Par Card Guides

Golf game formats explained: Stroke Play, Stableford, Match Play, Skins, and Nassau

Stroke play counts every shot, Stableford converts each hole into points, match play scores hole by hole, skins puts a prize on each individual hole with carryovers, and a Nassau splits the round into three separate bets. All five use the same swings; they differ only in how a hole turns into a result.

Stroke play

Stroke play is the default: add up every stroke over 9 or 18 holes and the lowest total wins. It is the format nearly every professional event uses and the one that feeds handicap systems, because it produces a single gross score for the round.

Its weakness is that one catastrophic hole can wreck an otherwise good round, and slow groups get slower when a player insists on holing out an 11.

Stableford

Stableford turns each hole into points relative to a target score, so a disaster hole costs you a hole rather than a round. When you can no longer score points, you pick up and walk to the next tee, which is why clubs use it on busy days.

Playing to your handicap over 18 holes works out to roughly 36 points, which is the number most club golfers use as their benchmark for a solid day. Modified Stableford variants exist that reward birdies more heavily and punish bad holes with negative points, so confirm the scale before you tee off.

Match play

In match play you are only trying to beat one opponent on the hole in front of you. Win the hole and you go one up; lose it and you go one down; tie it and the hole is halved. The total number of strokes across the round is irrelevant, so a 9 on one hole costs exactly the same as a 5 that loses the hole.

Matches are described by how far ahead you were and how many holes were left: 3 and 2 means three holes up with two to play, which ends the match early. A player who leads by exactly the number of holes remaining is dormie, meaning they cannot lose but can still be caught.

Skins

Skins puts a stake on every hole, and you must win the hole outright to claim it. If two or more players tie, the skin carries over and joins the next hole, so a run of halved holes can leave one par worth a large pile.

It works best with three or four players, and it keeps the back nine interesting for someone whose overall score is long gone. Groups often play skins net, applying handicap strokes hole by hole, so that a higher handicapper can still take one.

Nassau

A Nassau is really three matches in one round: the front nine, the back nine, and the overall 18. Losing the front nine costs you one of three results rather than the whole day, which is exactly why the format has survived so long.

Many groups add a press, a new side bet started by the player who is behind, usually when they fall two holes down. Presses stack quickly, so agree in advance whether they are automatic and how many are allowed.

Which one should your group play?

If you are tracking your own progress, play stroke play. If the group has mixed abilities or the course is packed, play Stableford. If it is two of you, play a match. If it is three or four with a friendly wager, skins or a Nassau will keep everyone interested through the eighteenth green.

Scoring these in Par Card

Par Card supports all five formats for up to 6 players over 9 or 18 holes, with optional putts, fairways, and greens in regulation alongside the stroke count. Stroke play scoring is free forever; Stableford, Match Play, Skins, and Nassau are part of Par Card Pro. Rounds save automatically and work offline, and a finished card can be exported as an image or a print-ready PDF for the group chat.