Question 1

What is Stroke Play?

Accepted Answer

Stroke Play is the classic format: count every stroke, lowest total wins. You can play it gross (raw strokes) or net (after handicap strokes are deducted on the appropriate holes).

In the app it's the simplest scorecard - tap a number per hole and you're done.

Question 2

What is Stableford?

Accepted Answer

Stableford turns a bad hole into a 0 instead of a runaway score, so a single blow-up doesn't ruin your round. You earn points per hole based on your net score vs par:
Net double bogey or worse: 0
Net bogey: 1
Net par: 2
Net birdie: 3
Net eagle: 4
Net albatross: 5

Highest total points wins. It's the most popular format in Sweden.

Question 3

What is Match Play?

Accepted Answer

Match Play is hole-by-hole, head-to-head between two players. Whoever has the lower net score on a hole wins it (1-up). Ties halve the hole.

The match is tracked as holes up/down. When one player leads by more holes than remain, they win - e.g. "3 & 2" means 3 up with 2 to play.

With 4, 6 or 8 players you can run several matches at once — each ball of 2 is its own match. For a 2v2 team match in one ball, use Four-ball Match.

Question 4

What is Four-ball Match?

Accepted Answer

Four-ball Match is official 2-vs-2 match play (R&A Rule 23). Each ball has 4 players in two teams of 2. Every player plays their own ball, and the team's score for the hole is the better net of its two players. Low net wins the hole; tied holes are halved.

Like regular Match Play, the match ends when one team is up by more holes than remain - e.g. "3 & 2" means 3 up with 2 to play.

Need more than 4 players? Add another ball (8, 12, 16…). Each ball is its own independent Four-ball match with its own result.

Handicap allowance: 90% of course handicap per WHS Four-Ball.

If you pick up on a hole, only your score is forfeited - your teammate's net still counts for the team. If both teammates pick up on the same hole, the opposing team wins it.

Question 5

What is Skins?

Accepted Answer

Each hole has a "skin" at stake. The player with the outright lowest net score on a hole wins the skin. If two or more players tie for low score, the skin carries over to the next hole, increasing its value.

This is why Skins gets dramatic late in the round - carried-over skins can stack up and one good hole pays out big.

Question 6

What is Best Ball?

Accepted Answer

Best Ball is a team format where every player plays their own ball. On each hole, the best net score among team members counts as the team's score for that hole.

Great for mixed-handicap groups - your worst hole doesn't sink the team, but you need at least one steady score per hole.

Question 7

What is Scramble?

Accepted Answer

Scramble is the easiest team format. Everyone tees off, the team picks the best shot, and everyone plays their next shot from there. Repeat until the ball is in the hole.

Team handicap follows USGA guidelines (35% low + 15% high for 2 players, 30/20/10 for 3, 25/20/15/10 for 4+), so good teams don't have an unfair edge. Perfect for mixed-ability outings - beginners can contribute on a hole even if they only hit one good shot.

Question 8

What is Foursome (Alternate Shot)?

Accepted Answer

Foursome - also called Alternate Shot - is a two-player team format played with one ball. One partner tees off on odd holes, the other on even holes, and from then on you alternate shots until the ball is holed.

Team handicap is 50% of the combined handicap. Demands trust and clear strategy - every shot affects your partner.

Question 9

What is Chapman?

Accepted Answer

Chapman (also called Pinehurst) is a two-player modified Scotch format. Both partners tee off, then swap balls for the second shot. After the second shot you choose which ball to continue with and alternate shots from there until holed.

Team handicap is 60% of the lower-handicap player + 40% of the higher. The app asks whose drive you kept on each hole — purely as a stat, it doesn't affect scoring.

Question 10

What is Nassau?

Accepted Answer

Nassau is three separate stroke-play matches in one round: front 9, back 9, and overall 18. Each match is scored independently, so you can win up to three bets in a single round.

It's a popular bet structure because there's always something to play for - even a brutal front 9 leaves the back and overall still up for grabs. Nassau requires 18 holes.

Question 11

What is Wolf?

Accepted Answer

Wolf is a rotating 3-5 player betting format packed with tactics on every tee. Each hole one player is the Wolf. Wolf tees off last and watches the others hit first - then, before their own tee shot, decides:
Pick a partner from a player who has already teed off (2 vs the rest), or
Go Lone Wolf and play 1 vs everyone else for a bigger payout.

The Wolf title rotates hole by hole so everyone gets equal turns.

Scoring per hole (net):
Partners win: each opponent pays each partner 1 unit.
Opponents win: each partner pays each opponent 1 unit.
Lone Wolf wins: everyone pays the Wolf (double stake).
Lone Wolf loses: Wolf pays everyone (double stake).
Tie: no money changes hands.

