The Golf Circle of Life

Scoring, keeping track of the round, starts with how many strokes one takes to complete a hole. The minimum, perfect, although highly unlikely number is one stroke. At the far end of the spectrum is the maximum number of strokes, currently set as net double bogey (par + 2 + strokes) for handicap purposes. In terms of a match, however, net score (gross score minus strokes) determines hole outcome, irrespective of the max arrived at by formula. When playing matches there’s also the all important concept of match score, how many holes up or down are you?

Hole scoring using handicap, standard 18-hole match:

• Joe Bogey is an 18 handicap playing Sam Scratch 0 handicap
• Joe Bogey receives one stroke on every hole
• Joe Bogey wins any hole where he shoots the same as or better than Sam, ties any hole where he shoots one more than Sam, and loses any hole where he shoots two or more worse
• At the end, most holes won wins the match

So despite a terrible hole, Joe taking 8 strokes versus Sam’s 4, Joe only goes down one and it’s on to the next hole. At least until one side or another is up more than there are holes left to play. For example if Sam goes up 3 with 2 left to play, expressed 3 & 2, that match is over. And if you win the last hole in a tied match it’s expressed as 1 UP. See Appendix for the full nomenclature on match score.

Besides an overall 18-hole match the format lends itself to partial-round competitions like a front 9 match and a back 9 match. “Presses”, meaning a new match from the current hole thru the remaining ones, increase the action. 

Why presses? Presses add to the action and give players the ability to rally back after a rough start (or conversely fall further behind). Although some may implement presses over an 18-hole overall round and make them at will, most club golfers play the overall without presses and use a more reasonable two hole automatic for each 9-hole match. It opens a new match any time a side goes up or down two holes at half the stakes of the governing 9-hole match.

To track presses, slashes are used by convention to separate the scores e.g. 2/0, 3/1, 4/2/0. The first number refers to the 9-hole match followed by the press(es) in order. With automatic 2-hole presses, one can have up to four different presses in play in a 9-hole frame!

Match score using presses:

• Joe Bogey wins the first two holes, 1st press opens on hole 3, score recorded as +2/0
• Joe Bogey loses the next two holes, 2nd press opens on hole 5, score recorded as 0/-2/0 (front 9 match tied, down two on 1st press)
• Joe Bogey wins the next two holes, 3rd press opens on hole 7, score recorded as +2/0/+2/0 (front 9 match +2, tied on 1st press, up 2 on 2nd press)
• Hole 7 & 8 are tied (score stays at +2/0/+2/0)
• Joe Bogey loses hole 9, score recorded as +1/-1/+1/-1 (won front 9 match +1, lost 1st press, won 2nd press, lost 3rd press 
• Back 9 match starts all square and Joe Bogey is up one in the overall match

Results, the outcome, did you win or lose, did you shoot a good score? Sadly, the round eventually comes to a close and it’s time to tally the damages and your final score. Hopefully you did well, made some memories and most importantly, had fun. In terms of satisfaction, the best was always winning money and shooting a low score, and believe me the two aren’t always directly correlated.

Either way, keep in mind that course handicap is a great barometer of how someone of your skill level did versus old man par. Take gross score (capped per hole at net double bogey) and subtract course handicap to get a net score and see how far over or under par you were. If the handicap gods are doing their job right, chances are your net will be within a few strokes of par. 

To complete the cycle, post your score to the GHIN system or ratings service equivalent and overnight your handicap may tick up or down, ready to be applied to the next round all over again. It’s the best mechanism we have to level the playing for friendly competition day in and day out.

And the money, the damages? Maybe you got a drink or two out of it or earned the caddie fee. Remember it’s the experience that’s priceless, being able to fully participate in this magnificent game.

Yes, that Golf Crow, sitting inside the circle, why is that?

As you might infer from the Matches section, the money games we played were rather involved, and keeping track of it manually with pencil and paper was arduous and error prone. To the point where it detracted from playing my best. That and select playing partners crowing time and again about how much they took from me.

Golf Crow provides accuracy, saves time, allows sharing and is tailored to smoothly navigate the circle – Handicap, Matches, Scoring and Results:

Handicap – retrieves handicap index given a valid GHIN number, automatically calculates course handicap and allocates strokes

Matches – track a wide variety of games, with match score displayed right on the scorecard

Scoring – seamlessly enter score and junk points; handles max score adjustment for net double bogey

Results – instantly tallies damages along with match recaps. Keeps a permanent record and allows comparison vs your own self-defined golf community

Last leg to finish – score posting from the app!

While clearly apparent that Golf Crow automates golf scorekeeping – it’s considered the reference among groups employing it (with hapless die hard pencil pushers always asking where matches stand) – over time a bigger benefit is knowing that virtually every round for the past several years is right here at my fingertips. My golf memory – who I played with, where, when, and how everyone did that day. The milestones, the few times I broke 80, the first time my son beat me, the rounds at Arcola, Bayonne, Bethpage, Wykagyl and other tracks, illustrious or ordinary. A vital, enduring cache of your all-time favorite activity, that’s where Golf Crow truly shines bright and adds lasting value.

Thank you for reading!