Scoring Formats for Tournaments and Leagues

18Birdies supports multiple scoring formats for tournaments and leagues.

The format determines how scores are calculated, how players or teams compete, and how leaderboard results are displayed.

Before creating a tournament or league event, choose the format that best fits how your group wants to compete.

In this article

• What scoring formats are available?
• How do I choose a scoring format?
• What is Stroke Play?
• What is Stableford?
• What is Best Ball / Four-Ball?
• What is Scramble?
• What is Stroke Play + Best Ball?
• Important: Team scorecards for Best Ball and Scramble
• What are tournament starting formats?
• How do handicaps affect scoring?
• How do I view tournament leaderboards?
• Frequently Asked Questions

What scoring formats are available?

18Birdies supports the following tournament and league scoring formats:

Some formats are individual formats, while others are team formats.

How do I choose a scoring format for Tournaments?

You can choose a scoring format when creating a tournament.

To choose a scoring format:

1. Open the 18Birdies app.
2. Tap Community.
3. Tap Events.
4. Tap Create a Tournament.
5. Choose whether players will compete at the same course or use a virtual leaderboard.
6. Select the scoring format you want to use.
7. Configure the remaining tournament settings.
8. Tap Save.

For full setup instructions, see Getting Started as a Tournament Organizer.

What is Stroke Play?

Stroke Play is one of the most common golf scoring formats.

In Stroke Play, each player records their score for each hole. The player with the lowest total score wins.

Stroke Play tournaments may include gross scoring, net scoring, handicap adjustments, tiebreakers, and skins if enabled.

Use Stroke Play when you want a traditional tournament format where every stroke counts.

What is Stableford?

Stableford is a points-based golf scoring format where players earn points on each hole based on their score relative to par.

Instead of ranking players by total strokes, Stableford ranks players by total points. The higher the point total, the better the score.

This format can make tournaments more forgiving and more engaging because one bad hole does not necessarily ruin the entire round. Players can recover by earning more points on later holes.

A standard Stableford scoring system may look like this:

For example, if a player makes par on the first hole, they earn 2 points. If they make birdie on the second hole, they earn 3 points. If they make bogey on the third hole, they earn 1 point. After three holes, that player would have 6 Stableford points.In a Stableford tournament, players enter their scores as normal in 18Birdies. The app uses the player’s score, tournament handicap settings, and course information to calculate Stableford points and update the leaderboard.

Stableford point values can be adjusted during tournament setup if your event uses modified Stableford scoring.

What is Best Ball / Four-Ball?

Best Ball and Four-Ball refer to the same basic golf format.

In Best Ball, players compete as partners or teams. Each player plays their own ball for the entire hole, and the best score from the team is used as the team score for that hole.

For example, if Player A scores 4 and Player B scores 5, the team score for that hole is 4.

Best Ball is a good format for team competition because each golfer still plays their own ball, while the team benefits from the best score on each hole.

Depending on the tournament setup, the organizer may choose how many scores count toward the team score.

The selected score or scores become the team score for each hole.

For example, if a 4-player team is using 1 Ball scoring and the players score 4, 5, 5, and 6 on a hole, the team score is 4.

If the same team is using 2 Ball scoring, the two lowest scores count. In that case, the team score for the hole would be 9, using the 4 and one of the 5s.

What is a Scramble?

Scramble is a team golf format where each player hits a shot, the team chooses the best shot, and all team members play their next shot from that location.

This process continues until the hole is complete.

For example, if all four players hit tee shots, the team chooses the best drive. Then, all four players hit their second shot from that selected location. The team continues choosing the best shot after each stroke until the ball is holed.

In a Scramble tournament, the team records one score for each hole. The score entered for each hole represents the team’s score, not each individual player’s score.

For example, if a 4-player Scramble team completes a par 4 in four strokes, the team enters 4 for that hole.

Scramble is popular for charity events, corporate outings, and larger group events because it creates a team-focused experience and can help improve pace of play.

What is Stroke Play + Best Ball?

Stroke Play + Best Ball allows a tournament to include both individual Stroke Play scoring and team Best Ball scoring.

This format can be useful when organizers want players to compete individually while also contributing to a team score.

Important: Team scorecards for Best Ball and Scramble

For team formats like Best Ball and Scramble, only add the players who are on your team to your tournament scorecard.

If your foursome contains two separate 2-player teams, each team should create its own tournament round in the app.

Example:

• Jim and Tom are Team 1.
• Steve and Larry are Team 2.
• Jim starts a tournament round and adds Tom.
• Steve starts a separate tournament round and adds Larry.

Do not add all four players to one team scorecard unless all four players are competing as one team.

Adding the full foursome to one scorecard may cause the app to treat all players as one team.

What are tournament starting formats?

18Birdies Tournaments may use different starting formats depending on the event: Sequential tee times or Shotgun start.

Sequential tee times

Sequential tee times send groups off in traditional tee time order.

This format is often used for smaller tournaments, league events, weekly groups, or events with about 50 players or fewer.

Example:

• Group 1: 8:00 AM
• Group 2: 8:10 AM
• Group 3: 8:20 AM
• Group 4: 8:30 AM

Shotgun start

A shotgun start means groups begin at the same time from different holes.

This format is often used for larger events. Golf courses may require a minimum number of players to support a shotgun start.

Example:

Starting at Hole 1: Group 1A and Group 1BStarting at Hole 10: Group 2A and Group 2B

How do handicaps affect scoring?

Handicap settings can affect net scoring and leaderboards.

Tournament organizers may choose to:

• Use the player’s full handicap
• Apply course handicap
• Use a percentage of handicap
• Cap the maximum handicap
• Use no handicap

If no handicap is selected, the tournament will show a gross leaderboard only.

For setup instructions, see Getting Started as a Tournament Organizer.

How do I view tournament leaderboards?

You can view tournament leaderboards from the tournament page or during a round.

From the Tournament page:

1. Open the app.
2. Tap Community on the bottom of the screen.
3. Tap Events at the top of the page.
4. Tap your tournament.
5. Scroll to the Leaderboard section.
6. Tap the leaderboard you want to view.

During a round:

1. Tap the Leaderboard button in the bottom-left of the screen.
2. Tap a player or team score to view the scorecard.

This applies to Stroke Play, Stableford, Best Ball, Scramble, and Stroke Play + Best Ball leaderboards.

How do I view a Stroke (Gross & Net) Tournament Leaderboard Scorecard?

Tap any player's score on the tournament leaderboard to display the player's scorecard. Tap Exit to return to the Tournament Leaderboard or tap Full Scorecard to open the full scorecard & Round Summary for the player's tournament round.

How do I view a Stableford Tournament Leaderboard Scorecard?

Tap any player's score on the tournament leaderboard to display the player's scorecard, including Stableford Points totals and hole-by-hole winning.

How do I view a Best Ball Tournament Leaderboard Scorecard?

Tap any player or team's score on the tournament leaderboard to display the tournament scorecard, including best ball scores and holes won.

Frequently Asked Questions