Read a Golf Scorecard
Golf scorecards allow you to keep track of each player's progress through a golf course by marking down how many shots it took each player to sink a ball. The total score is based upon strokes and handicaps, and compared to the other players to determine a winner. If you are tracking your own progress as a golfer, scorecards can also be useful as a non-competitive reference. Here are a few steps on how to read a golf scorecard.
Steps
- Find the numbers labeled 1 to 18 in a row at the top of each column; these represent the numbers of each hole that was played.
- Locate a variety of color names on the card. These represent from which color tees golfers can tee off. Champion male golfers may tee off from black tees, while the average male golfer may tee off from white tees, women will tee off from red tees and junior golfers from green tees.
- Next to the tee colors will be a set of numbers, these represent the course and slope ratings. They allow golfers of different abilities to play together in a more equal environment; this is referred to as handicapping a golfer.
- The course rating tells you what the total par is from the corresponding set of tees. The slope rating is based around an average of 113. If the slope rating is lower than 113, you are playing an easier course, if it is more than 113, you are playing a more difficult course. The course difficulty is determined by the amount and type of obstacles each hole contains.
- Look for the par information, which is generally marked beneath or next to the hole numbers. The par tells you how many shots it should take the golfer to put his ball in each specific hole. The par varies depending on the hole and its difficulty, with easier holes having a lower par and more difficult holes having a higher par.
- Mark down each golfer's name on the left side of the scorecard.
- Note the number of shots it took each golfer to put his ball in the hole, and write this number down in the space where the golfer's name intersects with the correct column designating the corresponding hole that was played. If a player achieves a hole-in-one, write a "1" in the space provided for that golfer.
- Find the total par for the golf course you are playing in the column next to the "18" representing the 18th hole. The total par tells gives you the figure for all the pars in the course added together. In order to find out the total par if you only played 9 holes, you will need to add up the pars for each of the holes you played to get the total.
- Add all the shots a golfer took for each hole to get the player's final score. The golfer that received the lowest total score has won the game.
- Figure out how many strokes over or under the par each golfer received, and then write this number as either plus or minus followed by the number of strokes. For example, if a golfer hit 4 strokes over the par, this would be written as "+4." There is typically a space to input this number in the far right hand column for each golfer.
Tips
- If a golfer puts the ball in the cup in 1 shot less than par, it is referred to as a "birdie," 2 shots or less than par is called an "eagle," 1 more shot than par is a "bogey," 2 more shots than par is a "double bogey" and 3 shots more than par is a "triple bogey."
