How To Read a Scorecard (Stroke Play)
If you are new to golf, one of the many things you want to understand is how to read and fill out a scorecard properly. To walk you through, let's use the example below with Bill and Ted playing against one another in stroke play. Each number will highlight a certain area on the card, plus any extra information that you might find helpful.
#1 - This is the place to put your name and any other players that you are keeping track of their score, in which you will put below. In this case, Bill is filling out the card for himself and playing partner Ted.
#2 - These are the different tee boxes for men, while at the bottom of the scorecard you can find the ladies tee box as well as the junior. The black is normally the color for the championship caliber golfer, with the lower position on the scorecard identifying the next easier set of tees. For most male golfers, they will play the white tees, which is what Bill and Ted are playing from in our example. Note at the bottom of the scorecard as there are other sets of tees for ladies (red tee box) and juniors (green tee box).
#3 - This describes the Course Rating and the Slope Rating for the course for each set of tees. This is used for handicapping player's scores so that golfers can go from one course to the next and be able to play on an equal basis. The Course Rating is the difficulty of a course for scratch golfers under normal playing condition and is based on the yardage and other obstacles that affect scoring. The course rating is expressed in the number of strokes. For example, this course is a Par 72. The course rating from the white tees is 71.9. If the course was rated at 69.9 from this set of tees, it would be considered an easier course, while one rated at 73.9 would be more difficult (or as in the case of the blue and black tees).
The slope rating is an index number for the difficulty of the course for the bogey golfer. The white tee box on this particular course is rated at 134. To provide a reference, an average slope rating is 113. Anything higher would be considered a more difficult, while a lower rating than 113 is easier. Therefore Bill and Ted are playing a relatively tough course.
#4 - The Hole # is simply the hole number designated on the course. Golf courses are either set up as either 9-hole or 18-hole courses. In some cases while playing 18 holes, you may have to start on hole #10 (or the back 9) then by the time you come to Hole #3, you would actually be playing your 12th hole, but it is still Hole #3 on the scorecard.
#5 - This denotes par for the hole. In our example on Hole #3, par is 3, which is the score an expert golfer should be able to score. Note Hole #5, as there are two par ratings. For men and juniors, this is a par 4, while for ladies, this plays as a par 5. In addition, for the 9-holes, par is 36 for men and juniors and par 37 for ladies only.
#6 - This is the distance from the permanent monument or sign at each tee box measured to the middle of the green. On Hole #3 at this course from the white set of tees, the distance is 164 yards. There are colored markers at each tee box, but be aware, the location of these markers changes from day to day to allow the grass to heal and grow back. In some cases you will be playing from the permanent marker, while other times you may be in front or behind. You will need to account for the added or reduced distance prior to teeing off. Another consideration is the pin placement. If the flagstick is in the back or front of the green, this too will have an affect on the overall playing length of the hole that day.
#7 - The Handicap is a listing of the difficulty of each hole relative to one another on the golf course. On Hole #3 the handicap is 15, which means that of the 18 holes on the course 14 are easier and 3 are harder. It is also used when figuring out handicaps and which hole the player gets a stroke(s) adjusted from their score.
#8 - This is the place to record your score (and those you are keeping for others) during stroke play. The actual score to write down is the sum of the number of strokes to hole the ball plus any penalty strokes (if any) that were accumulated. In our example Bill shot a 4 and Ted shot a 3. Remember par on this hole was 3, so Bill ended up one stroke over or a bogey, while Ted had a par.
At the end of the 9 holes, you will record your score in the designated area. Bill shots a 41, which is 5 stroke over par or simply put +5. Ted shot 46 or was +10 for the front nine. If either one of them shot below a 36 (par), then it would be a negative sign in front the number of stroke below par (i.e. a 34 would be -2).
#9 - This is the total distance for the 9 holes played at each of the tee boxes. From the white tees, the total distance is 3259 yards.
#10 - The direction indicates the position on the course the way the course was meant to be played. The term "OUT" means that you are going out away from the clubhouse on an 18 hole course. It also referred to as the front nine. " IN" indicates that you are coming back in toward the clubhouse, and might also be referred to as the back nine.
#11 - This is the total distance for the full 18 holes. Bill and Ted would have played 6431 yards on the white set of tees.
#12 - Golfers have unusual ways of marking a scorecard for special events, like in this case, Ted shot a birdie. If you have watched TV, sometimes a graphic will pop up demonstrating a scorecard for a particular pro. The score may be marked with a circle for birdie, double circle for eagle, square for bogey and two squares for a double bogey. This is up to the scorer to keep track. However, for a higher handicapped golfer, nothing is worse than reminding him or her that their scorecard of full of bogeys, double bogeys and worse. That is why I like to only mark the special features only.
#13 - The back nine score is the sum of the scores from hole #10 to hole #18. In our case here, Bill, who is the top listed as was on the first half of the scorecard, shot a 41 and Ted shot a 45.
#14 - The total score is the sum of the front and the back nines. Bill shoots 82 and Ted a 91.
#15 - For the full 18 holes, scoring a 72 on the black, blue, white and green tees would be par for the course. For ladies hitting from the red tees, par is 74 because holes 5 and 12 played as par 5's.
#16 - For those that carry a handicap and what to play one another on a level playing field, you enter it here. Getting a handicap is relatively easy and may be free or some courses charge a nominal charge to keep track of this for you.
#17 - The Net Score is your final score minus your handicap. For Bill, even though he shot an 82, with his 10 handicap he ended up a net 72 or par for the course. Although Ted shot 9 strokes worse than Bill, with his higher handicap, he ended up with a net 73 or one stroke worse than Bill. In golf, the lowest score wins.
#18 - For those that like to keeps statistics as a way to improve their game, there is no better source than marking it on the card as you go. This way everything is fresh in your mind instead of thinking back in the 19th hole or on the way home, just how many putts did I have on Hole #12?
Each person has their own method for keeping track of things. I like to use F for fairway hits, G for greens in regulation, dots for the number of putts and a number with a circle to denote penalty strokes.
Written by Jeff Summitt, Technical Director of Hireko Golf (Permission granted to reproduce here)
