What Is The Difference Between Strokeplay And Match Play?

Match play and strokeplay are the two forms of golf. There can be variations in how strokeplay competitions are played – for instance, Stableford and medal competitions are both forms of strokeplay, yet they have different scoring system from one another. Which category a competition is in is important because the rules for match play and strokeplay differ, particularly with regard to penalties. Typically what is a two-shot penalty in strokeplay would incur the loss of the hole being played in match play.

Any number of players or teams can take part in a strokeplay competition, however a match play competition is a one-on-one contest between two players or teams. The winner in match play is determined not by the total number of shots played, but by the number of holes won. Whoever shoots the lower score on a hole wins that hole. If the players shoot the same score, the hole is halved. The winner of the most holes wins the match. Matches do not have to go to the final hole, as the game ends once a player or team is ahead by more holes than there are holes left to play. In match play, unlike in strokeplay, an opponent can concede a putt.

During a match play game the score is rendered by a player being described as being either up or down, and with a number preceding that. Thus if Alex is playing Bill, and Alex has won one more hole so far than Bill, then Alex is said to be 1 up and Bill 1 down. If they have won the same number of holes, the match would be described as all square, level or tied.

Once a player is ahead by more holes than there are holes left, the match ends. The result in such matches is rendered in the format of a number followed by '&' and another number. The first number refers to how many holes the player was up by when the game was won, and the second number records how many holes, were left. For example if Alex won 3 & 2, that means Alex was 3 up with 2 holes left to play. If the game is not decided until the final hole has been played, then the winning score, if there is one, will be rendered as 1 up or 2 up, depending on how many more holes the winner won than the loser.

Some competitions, such as the Ryder Cup, allow matches to finish tied, but some are played as knockout and so require a winner, and so will go to sudden-death holes.

Strokeplay, in the form of a medal competition, has straightforward scoring, whereby a player’s score is the total number of shots they played and the player with the lowest score wins. In a gross competition, it is simply the number of shots. In a nett competition the total number of shots is adjusted by the handicap allowance to give the nett score, and the player with the lowest net score wins.

Most competitions are played as strokeplay competitions as they are quicker to complete than match play ones which involve a series of knockout rounds. All the Majors in men’s and women’s golf are played as strokeplay competitions. However the most important team competitions, such as the Ryder Cup, Cup, Solheim Cup, Presidents Cup, Walker Cup and Curtis Cup, are played as match play.