Match Play

What is Match Play in golf?

Match Play is golf played head to head, hole by hole, against one opponent. The low net score wins the hole and that player goes one up. A tied hole is halved and nothing moves. The match is scored in holes, not strokes, so the player who is two up is two holes ahead however the cards look. The match is over the moment one player is up by more holes than are left, and it is written the proper way: three and two, four and three. A halved last hole with the match level is a halved match.

It is the oldest form of the game and the most forgiving, because a disaster on one hole costs you one hole and nothing more. It is also the most tactical, because you are playing a person, not a card. When your opponent is in the water, a bogey wins the hole.

Players	Two, head to head. In the app you can run several matches at once, one per pair.
What wins a hole	The low net score. A tie halves the hole and nothing moves.
The score	Holes, not strokes. One up, two down, all square.
Dormie	Up by as many holes as are left. The player behind must win every remaining hole just to halve.
Closed out	Up by more holes than are left. Written as 4 and 3, 2 and 1.
Handicaps	Yes. Strokes fall by stroke index and the hole is decided on net score.
Scored by	The Big Fairways app, free, on any phone, and it calls dormie and the close for you.

How do you play Match Play?

You play a normal round against one opponent and every hole is its own contest. Here is the whole game in six steps.

1. Pick your opponent. In the app, tap the names to say who is playing whom. Several pairs can run at once.
2. Play the hole and post both scores. The low net wins the hole.
3. Win the hole and go one up. Lose it and go one down. Tie it and the hole is halved.
4. Keep count in holes. Two up with five to play means two holes ahead with five holes left.
5. When a player is up by as many holes as are left, that is dormie. The player behind must win every hole left to halve.
6. When a player is up by more holes than are left, the match is over: 4 and 3. Level after the last hole is a halved match.

Why does the margin never carry in Match Play?

Because a hole is a hole. Winning it by one shot or by five is the same one hole, and losing it with a six or a ten is the same one hole lost. That is what makes Match Play forgiving and what makes it a different game from stroke play. You can pick up when a hole is gone and walk to the next tee with the match exactly where it was. It is also why a player who shoots ninety can beat a player who shoots eighty: the ninety had two blow ups and the eighty had none, and a blow up costs one hole.

What does dormie mean?

Dormie is being up by exactly as many holes as are left: three up with three to play. The player behind cannot win the match any more, only halve it, and to do that they have to win every single hole that is left. The player in front needs one halved hole to close it out. The app calls dormie the moment it happens, because it is the moment the match changes shape and everybody on the tee should know it.

How is a Match Play result written?

By the holes up and the holes left when it ended. A player three up with two to play has won three and two. A match that goes to the last hole and finishes one up is one up. A match level after the last hole is halved. Big Fairways writes it that way on the board and on the recap: Alex wins 4 and 3, never a stroke total, because the strokes were never the point.

Can you play Match Play against several opponents at once?

Yes. In Big Fairways you tap the names to say who is playing whom, and every pair is its own match with its own up and down and its own close. A four ball can run six singles matches at once on one card while every other side game runs beside them. Team Match Play, two on two best ball, works the same way with a side in place of a player.

What is the best Match Play strategy?

Match Play is played against a person, not a card, so the right shot depends on where your opponent is. A few things win matches more often than good scoring does.

• Play the opponent, not the course. When your opponent is in trouble, take the safe route and let them make the mistake. When they are on the green in two, you have to go for it.
• A halved hole is a good hole when you are up. The player in front only needs halves. Keep the ball in play and make your opponent beat you.
• Never give up on a hole until the match says so. Your opponent has to hole out too. A bogey wins plenty of holes when the other ball is in a bush.
• Know the count. Two up with three to play is not safe, it is one halved hole from dormie. Look at the board before every tee shot; the app keeps it right there.
• Forget the last hole. A ten cost you one hole and it is gone. The player who carries a blow up to the next tee loses that one too.

What are the wrinkles in Match Play?

