Scoring formats · 2 (singles) or 4 (pairs) players
Match Play: how to play
Also known as Head-to-head
Win the hole, win the point. Bad holes can't ruin you.
Match play is golf as a duel. Each hole is its own contest: the lower score wins the hole, equal scores halve it, and the player who wins the most holes wins the match. A 9 on the fifth costs you exactly one hole, the same as a bogey would.
It is the format of the Ryder Cup and the Saturday grudge match, and it rewards nerve over neatness. Golf Daddy keeps the state of the match live, so both players can see who is up and how many holes are left.
Score Match Play in Golf Daddy
Pick Match Play on the first tee and the app applies the strokes, keeps the live leaderboard and settles the points for the whole group. Free on iPhone and Android.
Match Play rules
- 1.Each hole is worth one point: lowest score on the hole wins it.
- 2.Tied holes are halved and nobody gains.
- 3.The match ends when one side is up by more holes than remain (for example 3&2: three up with two to play).
- 4.A side that leads by exactly the number of holes left is dormie and cannot lose the match outright.
- 5.With handicaps, strokes are given off the lower handicap on the holes with the lowest stroke indexes.
- 6.You can concede a putt, a hole or the match at any time.
How handicaps work
Singles match play uses the full difference between the two course handicaps. If you are off 18 and your opponent is off 10, you receive 8 shots, taken on stroke index 1 to 8. Golf Daddy works this out and marks the holes where you get a shot.
Worked example
You are two up with three holes to play (dormie). Halve the sixteenth and you are two up with two left, so the match is yours 2&1 once the seventeenth is halved or won.
Tips and variations
- Watch your opponent's lie before you choose a club: if they are in trouble, play safe and let them make the mistake.
- Make the putts you would concede. Nobody gives a two-footer in a tight match.
- In pairs, match play is usually played as Four Ball (better ball) or Foursomes.
Match Play FAQs
What does 3&2 mean in match play?
The winner was three holes up with only two holes left to play, so the match ended on the sixteenth green.
Does a match play round count towards my handicap?
Under the World Handicap System only rounds where you hole out count, which rules out most match play. Golf Daddy still records the match result and your stats.
How are handicap strokes given in match play?
Off the lower handicap. The difference in course handicaps becomes shots the higher player receives on the lowest stroke-index holes.
Related formats
Nassau
2 (singles) or 4 (pairs) players
Four Ball (Better Ball)
4 (two pairs) players
Skins
2 to 4 players
Play Match Play this weekend
Download Golf Daddy and let the app do the maths while you do the talking. Guests who haven't got the app can play too.