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Join SandwedgedHow to keep score in golf: Stroke Play
Stroke play is a golf scoring system which is commonly used for the vast majority of professional golf tournaments.
Stroke play is probably the simplest form of golf scoring rules. Players record how many strokes it takes to complete their round of golf. Often scores are reported against par so that it is easier to compare your own golf score against other golfers. So if you've scored a double bogie, two over par on a hole, your score would be '+2' on a golf score board.
In professional golf competitions using stroke play golf scoring, if players are tied after playing the regulation number of holes, a playoff occurs.
The most common form of playoff is the 'sudden death' format. This is where the tied players play an extra hole until the tie is broken. This playoff is used in the Masters Tournament in addition to the regular PGA Tour tournaments.
The fairest way of deciding a tournament winner is viewed to be the 'aggregate playoff' format. Here, the tied golfers play a series of additional holes and the player with the lowest score wins. If the players are tied after this series, sudden death is employed until there is a clear winner. Both the PGA Championship (3 additional holes) and The British Open (4 additional holes) use this golf system.
The oldest form of playoff, and one that is rarely used these days in the major tournaments with the exception of the U.S Open, is the 18 hole playoff. Tied players have to return for an extra day to play another 18 holes, with the lowest scorer winning. If the players cannot be seperated by score after the extra 18 holes, the sudden death format comes into play.
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