• Strokes fall by stroke index. The hole where you get a stroke is a hole where your par is a net birdie. Know which ones they are before you tee off.
• The match can end early. Once it is closed out, the holes left are for the card and for the other games. Groups often play the bye, a fresh match over what is left, and that is a call for the tee.
• Concessions. A putt your opponent gives you is holed. The app scores what the group agrees happened.
• Several matches at once. Every pair is its own match. A hole you win against one opponent you can lose against another.
• Halved match. All square after the last hole is a halved match, and it settles as one.

How does Match Play compare with other golf side games?

Match Play is the simplest head to head game there is: one opponent, one hole at a time. Here is how it lines up against the other side games. Every one of them is scored in the app, and you can run several at once on one card.

Game	Players	In one line
Match Play	2	Head to head, hole by hole, up or down.
Midnight	Any	Twelve holes count, your best eleven plus the last. Lowest card wins.
Elevens	Any	Eleven holes count, your best ten plus the last. Seven throwaways.
Skins	Any	Win the hole outright to take the skin. Ties carry over or die, your call.
Nassau	2 or 4	Three matches in one: front nine, back nine and the full eighteen, with presses.
Wolf	4	The Wolf picks a partner after the tee shots or goes alone for double.
Vegas	4	Two teams, scores paired into a number, low number wins the difference.
Banker	3 or more	One player takes on everybody else each hole. Presses allowed.
Junk	Any	Points for the little things: sandies, greenies, woodies and more.
TILT	Any	Points on the net score with a multiplier that climbs on birdies and resets on a par.
Train	Any	A net par puts you aboard and every hole after it pays until two bogeys in a row.
Mulligans	Any	Your handicap strokes become do overs, then everybody plays gross.
Gridiron Golf	4	Two on two played like football. Win the hole to march the ball, reach the end zone to score.
Hammer	2 or 4	Either side can double the hole while it is being played.
Nines	3	Three players, nine points a hole, split five, three and one.
Hi Lo	4	Two on two. A point for the best ball and a point for the worst.
Snake	Any	Three putt and the snake is yours until somebody else does. No points.
Bingo Bango Bongo	Any	First on, closest, first in. Three points a hole, played gross.
Stableford	Any	Points for every hole, most points wins, a blow up costs you nothing.

Looking for the full list? Every side game the app scores, each with rules and a demo round, is on the golf side games page.

What do the Match Play words mean?

One up, two down

How many holes ahead or behind you are in the match.

All square

Level. Neither player is ahead.

Halved

A tied hole, or a match level after the last hole.

Dormie

Up by as many holes as are left.

Closed out

Up by more holes than are left. The match is over.

4 and 3

Won four up with three holes to play. The way a result is written.

The bye

A fresh match over the holes left after the main match is closed out.

What should a group agree on before playing Match Play?

• Who is playing whom. Every pair is its own match.
• Net or gross, and which player's strokes come off which holes.
• What a match is worth, and whether a halved match pays nothing.
• Whether to play the bye once a match is closed out.

The one to settle first is handicaps. Most groups play net with full strokes by stroke index, which is how the app plays it, and it means the match is fair from the first tee.

Why do golfers love Match Play?

Match Play is golf the way it was first played, one person against another, and every hole is a fresh fight. A blow up costs one hole and nothing more. The player who is out of it on the card is never out of the match. And the moment the app says dormie, or writes 4 and 3 on the board, is a moment nobody argues with.

How does Big Fairways score Match Play for you?

Pick Match Play when you set up the round, tap the names to say who is playing whom, and start playing. After every hole the app shows each match, up, down or all square, calls dormie the moment it happens, and closes a match out the proper way with the holes up and the holes left. Nobody keeps two or three matches in their head.

Run other side games at the same time and the totals never get tangled. At the end every match settles on its own, you get one Settle Up list, and every round posts to your own lifetime scorecard, which only you can see. Send one link and the whole group follows the leaderboard live from their own phones.

Common questions

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