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tim@miniaturegolfer.comCompetition formats
The competition format can radically effect the approach to a game of mini golf.
Stroke Play aka Medal Play
The simplest of all, you tally up all your strokes and arrive at your total score (gross). Whoever has the lowest score wins. A simple tip for quick scoring is to regard all holes as par 2's and keep a tally of how many your over or under par. Then add 36 for an 18 hole course and you have your final score.
Stroke play favours consistent good scoring.
Match Play
Each hole won scores one point, if no one wins the hole then you can either award each player a half or simply not award any points at all. The advantage of adding a half in a two player game is that you can check at the end that the total points for both players adds up to the number of holes played. Likewise if you have 3 players and all three get the same score on a hole then each could be awarded a third.
Hole halved in two simply means that neither player won the hole and each gets half a point.
A player is said to be dormie (or dormy) when he is up by the same number of points as are holes remaining. Thus he cannot lose but he may draw.
If someone wins 3 & 2, it means that the winner was three up with two holes to play.
A gimme is a putt conceded by your opponent and your ball can be picked up.
The great advantage of match play is that you can have a couple of awful holes and still win.
Handicap
The simplest form of handicapping is to give another player a number of shots over 18 holes of stroke play. For example if your respective averages on a certain course were 36 and 39, the better player (A) could give the weaker player (B) three shots. So when the strokes are totalled up at the end three shots are subtracted from player B's score (nett).
In matchplay, it is necessary to give shots at certain holes dependent on the stroke index. The stroke index is an indicator of how difficult holes are deemed to be. The hardest hole is given a stroke index of 1 and the easiest an SI of 18. So in the example above player B would subtract one shot from his score on each of the three hardest holes.
Stroke indices don't tend to be available on minigolf courses so you'll have to devise your own.
The advantage of handicapping is that it allows players with wide-ranging ability to compete.
Greensomes (four players in teams of two) aka Pinehurst
Each player in the team hits their first shot. The best shot is selected by each team and the player who didn't play the selected shot picks up their own ball and plays the next (if necessary) and if a subsequent shot is required the other plays it and so on. Can be played as a match or as stroke play.
Texas Scramble (four players in teams of two)
Each player in the team hits their first shot. The best shot is selected by each team and both players play the next (if necessary) from the same position and so on. Can be played as a match or as stroke play.
Foursomes (four players in teams of two) aka Scotch Foursomes
The players in the team tee off at alternative holes, player A at the even numbered holes, player B at the odd numbered holes. The player who has not teed off plays the next shot and then they alternate if necessary. Can be played as a match or as stroke play.
Four ball better-ball (four players in teams of two)
Each player plays their own ball and the lowest score counts for each team. Can be played as a match or as stroke play.
Nine (three players)
Points are awarded for each hole. The winner of each hole gets five points, second three points and the loser one point. If three players share the same score each gets three points. If there is a two-way tie for first place each get four points and the last player one point. If there is a two-way tie for second place then the winner gets five points and the runners up two points each.
Skins (two players plus)
You play each hole for a sum of money, if there is no outright winner for the hole the money is carried over to the next hole and so on.
Nassau (two players)
The most basic form consists of three matches in one. The outward nine is one match, the homeward nine is the second match and all eighteen holes are considered the third.
Tomb Stone (any number of players)
You are given a set number of strokes and the player to go the farthest round the course wins. When a player uses all their allowable strokes you place a tomb stone at that point - obviously not on the actual course! A marking on the perimeter would do.
Know any I've missed - let me know. Thanks.