NCG’s Golfing Glossary: What is Strokeplay?

Here at NCG we pride ourselves on being the publication for the everyday player, so we’ve taken it upon ourselves to delve into the wonderful world of the golfing lexicon.

Sometimes the most obvious terms have the most interesting story, so you might find yourself an interesting conversation starter…

What is Strokeplay?

Strokeplay, also known as medal play, is the scoring system that involves the counting the number of shots/strokes taken per hole in an entire round.

How would you use it in a sentence?

“He/She took 75 strokes during a strokeplay tournament today”

What are the origins?

The first mention of strokeplay format being used in a sporting context was in Holland in 1297. The Dutch used sticks and leather balls and the winner was determined to be the person who took the least amount of shots.

This was known as the game of “colf”.

Fast forward two centuries and the play of strokeplay over 18 holes was formed in Scotland. The creation of the modern format as we know it still today and it’s from then on that the game of golf grew.

Any other business?

As mentioned above, strokeplay is also known as medal play which is used for competitions with handicaps. This is where you subtract your handicap from the number of strokes you take during the round and gain a nett score from it.

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