Stroke play is a format where you count every shot you take over a round and add them up — the lowest total wins. Unlike match play, you're not competing hole by hole against one opponent; you're competing against the whole field on your total score.
It's the format you'll see on TV most weeks and the one clubs use for their "medal" competitions. Because every single shot matters, it's widely seen as the truest test of consistency over 18 holes.
How the scoring works
You write down your score on every hole, then total them. If par for the course is 72 and you go round in 85, your gross score is 85, or "13 over par". Whoever has the fewest shots at the end wins.
Because picking up isn't allowed if you want a complete score, stroke play asks you to grind out every hole — even the bad ones.
Gross score vs net score
To let golfers of different standards compete on equal terms, stroke play uses handicaps:
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| Gross | The total shots you actually took. |
| Net | Your gross minus your course handicap. |
Example: a player who shoots 85 off a course handicap of 16 has a net 69. A scratch golfer who shoots 73 has a net 73. On net score, the higher-handicapper wins — which is exactly the point. (See how handicaps work.)
Medal play and Stableford
"Medal" is just the traditional name for a stroke-play competition. A gentler cousin is Stableford, which awards points per hole instead of counting raw strokes — so a blow-up hole simply scores zero rather than wrecking your card.
Stroke play vs match play
| Stroke play | Match play | |
|---|---|---|
| You're counting | Total shots | Holes won |
| A bad hole | Hurts your whole round | Costs one hole only |
| Pace | Slower (hole everything out) | Faster (pick up when beaten) |
| Best for | Medals, big fields, order of merit | One-on-one, league rivalries |
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