How golf scoring actually works
Golf has more ways to keep score than any sport deserves, and half of them go by two names. These guides explain each format in plain English — what it is, when to play it, how the handicap math works, and how Bogey Logger scores it for you.
Stroke Play
The classic: count every stroke, lowest total wins. Solo, in a group, or in teams — combined, best player, or best per hole.
Hole by holeMatch Play
Head-to-head: win holes, not totals. A blow-up hole only costs you one. How strokes are given off the low handicap.
Also called Four-BallBest Ball
Everyone plays their own ball; the team counts its best score each hole. Why the same cards can crown different winners.
Alternate shotFoursomes
One ball per team, partners alternate hits. The purest test of a friendship — and a 50% combined handicap.
Play from the best shotScramble
Everyone tees off, the team picks the best ball and all play from there. The weighted handicap percentages, explained.
The house formatBL Cutthroat
Every player for themselves: the sole low score wins the hole, ties spoil it. Most holes won takes the round.
Handicaps
Handicap index vs. course handicap vs. playing handicap — the formula, the format allowances, and where the rounding happens.
The side gameSkins
Win a hole outright, win the skin. Carryovers, net vs. gross, how teams change it, and what happens when someone leaves early.
Or just let the app do it
Bogey Logger scores every one of these formats automatically — handicaps, teams, skins, live with friends.
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