In stroke play you count every shot over the whole round and the lowest total wins; in match play you play an opponent hole by hole, and whoever wins more holes wins the match. Same course, same clubs, very different game. Here is how each one works, how handicaps fit in, and where the two formats came from.
How does stroke play scoring work?
Stroke play is the format you see on TV most weekends. Every stroke counts, including penalty strokes, and you add them up at the end. Under Rule 3.3 of the Rules of Golf, the player who completes all rounds in the fewest total strokes wins. In a handicap competition, that means the fewest net strokes.
Because every stroke goes on the card, you have to hole out on every hole. There are no conceded putts in stroke play. If you skip holing out and don't correct it in time, the Rules call for disqualification. One blow-up hole, like a 9 on a par 4, stays on your total and can sink a good round. If you are new to scoring, our guide to what par means covers the basics of reading a scorecard.
How does match play scoring work?
In match play, each hole is its own little contest. Under Rule 3.2, you win a hole by finishing it in fewer strokes than your opponent. If you take the same number, the hole is tied, which golfers usually call a halved hole. Your total strokes for the day don't matter at all. Make a 9 on one hole and you just lose that hole, then start fresh on the next tee.
The score is kept as holes up or down:
- 1 up, 2 up: you have won one or two more holes than your opponent so far.
- All square: the match is level. Since the 2019 Rules rewrite, the official word is "tied," but you will still hear "all square" at most clubs.
- Dormie: you lead by exactly as many holes as are left. If you are 2 up with 2 to play, you are dormie. Your opponent can no longer win in regulation, only tie.
- 2 and 1, 3 and 2, and so on: the match ends as soon as one player leads by more holes than remain. "2 and 1" means the winner was 2 up with only 1 hole left to play. "1 up" as a final score means the match went the distance.
If a match is tied after 18, what happens depends on the event. Many go to extra holes until someone wins a hole. In team events like the Ryder Cup, a tied match is simply a halved match worth half a point to each side.
What are concessions and gimmes in match play?
Match play lets you concede. Rule 3.2b says a player may concede the opponent's next stroke, a hole, or the whole match. A concession is final. It can't be declined or taken back. The short putt your opponent waves away is a conceded stroke, which most golfers call a gimme.
Gimmes are part of the strategy. Some players concede short ones early to build goodwill, then make you putt a 3 footer on 17. Remember that gimmes are a match play thing. In a stroke play event, you putt everything out. And if your 3 footers keep coming up short of "gimme range," a putter that fits your stroke is worth a look; we keep a deep rack of used putters graded and listed with exact specs.
How do handicaps work in stroke play vs match play?
Under the World Handicap System, your Course Handicap gets adjusted by a handicap allowance set for the format, which gives your Playing Handicap. The R&A and USGA recommendations in Appendix C of the Rules of Handicapping are:
- Individual stroke play: 95% of Course Handicap for a typical field. For small fields, 100% can be considered. Your handicap strokes come off your gross total to give a net score.
- Singles match play: 100% of Course Handicap. The player with the lower Playing Handicap plays off zero, and the other player receives the difference.
In match play, those strokes are given by hole, using the stroke index on the scorecard. If you get 6 strokes, you get one stroke on each of the six holes ranked 1 through 6, and the lower net score wins each hole. Rule 3.2c also puts the burden on the player: declare a handicap that's too high and it affects the strokes, and you're disqualified. These allowances are recommendations, so your club or event committee may set its own. For more on how the number itself is calculated, see what a handicap is in golf.
Where will you see each format?
- Most pro tour events and all four men's majors are stroke play today.
- The Ryder Cup is all match play. The first official matches in 1927 at Worcester Country Club in Massachusetts were foursomes and singles, one point per match.
- The U.S. Amateur uses both. The field plays 36 holes of stroke play, the top 64 advance to match play, and the final is scheduled for 36 holes.
- Club championships often copy that model, with a stroke play qualifier seeding a match play bracket. Check your club's format sheet, since it varies.
- Weekend team games like a scramble are usually stroke play with a team score.
Where the term comes from
Match play is the older form. The earliest golf was played between two players or two sides, and a hole won or lost was the natural way to keep score. Golf history timelines place the earliest reference to counting total strokes at St Andrews in 1759 and note that all play before that was match play. We could not find the original 1759 record ourselves, so treat that date as the commonly cited one rather than settled fact.
Total-stroke competitions grew up around club prizes, which is where the old name "medal play" comes from. Clubs played for silver or gold medals by counting strokes. The Edinburgh Burgess Golfing Society's gold medal, played from 1807, went to the player who holed two rounds in the fewest strokes. The Dictionary of the Scots Language records "medal playing" in an 1857 golf manual. "Medal play" stayed the usual term in Britain through the 1800s, and the R&A first used "stroke play" in the Rules of Golf in 1913. Today the Rules only use "stroke play."
The first Open Championship, at Prestwick in 1860, was stroke play: eight players, 36 holes as three rounds of Prestwick's 12 hole course, won by Willie Park Sr with 174. Match play hung on longer in American pro golf. The PGA Championship was decided at match play from its first edition in 1916 through 1957 and switched to stroke play in 1958, when Dow Finsterwald won.
"Dormie" has the murkiest history. Most accounts tie it to the French dormir, "to sleep," with the idea that a player who can't lose can relax. Golf historians don't agree on how it entered the game, so call that origin likely, not proven.
Playing as a team? Read what is best ball (four-ball) in golf.
FAQ
Is match play or stroke play better for high handicappers?
Match play is usually friendlier. A bad hole costs you one hole, not the whole round, and you get your handicap strokes on the hardest holes.
What does "3 and 2" mean in golf?
The winner was 3 holes up with only 2 holes left, so the match ended on the 16th green.
Can you concede a putt in stroke play?
No. Concessions only exist in match play. In stroke play you must hole out on every hole.
What happens if a match play match is tied after 18 holes?
It depends on the event. Many go to extra holes, while team events like the Ryder Cup award a half point to each side.
Looking up more terms? Head back to our golf terms glossary.
Sources
- R&A, Rules of Golf, Rule 3 (The Competition): randa.org/en/rog/the-rules-of-golf/rule-3
- R&A, Rules of Handicapping, Appendix C (Handicap Allowances): randa.org/roh/appendices/appendix-c
- Golf Monthly, "What Are Handicap Allowances In Singles Golf?"
- Golf Monthly, "What Does Dormie Mean In Golf?"
- The Golf News Net, "Why you don't hear or see 'All Square' any longer in golf match play"
- The Golf News Net, "2025 US Amateur format, cut rules and day-by-day games"
- Wikipedia, "1927 Ryder Cup" and "PGA Championship"
- Wikipedia, "Timeline of golf history (1353 to 1850)"
- Golf Compendium, "Explaining the Meaning of Medal Play in Golf"
- Dictionary of the Scots Language, entry "Medal"
- National Club Golfer, "1860 Open Championship"
