Stroke Play
Add up every stroke. Lowest total wins. The purest game.
2 or more players
Stroke play is the format most golf is played and televised in: you count every stroke over the round and the lowest total wins. There's no hole-by-hole match, just your number against everyone else's at the end.
As a bet it's the simplest pot game going. Everyone antes, plays their own ball for all eighteen holes, and the lowest score takes the pot. Use net scores and players of any level can compete.
How to play Stroke Play
- 1Set the pot
Everyone puts in an agreed amount. The lowest score for the round wins it.
- 2Count every stroke
Play your own ball and record your score on every hole. Your total for the round is what counts.
- 3Apply handicaps for net
Subtract each player's course handicap from their gross total, or take strokes hole by hole, to get a net score so different abilities compete fairly.
- 4Lowest total wins
The player with the lowest net total takes the pot. Ties usually split it.
A simple 4-player pot at $10
- Four players each ante $10, so the pot is $40.
- Net totals come in at 72, 74, 75, and 78.
- The 72 is the outright low and takes the whole $40.
- If two had tied at 72, they'd split the pot.
Common variations
Gross stroke play rewards the best raw score; net applies handicaps so anyone can win. Choose before the round.
Pay only the winner, or pay first and second, or peel off a smaller prize for low nine. Agree up front.
Most groups split the pot on a tie; some use a scorecard playoff (lowest back nine, then last six, and so on).
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between stroke play and match play?
Stroke play counts total strokes for the whole round and the lowest total wins. Match play is decided hole by hole, and only the number of holes won matters, not total strokes.
How do handicaps work in stroke play?
In net stroke play you subtract each player's course handicap from their gross score, or take strokes on the hardest holes, so players of different abilities can compete on even terms.
What happens on a tie in a stroke play bet?
Most casual games split the pot between tied players. Formal events break ties with a scorecard playoff, comparing the back nine, then last six, then last three, then the eighteenth.
Skip the 18th-green math
Three Putt scores Stroke Play for you and shows exactly who owes who. Everyone can score from their own phone, or one person can handle it. Nothing to download.
Start a round