Golf competition formats explained: medal, stableford, louisiana and more

The fixture list of an Italian golf club is full of abbreviations and English names: stableford, medal, louisiana a due, 4 palle 2 giocatori. Behind each format lies a different way of scoring the same round, and knowing it before the first tee saves you from surprises. Here you will find the most common formats, explained on the basis of the R&A Rules of Golf and the Federgolf glossary.

Stroke play (medal): the fewest strokes wins

This is the most classic format. Under Rule 3 of the R&A, in stroke play the winner is the player who completes the round, or rounds, with the lowest total number of strokes, penalties included. Federgolf calls it the most difficult and intriguing format, because right up to the last hole it is possible to spoil everything you have done well before. In a handicap competition the net scores are compared, that is, the number of strokes from which the handicap allowance has been deducted; in the gross ranking the round is judged without deductions. In club competitions, writes Federgolf, the first three net scores in each category and the best gross score overall are generally rewarded.

Stableford: you count points, not strokes

In stableford each hole is compared with a reference score, generally par (Rule 21 of the R&A). A par is worth 2 points, one over par 1, two or more over 0; a birdie earns 3, an eagle 4. A player who does not complete the hole scores zero. The winner is the player with the most points.

In club practice the net result is used: Federgolf gives the example of a player with a handicap of 18, who gets one stroke on every hole. The advantage of stableford is that a disastrous hole costs you at most the point you would have earned; it is also a faster competition, Federgolf observes, because the number of strokes you can play on a hole is limited. That is why many fixture lists prefer it; at the Royal Golf Challenge of the Royal Hotel Sanremo, on 24 and 25 October 2026, the event is an individual stableford over 36 holes, with the option of playing a single round.

Maximum score and par/bogey

Two other formats provided for by Rule 21. In maximum score the score on each hole is capped at a maximum set by the committee, for example double par or net double bogey: once you reach the cap you may pick up. In par/bogey you play as in match play against the course: you win the hole if you beat the reference score, halve it if you match it, lose it if you exceed it, and what counts is the balance between holes won and lost.

Match play: the holes are what count

In match play you take on one opponent and what counts is who wins more holes, not the total number of strokes. A hole is won by the player who completes it in fewer strokes; the match ends when one player is ahead by more holes than remain, and the result is called "3 and 2" if one side is three up with two to play (Federgolf glossary). If the match ends level, under Rule 3 play continues one hole at a time. A player is dormie when ahead by as many holes as remain: at worst they can halve the match.

Pairs formats: foursome, greensome and four-ball

• Foursome. The two partners play a single ball, hitting alternate shots (Rule 22). The tee shot also alternates from one hole to the next, and the team chooses who starts, unless the competition states otherwise.
• Greensome. Both players hit a tee shot, the better one is chosen and play then continues with alternate shots (Federgolf glossary).
• Four-ball (or "4 palle 2 giocatori"). Each player plays their own ball and the pair's score is the better one on the hole (Rule 23). If only one partner completes the hole, that score counts; in match play, if neither completes it, the pair loses the hole.

Louisiana, scramble and shotgun

For Federgolf the louisiana is a team competition in which every shot is played from the position of the best previous shot by a member of the team; in English it is the scramble. The Texas scramble adds the obligation to use a minimum number of tee shots from each player, according to England Golf's description. These formats lie outside the R&A Rules: the rules are set by the competition committee, so read the conditions of each individual event. The shotgun, by contrast, is not a scoring format but a starting format: all the participants start together from different holes (Federgolf glossary).

How they appear in the 2026 fixture lists

The Break Point Golf Club in Pergine Valsugana has lined up fifteen events for 2026 with different formats: singles, louisiana, skills and 6-6-6. Villa Condulmer, at Mogliano Veneto, lists in its October 2026 calendar a singles event, a "4 palle 2 giocatori" and the Pro-Am Renzo Trentin in louisiana for five players. The Golf Club Saluzzo announces for 27 September 2026 a pairs louisiana in shotgun format with a 10:30 am start. At the Moonlight Cup of Puntaldia, the top three net scores in each category of the morning's 9-hole stableford play holes 1, 8 and 9 in the evening in a four-player louisiana.