Medal or Stroke Play
Stableford
Four Ball Best Ball Stableford
Par
Bisque Par
Four Ball Best Ball v Par
Foursomes
Canadian Foursomes
American Foursomes
Greensomes
Four Ball Best Ball Stroke
Flag Competition
Ambrose
Individual Match Play
Four Ball Match Play
Eclectic Events

Medal or Stroke Play
The  number of strokes at each hole is entered on the card and the card totalled.  The players full course handicap is deducted and both gross and net scores are shown on the card.  The player with the lowest score is the winner.

Stableford
This competition involves scoring points based on results at each hole.  Using the stroke rating for each hole, players firstly make a mental allocation of their full handicap over eighteen holes.  For example, a player on an 18 handicap will add one shot to the par value for each hole to determine his or her own par for the hole.  Thus a hole rated as a par 4 becomes a par 5 for the player.
The points scoring method is then calculated by allocating two points for a par, one point for one over, three points for one under, four points for two under and so on.
Players who exceed their own par by two strokes score no points for the hole, and since they cannot improve on that result, they should then pick up their ball.
At the end of the round, all points scored are added.  The player with the most points is the winner.
The stableford competition has two major advantages.  First, it speeds up the game since there is no point continuing to play a hole once your own par is exceeded by two strokes.  Second, it means you can have one or two bad holes, but compensate for them during the balance of your round.
When marking the card, note that the number of strokes taken must always be shown for holes where points are scored.  Thus, the card records both strokes and points.

Four Ball Best Ball Stableford
The stableford system is used for this competition.  However, in 4 BBB stableford two players play as partners although the hole is played by each of them using their individual full handicaps.
At the completion of the hole, that player recording the highest number of points has his or her score entered on the card.  There is no need to record both scores as only the best score is required.

Par
To understand this competition, players need to know the method of allocation full handicap strokes to each hole as in the stableford competition.
Once players determine their own par for each hole, the Par competition challenges them to beat their own par.  If players better their par, they score a + (plus) for the hole.  If players equal their own par, they are said to have halved or squared the hole which is scored with an 'O'.  If par is not achieved, a - (minus) sign is recorded.
At the end of the round the score is calculated by deducting the number of minuses from the number of pluses.  Halved holes are considered to be even and are not take into account when determining the result.
An even number of pluses and minuses cancel each other out and the result is then even or square.
The player with the highest result is the winner.

Bisque Par
This event is an interesting variation of the Par competition, where players allocate their full handicap to each hole however they want.
The game is played as in Par competition and scored in the same fashion.  For example, players taking seven strokes on a par 5 will have a + if they use three handicap strokes, a O if they use two strokes, and a - if they use one stroke.
The game relies to some extent on a players judgement.  The player with the highest result is the winner.

Four Ball Best Ball v Par
As in 4 B.B.B. stableford, two players play as partners and play the course almost as though it was an individual par event using their individual handicaps.  At the completion of each hole, the player with the best score has it recorded on the card.  It will be either a + (plus), O (half) or - (minus).  The team scoring the highest result is the winner.

Foursomes
Foursomes is basically a Stroke event played with a partner and using only one ball.  The rules of Foursomes require the partners to hit off from alternate tees.  Both players agree on the order of hitting off before the game.  One  player will select the even holes and the other will the odd holes.  In mixed foursomes, the club usually determines the order of play.
Once a player has teed off, the partners strike the ball alternately until the hole is completed.  Therefore, if it is Player A's turn to hit from the tee, Player B will hit the second shot, Player A the third and so on.
Note that if either player incurs a penalty stroke, it does not alter the rotation of play.  This includes the playing of a provisional ball.
Scoring is identical to the simple method used for Stroke Play and the card should show both gross and net scores after handicap deduction.  The teams handicap is half the aggregate of both partners handicaps.  The team completing the course in the fewest strokes is the winner.

Canadian Foursomes
Canadian Foursomes is played with a partner and both players tee off on all holes.  The players then decide together which ball is in the best position and the other ball is taken out of play.
If Player A hit the selected ball from the tee, then Player B will hit the next shot or vice versa.  Play continues on an alternate basis until the hole is completed, and for each hole thereafter.  Incurring a penalty shot does not affect the order of play.
The handicap of each team is calculated by halving the aggregate of team members individual handicaps.
Since Canadian Foursomes is a Stroke event, it is simply scored that way on the card showing a gross and net score.  The team with the lowest score is the winner.

