Picking the right format for your outing

Quick answer. Pick the format you could explain to the group on the first tee in one breath. For a mixed crowd where everyone plays their own ball, Stroke Play or Stableford. For a charity day with teams and one ball, Scramble. For two golfers who want a duel, Match Play. The choice sits on the first page of Create Event, under Scoring Format, and each card has a one-line explanation.

Who can do this: an Admin or an Organizer makes the event and picks the format. Match Play's bracket is the exception, and only an Admin can build it.

Before you start

Know three things about your day: how many golfers you expect, whether they play alone or in teams, and how far apart their skill is. The questions below use those three. This page only helps you choose. Each format has its own article that says how it scores, linked at the end of its line.

The steps

1. Open the page. Press Events in the left menu, then Create Event. The first page says STEP 1 OF 4 and Event Details. Set up your event in four steps walks all four pages.
2. Find the question that sounds like your day. Then press the card with that name under Scoring Format.
   • "Everyone plays their own ball and I want one clear winner." Choose Stroke Play. The card says "Lowest total strokes wins". Stroke play: gross and net
   • "My golfers are all different levels, and I do not want one bad hole to ruin someone's day." Choose Stableford. The card says "Players earn points per hole based on score vs par. Higher points rank higher." Stableford
   • "It is a charity day. Teams, one ball, and everyone should be able to help." Choose Scramble. The card says "Players sign up as a team. Teams record one score per hole — lowest team score wins." A box called Team event setup then asks Players per team: 2, 3 or 4. How a scramble scores
   • "I want teams, but everyone plays their own ball." Choose Best Ball. The card says "Each player enters individual scores. Team uses the best player score per hole." Best ball and Chapman
   • "Pairs who alternate shots." Choose Chapman. The card says "Teams of 2. Both tee off, swap balls for the second shot, then pick one and alternate to the hole." It is on the same page as Best Ball: Best ball and Chapman
   • "I want golfers to go head to head and the winners to move on." Choose Match Play. The card says "Head-to-head results with W/L/T standings. Stroke totals are not used." You build a bracket from 3 to 32 golfers. Match play
   • "Every hole should be its own little prize." Choose Skins. The card says "Players enter normal scores. Back9Ops calculates skins winners per hole." Skins
   • "A small group, three to six, who like a points game." Choose Wolf. The card says "3 to 6-player hole-by-hole points game. Back9Ops calculates Wolf points." Wolf
   • "Two teams against each other." Choose Ryder Cup. The card says "Two teams battle across Foursomes, Four-Ball, and Singles matches." See Run a Ryder Cup style event.
3. Read the note. Several of the cards put a short note under the grid once you press them. Choose Scramble and it reads "Scramble format. Golfers register as a team and record one shared score per hole — lowest team score wins. Set players per team below; you (or the captains who sign up) build the teams."
4. Decide about handicaps. Under Handicap Setup you choose No handicap (gross only) or Use player handicaps. Scramble also offers Use team handicaps. Handicaps in plain words explains what each does.
5. Add side games, if you want them. The box called Optional side games says Closest-to-the-Pin and Longest-Drive are picked per hole, so you add them after you create the event, with Side Games on a round. Run contests: closest to the pin and more shows how. The same box lets you switch on Skins as a side game while you create the event.
6. Press Continue. The next page is Course & Dates.

What you should see

Take a Saturday outing with 24 golfers, from a 4 handicap to a 28. Stroke Play works, but the 28 handicap may be out of it by the fifth hole. Stableford keeps all 24 in it, because a blown hole costs only that hole's points. If the day is a fundraiser and the 28 handicap brought a client, Scramble gives each foursome one score and one ball, and everyone hits shots that count.

On Create Event the page shows nine cards in a grid. The one you pressed has a check mark, and the others stay plain.

If it goes wrong

• I picked the wrong card. On the first page, press the one you want. The check mark moves. The page says "Everything can be changed later."
• My golfers want teams but I picked Stroke Play. Press Best Ball or Scramble before you go on. The team formats ask you to build teams before scoring.
• I do not see Closest to the Pin as a format. It is not a format. It is a side game on a round, so you add it after you create the event.
• I chose Ryder Cup and the handicap choice is gone. That is on purpose. The page says "Ryder Cup handicaps are set on the next step. After you create the event, open Set Up Teams & Sessions and switch Net Scoring (USGA allowances) on or off — it's on by default." Run a Ryder Cup style event shows that step.
• I cannot decide. Choose Stroke Play. It is the card that is selected when the page opens, and every golfer already knows how it works.

Director's tip

Say the format out loud to someone who is not a golfer. If you need more than two sentences, pick a simpler format. Your golfers will thank you at the first tee.

Related

• Set up your event in four steps
• Stroke play: gross and net
• How a scramble scores
• Best ball and Chapman
• Stableford
• Skins
• Wolf
• Match play
• Handicaps in plain words

Still stuck?

Email support@back9ops.com and tell us how many golfers you expect, whether they play alone or in teams, and the format you are leaning toward.