Easily one of the most popular golf games on the planet – but also one of the most confusing – we’ve put together this detailed guide to simplify (almost) everything there is to know about the Scotch golf game so that you and your buddies can play confidently the next time you hit the course.
The general idea here is that you have four players (a full foursome) divided up into two teams, with two players on each team.
Every player plays their own ball throughout the entirety of the game (this isn’t like captain and crew), and scoring events happen at the end of every single individual hole and are totaled up at the end of the round to see which team wins.
Let’s dig a little deeper, shall we?
How to Play the Scotch Golf Game
Straight out of the gate, it’s important to understand that there are a couple of different ways you can play the Scotch game of golf (and that’s a big part of why it is sometimes so confusing).
Across the board with every version of this game, though, players are able to earn points for doing very specific things on the course – like closest to the hole, having the lowest score on that hole, draining a birdie or eagle putt, etc.
All of these point producing scenarios are outlined clearly in advance of the round of golf starting.
Some players even like to laminate the “rules” and point producing scenarios on a little card they keep in their gift bag just to sort of keep everyone on the same page no matter what.
At the end of every single hole of golf, though, the amount of points that are scored by every individual player are tallied up – and then each team gets a total score.
The team that gets the most points on that particular hole gets a single overall point, and that’s used to tally up the winner at the end of the round.
How to Score the Scotch Golf Game
Let’s just say for the sake of argument that one team has scored four points on a hole and another team has scored five.
That means that the second team (Team Two in this specific example) would earn a single point towards the overall score. If no other holes of golf have been played yet that means that they have a 1-0 lead currently.
Five Point Scotch Golf Game
The five point Scotch golf version is probably the most popular iteration of the game, really simplifying things quite a bit and giving everyone a level playing field to better understand how the scores shake out.
In the Five Points system there are points awarded for:
- Low score on the hole
- Low total score (both players on each team combined)
- Closest to the pin in regulation
- Fewest putts on that hole
- And a point for anyone that gets a birdie or better
Six Points Scotch Golf Game
The Six Points system for Scotch golf shakes out like this:
- Two points are awarded for team low score
- Two points are awarded for low score (individual)
- One point is awarded to the closest to the pin in regulation
- One point is awarded to anyone that gets a birdie or better
At the end of the day, though, no matter which version of Scotch golf you play the idea is to win more points as a team than the other twosome in your group.
The team with the most points after everyone has finished that hole is then awarded a single point, and a running tally is kept throughout the round until all 18 holes have been played and a winning team is announced.
How to Win the Scotch Golf Game
There are a couple of strategies you’ll want to leverage to increase your odds of winning a Scotch game of golf, with some of the most impactful ones highlighted below.
Be Smart with Pairings
You want to be as smart – and as fair – with your team pairings as possible.
As a general rule of thumb you want to have everyone on the same level playing field, but that’s not always possible with golf. If there’s a big talent discrepancy, try to make sure that there’s at least an even amount of talent on both sides – low handicap golfers paired with high handicap golfers on each team.
Prepare for “Ready Golf”
One of the coolest things about Scotch golf is that every player can play their ball individually in the “ready golf” style.
Go out, hit your ball, and drop it in the hole as quickly as possible and you might be able to cash the first birdie of the group – and that’s going to steal you a point!
Always Try to Save Par
At the end of the day, every single golfer on both teams need to be doing everything they can to save par in every situation.
This means that you want to be particularly aggressive with your short game. If you steal par (or can a bird), your odds of grabbing extra points shoot through the roof and you might win the hole.
On the flip side of things, though, if you play really aggressively and blow up it’s not going to come back to bite you too much.
At the end of every single hole only a single point is going to be awarded to one team. You’re never really out of the game, even if you have to play especially aggressively to try and win a couple of points on the front or back nine.