First Time Fridays – How to Keep Score

First Time Fridays is a new summer video series for beginner golfers! Feel more comfortable coming to the golf course with tips by Kathryn Newton.

First Time Fridays is back and we have a great video this week! This is new summer series brought to you by Kathryn Newton, Golf Digest and Morton Golf. We will give you the inside scoop on how to look and feel like a golfer for all you beginners out there. Golf is an intimidating sport so we want to make it easier for you to feel comfortable from the get-go. Today, learn about How to Keep Score.

Let’s start this tip out by saying, you don’t have to keep score! It is perfectly okay and can be more fun if you don’t keep score. Just go out to the course and start playing. Sometimes not keeping score takes off the pressure of hitting great shots and you actually end up playing better.

But for those of you who would like to know the rules of keeping score, this is how it works: You count the amount of tries it takes to hit the ball, yes tries. If you meant to hit the ball and missed, that is still a stroke. At the end of the hole, count how many strokes you made and that is your score for the hole. Write it on your scorecard and continue to the next hole. At the end of the round, add up all the hole scores and that is your overall round score.

Terms you may have heard while keeping score –
Birdie: one stroke less than par for the hole
Par: the amount of strokes the course has handicapped the hole. This is the standard score you want to hit on each hole and is listed on the scorecard
Bogey: one stroke more than par for the hole
Double Bogey: two strokes more than par for the hole
Eagle: two strokes less than par for the hole

Kathryn also goes over the different scoring ways for competitions. Stroke play vs match play.
Stroke Play– The player who has the fewest strokes, win. If you end up with a 98 and your friend scores a 97, they win.
Match Play – The player who has fewer strokes on a hole, wins the hole. You keep track who wins each hole and the winner is determined on who is “up” on their partner.

Make your round fun and try out both match play and stroke play this summer!