins that hole, or if the scores of both players or teams are equal the hole is “halved” (drawn). The game is won by the party that wins more holes than the other. In the case that one team or player has taken a lead that cannot be overcome in the number of holes remaining to be played, the match is deemed to be won by the party in the lead, and the remainder of the holes are not played. For example, if one party already has a lead of six holes, and only five holes remain to be played on the course, the match is over. At any given point, if the lead is equal to the number of holes remaining, the match is said to be “dormie”, and is continued until the leader increases the lead by one hole, thereby winning the match, or until the match ends in a tie. When the game is tied after the predetermined number of holes have been played, it may be continued until one side takes a one-hole lead, and thereupon immediately wins by one hole.
- In stroke play, every player (or team) counts the number of shots taken for the whole round or tournament to produce the total score, and the player with the lowest score wins. A variant of stroke play is Stableford scoring, where a number of points (two for the target score) are given for each hole, and the fewer shots taken, the more points obtained, so the aim is to have as many points as possible. Another variant of stroke play, the Modified Stableford method, awards points on each hole in relation to par and then adds the points over a round; for more details on this method, see the article on The International, a tournament that uses Modified Stableford scoring.
There are many variations of these basic principles, some of which are explicitly described in the “Rules of Golf” and are therefore regarded “official”. “Official” forms of play are, among others, foursome and four-ball games.
Fees
If one wishes to play on a golf course, one has to pay a certain fee. There are two different fees: the range fee, which is for the practice range; and the green fee, which allows play on the golf course itself. The green fee may vary from the equivalent of a few U.S. dollars for communal courses in many countries, up to that of several hundred dollars for elite clubs. Discounts on fees may be offered for players starting their round late in the day. If the course has golf carts, there may also be a fee to use them, even if a member of your group is not actively playing. This fee is usually combined with the green fee.
This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
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