Settlement is pairwise - the app tracks who owes who and nets it out at the end. Pickups count as no score for that player (their side loses the hole unless their partner still beats the opposition).

Handicap allowance follows your round setup - net scores decide every hole.

Question 12

What is the Hammer in Wolf?

Accepted Answer

The Hammer doubles the stake on the current hole. Any player (Wolf or opponent) can call Hammer while the hole is in play. The other side must Accept (play on for the doubled stake) or Decline (concede the hole at the original stake).

Once accepted, the hole is worth 2x. A Lone Wolf hole that's hammered pays 4x - so it's a real weapon when someone striped their tee shot.

The host can override a Hammer call from the round menu if it was tapped by mistake. Every override is audit-logged so there's a record.

Question 13

How do ties work in Skins?

Accepted Answer

If two or more players tie for the lowest net score on a hole, no one wins the skin - it carries over to the next hole. The next hole is then worth two skins.

Carry-overs keep stacking until someone wins outright. If the round ends with carried-over skins still unclaimed, the full pot is split proportionally among the players who won any skins during the round - so a carried-over final skin is absorbed into the pot rather than voided. Players who never won a skin pay their full stake. The Skins leaderboard shows current carry-over value live during the round.

Question 14

What happens if a player picks up?

Accepted Answer

Tap "Pick up" on the scorecard if a player can't finish a hole - for instance after a lost ball or to keep pace.

In Stableford and Match Play this is fine: a picked-up hole simply scores 0 points (Stableford) or loses the hole (Match). In Stroke Play the player is technically NR (no return) for the round, but the app still tallies what's been scored. In Skins, a picked-up player can't win that hole.

You can undo a pick-up the same way if it was a mistake.

Question 15

How is the leaderboard calculated?

Accepted Answer

The leaderboard updates in real time as scores are entered. The metric depends on the format:
Stroke / Stableford / Skins: cumulative running total
Match / Nassau: holes up/down
Best Ball / Scramble / Foursome / Chapman: team score per hole

Players "thru" fewer holes are sorted accordingly so partial rounds compare fairly. Ties are broken by countback (back-9 score, then back-6, back-3, last hole) where applicable.

Question 16

What is Closest to the Pin (CTP)?

Accepted Answer

Closest to the Pin (CTP) is a side bet usually played on par-3s. Whoever lands their tee shot closest to the flag wins the pot.

In the app you (or your host) pick the holes CTP is played on, claim the closest ball per ball/group, and confirm the winner. Distance is optional - but recording it makes the result obvious.

Question 17

What is Longest Drive (LD)?

Accepted Answer

Longest Drive (LD) is a side bet played on chosen par-4s or par-5s. The drive must end up in the fairway to count (group's call).

In the app, pick the holes LD is played on, claim your drive per ball, and the host confirms the winner per hole. Like CTP, you can record the distance for clarity.

Question 18

What's the difference between net and gross?

Accepted Answer

Gross is your raw score - the actual number of strokes you took on a hole.

Net is your score after handicap strokes are deducted on the appropriate holes (decided by stroke index). Net scoring lets players of different abilities compete on equal terms.

Most formats in the app default to net. Stroke Play can be switched to gross if everyone in your group plays off the same handicap.

Question 19

What's the Stableford points table?

Accepted Answer

Stableford points are based on your NET score relative to par on each hole:
Net albatross (3 under par): 5 points
Net eagle (2 under par): 4 points
Net birdie (1 under par): 3 points
Net par: 2 points
Net bogey (1 over par): 1 point
Net double bogey or worse: 0 points

A round of 36 points = playing exactly to your handicap. 40+ is a strong round.

Question 20

How are ties broken on the leaderboard? (countback)

Accepted Answer

When two players finish on the same total, the app applies standard golf countback to find a winner:
Back 9 (holes 10–18) - lowest wins (or highest points in Stableford).
Back 6 (holes 13–18) - same comparison.
Back 3 (holes 16–18).
Last hole (hole 18).

The app stops at the first window that separates the players and shows you exactly which one decided it, e.g. "Lost on countback (back 6: 30 vs 29)". For 9-hole rounds, the same idea is applied to the last 6/3/1 holes.

Question 21

Why does my round say "Auto-completed"?

Accepted Answer

If a round stays active for 72 hours without any new scores, the system automatically marks it as completed so it doesn't sit on your active list forever. This is just a tidy-up - no scores are changed and you can still view the leaderboard, side bets and settlement as normal.

If you wanted to keep playing it, just create a new round. If you're an admin or host and an auto-complete looks wrong, send feedback with the round name and we can re-open it.

⛳Scoring & formats

Scoring & formats