Golf league glossary

Terms

Best ball

Best ball is a team format where every golfer plays their own ball and the team score on each hole is the best of the members. It rewards one strong hole from any player and keeps everyone in the game.

Callaway system

The Callaway system is a one-day handicap method that works out a handicap from the round itself, by deducting a golfer’s worst holes based on their gross score. Leagues use it for events where players have no established handicap.

Carryover

A carryover is a skin or pot that nobody won on a hole, so it carries to the next hole and is added to what is at stake there. Carryovers make later holes worth more and are common in skins games.

Closest to the pin

Closest to the pin is a side game on a par 3 that pays the golfer whose tee shot finishes nearest the hole. It is a small fixed prize marked on one or more holes.

Course handicap

A course handicap is the number of strokes a golfer actually receives on a given course and set of tees. It adjusts a Handicap Index for how hard the course plays, using the slope rating.

Course rating

Course rating is the score a scratch golfer is expected to shoot on a course under normal conditions, written as a number near par. It pairs with slope rating to turn a Handicap Index into a course handicap.

Flight

A flight is a group of golfers of similar ability who compete against each other within a larger league. Flights let a big field of mixed abilities have several fair races at once.

Four-ball

Four-ball is a format where two golfers form a team, each plays their own ball, and the team takes the better score on each hole. It is the two-player version of best ball.

Gross score

A gross score is the total number of strokes a golfer actually took, before any handicap is applied. The net score is the gross minus the golfer’s handicap strokes.

Handicap Index

A Handicap Index is a portable number representing a golfer’s demonstrated ability, calculated from their recent scores. It is converted to a course handicap for the course being played. A league may keep its own simpler league handicap instead of an official Index.

Match play

Match play is a format scored hole by hole: whoever takes fewer strokes on a hole wins it, and the player or team ahead after all holes wins the match. It contrasts with stroke play, where the total score counts.

Mulligan

A mulligan is an informal do-over shot that does not count on the scorecard. Some casual leagues and outings sell a set number of mulligans as a fundraiser; they are not part of the Rules of Golf.

Nassau

A Nassau is a bet or scoring format made of three parts: the front nine, the back nine, and the full eighteen. It lets a golfer lose one part of the round and still win another.

Net score

A net score is a golfer’s gross score minus their handicap strokes. Net scoring lets golfers of different abilities compete fairly, so most weekly leagues decide results on net.

Peoria system

The Peoria system is a one-day handicap method that estimates a handicap from a set of secretly chosen holes after the round. Like the Callaway system, leagues use it for events where players have no established handicap.

Playoff

A playoff is a match or short event at the end of a season that decides the champion among the top finishers in the standings. It gives more golfers something to play for in the final weeks.

Quota

In a quota format, each golfer is given a target number of points based on their handicap and earns points for their play; whoever beats their target by the most wins. It is a points-based cousin of Stableford.

Scramble

A scramble is a team format where everyone tees off, the team picks the best shot, and all members play again from that spot until the ball is holed. It is popular for outings because it is fast and forgiving.

Shotgun start

A shotgun start sends every group onto a different hole at the same time so the whole field begins and finishes together. Larger tournaments use it so prizes and a meal can follow right after play.

Skins

Skins is a side game where each hole is worth a skin, won by the golfer with the outright best score on that hole; a tie carries the skin to the next hole. Entrants pay a small buy-in that makes up the pot.

Slope rating

Slope rating is a number from 55 to 155 that measures how much harder a course plays for a average golfer than for a scratch golfer. It is used to convert a Handicap Index into a course handicap; 113 is average.

Stableford

Stableford is a format that awards points per hole against a target rather than counting total strokes, so a bad hole costs only that hole. It rewards steady play and keeps the round moving.

Stroke play

Stroke play is the format where a golfer’s total number of strokes for the round decides the result, usually on net in a league. It is the most common way weekly leagues score a night.

Substitute (sub)

A substitute, or sub, is a golfer who fills in for a regular who cannot play a given week. A good sub list is how a league keeps every tee time full through the season.

Tee time

A tee time is the scheduled time a group starts its round from the first tee. A weekly league usually holds a standing block of consecutive tee times on the same night all season.

Go deeper

These show up across the guides: formats explained, how handicaps work, and how to score a night. Or see all golf league guides.