Fun Types of Golf Play To Try
Here you are on a beautiful Jack Nicklaus designed golf course at The Peninsula on the Indian River Bay, soaking in the majestic beauty of your surroundings. Maybe you live here and play all the time, perhaps you’re interested in finding a second home or possibly it’s just a visit.
Either way, you’re experiencing the definition of luxury living. Golf may be one of your passions, in which case this course will be a great test of your skill, but even if you’re just a casual player, there are ways to make the game of golf fun for everyone.
At The Peninsula on the Indian River Bay, it’s important you have an unforgettable experience. With that in mind, here are some ideas on types of golf competition to try out on this magnificent Jack Nicklaus course!
Stroke Play
If you’ve ever picked up a club, you know what this means. The most common, traditional form of golf competition (including at the professional level) is stroke play. Rules are straight forward: who can put the golf ball in the hole in the fewest strokes in relation to par on each hole, and therefore, added up over the course of 18 holes? Whichever player finishes with the lowest number of strokes wins!
Match Play
Another popular style of golf is match play, which pairs players — or teams — against each other with each hole being a standalone competition. Whichever pair or team finished with the lowest stroke total wins the hole, regardless of the number of strokes. If both teams complete the hole in an equal number of strokes, the hole is tied or “halved.” Whatever pairing wins the most holes is the winner.
Foursome
A popular form of play in large tournaments at the amateur level where players are grouped in “foursomes”, this style is played between two players in partnership, playing one ball hit alternatively. One teammate tees of on odd numbered holes, the other on even holes, and trade off strokes until the hole is completed. This style can fall under both stroke play and match play depending on what’s agreed upon beforehand.
Four Ball
Much like foursomes, this type of competition is team-oriented, but instead of alternating shots, the pairing each plays his or her own ball and the better score of the two counts as the team’s score.
Stableford
This variation of stroke play can often be found in amateur tournaments in which a point system is awarded to each stroke in relation to par. For example, if a player scores more than one over par (a double bogey or worse), they don’t receive a point. If they bogey, it’s one point. Par is worth two points and so on. The winner is by the highest point-getter after 18 holes.
Scramble
Usually confused as “best-ball”, a scramble is a style of golf in which teammates (of two or four) each hit strokes, but choose the better of the two or four shots and play their next stroke from that best, previous shot. So each player whose shot wasn’t deemed “best” picks the ball up and places it with a scorecard’s width of the spot of the chosen, “best” shot.
Texas Scramble
A slight variation of the scramble style of competition, the rules are exactly the same as a scramble, however, each of the four players must have one of their drives used at least once in the round. This prevents the stronger players from carrying the team if a weaker or newer golfer is in the group.
Skins
Most popular in circles of golfers who like to bet money on a hole-to-hole basis, skins is a type of match play in which each hole is awarded a certain amount of money (or points in friendlier games) and whichever pairing or team wins the hole — again by having the lower score no matter the actual stroke count — wins the money or points for the hole.
If the hole is tied (“halved”), then neither team or player wins the money or points and instead the value carries over to the next hole. If this continues for multiple holes, the value increasingly grows sort of like a growing pot in a game of poker.
Greensome
Tweaking the rules of foursome slightly, this golf competition style requires each teammate to make a tee shot and then select which one they want to use. Whoever’s shot was not selected then has to play the next shot and all subsequent even-numbered shots for the hole, while the other teammate then shoots all odd-numbered strokes until the hole is completed.
Patsome
A fun combination of several styles of golf competition, the first six holes are competed with four-ball rules, the following six with greensome rules and the last six in foursome style. The final count of strokes in calculated as it is in foursome.
String
This style of golf is a good one for weaker or newer golfers to the game. Each player gets a string of a predetermined length in which they can use to improve bad lies by moving the ball the length of the string. Usually, the length of the string is determined by the players handicap (longer string for worse players), but sometimes it can be the same length for all.
Flag Tournaments
Perhaps the rarest form of golf competition are flag tournaments. Each player is given a small flag and permitted a number of strokes equal to par (plus two or three of their handicap). When the player runs out of strokes, they must plant the flag where the ball landed on the final stroke. Whoever was furthest wins the hole. Again, this is generally for players new to the game who can still enjoy the game without stressing about high stroke counts and finishing every hole.
Play at The Peninsula on the Indian River Bay Today!
The Peninsula on the Indian River Bay is perhaps the best golf course in the state of Delaware, and one of the top courses in the region. Come play the 72-par Jack Nicklaus designed course or purchase a home and play the exceptional course every day if you choose. Either way, contact Insight Homes today!