American Foursomes
American Foursomes is played with a partner and both players tee off at each hole, then play a second shot with their respective partner's ball.  The players mutually decide which ball is in the best position and the other ball is taken out of play.  Play then proceeds as in a straight Foursome competition, so that if Player B hit the second shot with the selected ball, Player A hits the next shot and play alternates until the hole is completed.  The order of play is unaffected by penalty shots.
Handicapping is determine by halving the aggregate handicaps of both partners.  The scorecard is completed as for a Stroke event, showing both gross and net scores.  The team having the lowest score is the winner.

Greensomes (Two Stroke Canadian Foursomes)
Two stroke Canadian Foursomes or Greensomes is yet another variation of the basic Foursomes competition, except that both partners hit two shots before alternating play rather than just a tee shot.
The handicapping and scoring methods are identical to the Foursomes.

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Four Ball Best Ball Stroke
This is a variation of the basic Stroke event with two players playing as partners.  Partners play the course as they would for an individual stroke event but, using the index, they mentally determine how many strokes they receive on each hole, or how their handicap is spread over the eighteen holes of the course.
After completing each hole, both partners determine their net scores and the lowest score is recorded.  At the end of the round the score is totalled and the team with the lowest score is the winner.

Flag Competition
This event is an interesting and fun version of basic Stroke Play.  The course is played as for a Stroke round.  Players are deemed to have finished their round when they have completed a number of strokes equal to the par of the course plus their stroke handicap.
The first player to start in the competition carries a flag and plants it on the spot where his or her ball lies at the finish of the round.  The player must mark his or her name on the flag.  If the ball is in the rough, the flag should be planted on the edge of the fairway, no nearer the hole.
Subsequent players who have not finished their round when they reach the flag, should pick it up and carry it with them until their own round is completed.  The flag is then replanted and their name marked on it.
The player who carries the flag the longest distance from the first tee is the winner.  Normally this position is somewhere beyond the eighteenth green, usually on the first or second hole of the second round.

Ambrose
A team stroke event usually played by a team of four or more.  All players hit off from the tee and the captain then decides which ball in in the best position.  The other team members then drop their ball within a club length of the selected ball, no nearer the hole  They hit their next stroke from this position.  The captain makes a similar selection after the next shot and play continues in this way.
If the selected ball is in the rough or a hazard, the other balls must be dropped in the rough or hazard.  On the putting surface all balls must putted from within 15cm of the spot where the selected ball lies.
The team with the lowest score is the winner.

Individual Match Play
Golf was played under the Match Play system for hundreds of years and many championship and pennant competitions are still played this way.  Match Play simply means that the game is played by holes rather than by calculating the total number of strokes.
A hole is won by the player who holes his or her ball in the least number of strokes.  The hole is said to be halved if both players complete the hole in the same score.
The reckoning of holes is kept by the terms 'holes up', 'all square' and so many holes 'to play'.  A player is 'dormie' when there are as many holes up as there are holes remaining to be played.
The match is won by the player who is leading by the number of holes greater than the number of holes remaining.
In a handicap match, the lower net score wins the hole.  The handicapping system in Match Play is based on the difference between the players handicaps, so that a player on a handicap of 10 would have to give an 18 handicapper 8 strokes.  These strokes would be allocated on the 8 hardest stroke holes.
Where there is more than eighteen strokes difference between handicaps, players receive two strokes per hole where applicable.
Match Play has its own set of rules which is incorporated in the Rules of Golf.  It is advisable for players to be familiar with these rules as some of them differ from the rules covering Stroke Play.

Four Ball Match Play
This event is regularly played at club level, and generally the same conditions as for Individual Match Play apply.
Handicaps are applied by reducing the stroke handicaps of all players by the handicap of the low handicap player who will then play off scratch.  The other three players are then allowed their resulting handicaps.
Strokes are taken in accordance with the stroke index on the scorecard.  For example, if Player A's handicap is 10, Player B's 22, Player C's 15 and Player D's 11; then Player A would be off scratch, B off 12, C off 5 and D would play off 1.
D would get a stroke at the number 1 stroke hole, C on holes 1 to 5 and so on.

Eclectic Events
This competition is based on the Stroke event and often extends over the whole season.  The club decides the duration of the competition but at least two rounds must be played.
The Eclectic score is the lowest score obtained at each hole during the competition.  These scores are then totalled for the full eighteen holes and subject to deduction of half the players handicap as it stands on the last day of the competition.  The player with the lowest score is the winner.

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