How to Read Golf Match Play Scores

Walking off the first green after making two pars, your opponent turns to you and says, We're all square. If you've only ever played golf by counting your total strokes, this moment can be confusing. Match play scoring is a completely different language, but once you learn the basics, you’ll discover it’s one of the most exciting and strategic ways to compete on the course. This guide will teach you everything you need to know to read, understand, and score a match play event with confidence.

What is Match Play? (And How It’s Different from Stroke Play)

Before we can talk about the score, we need to be clear about the game itself. Most of the golf you watch and play is probably stroke play. In stroke play, your total number of shots over 18 holes is what matters. You are competing against everyone else in the field, and a 10 on one hole can wreck your entire round.

Match play is completely different. It's a head-to-head battle where you compete against a single opponent on a hole-by-hole basis. The goal is simple: win more holes than your opponent. The lowest score on a given hole wins that hole. If you both make the same score, the hole is "halved," meaning it's a tie, and nobody wins it.

This fundamental difference is what makes match play so dramatic:

• You can have a bad hole without derailing the match. If you make a triple bogey and your opponent makes a par, you only lose one hole. In stroke play, that would cost you three shots.
• The momentum can shift in an instant. Winning a few holes in a row can completely change the dynamic of the match.
• Strategy is everything. Sometimes, you’re not just trying to make a par. You’re playing against your opponent’s position. If they hit their tee shot into the trees, you might play the hole more conservatively, knowing a simple par will likely win the hole.

Because the objective is to win holes, not count total strokes, the scoring language is unique. Let's break it down.

The Core Language of Match Play Scores

Instead of saying "I'm shooting 75 and you're at 78," match play scores tell you the state of the match itself. The score is always in relation to who is leading and by how many holes.

1. “Up” and “Down”

This is the most basic building block. The score reflects how many more holes you have won than your opponent.

• If you have won two more holes than your opponent, you are “2 Up.”
• If your opponent has won three more holes than you, you are “3 Down.”

The score tells you the current difference in holes won. If you are 2 Up and you lose the next hole, the score becomes 1 Up.

2. “All Square” (A/S)

This simply means the match is tied. You have won the same number of holes as your opponent. At the beginning of the match, before any holes are played, the score is All Square. If you are 1 Up and your opponent wins the next hole, the match goes back to All Square.

3. "Halved"

A "halved" hole is a hole where both you and your opponent record the same score. For example, you both make par 4s. A halved hole is a tie, so no one wins or loses the hole. After a halved hole, the overall match score remains exactly the same as it was before the hole started. If you were 2 Up going into the hole and you halve it, you are still 2 Up heading to the next tee.

4. “Dormie”

This is the term that often trips people up, but the concept is straightforward. A player is "dormie" when their lead is equal to the number of holes remaining.

Example: You are 3 Up with only 3 holes left to play (the 16th, 17th, and 18th). You are now "dormie."

This means your opponent cannot win the match. The best they can do is tie the match by winning the remaining three holes to bring the score back to All Square. If you win or halve just one of those remaining holes, you win the match. Becoming "dormie" is a powerful position to be in, the pressure is completely on your opponent.

How to Keep Track of a Match Play Score

Keeping score is far simpler than in stroke play. You only need to track the outcome of each hole. A standard scorecard works perfectly. In the box for each hole, you don't need to write in your score of 4 or 5. Instead, you can use a simple system.

Let's say you're keeping score for yourself against your opponent, Sam. You can use these symbols in your scorecard's row:

• "+" if you won the hole.
• "0" if you halved the hole.
• "-" if you lost the hole.

At the bottom of the card, or in any empty space, you just keep a running tally of the match status.

Step-by-Step Scoring Example:

Let's follow a match between You and Sam for the first six holes:

• Hole 1: You make a par, Sam makes a bogey. You win the hole.
  Your Scorecard Mark: +
  Match Score: You are 1 Up.
• Hole 2: You both make par. The hole is halved.
  Your Scorecard Mark: 0
  Match Score: Remains 1 Up.
• Hole 3: Sam makes a birdie, you make a par. You lose the hole.
  Your Scorecard Mark: -
  Match Score: The match is now All Square.
• Hole 4: Sam makes another birdie, you make par. You lose the hole again.
  Your Scorecard Mark: -
  Match Score: You are now 1 Down.
• Hole 5: You win the hole.
  Your Scorecard Mark: +
  Match Score: Back to All Square.
• Hole 6: You win this hole as well.
  Your Scorecard Mark: +
  Match Score: You are now 1 Up.

Just by looking at your scorecard (+, 0, -, -, +, +), you can see one "0" (no change) and an equal number of "+" and "-" pairs that cancel each other out, with one “+” leftover. That's how you know you're 1 Up.

Understanding the Final Result

One of the most exciting aspects of match play is that the match can end at any point. It doesn't always go the full 18 holes. A match is over once a player is "Up" by more holes than there are left to play.

An Early Finish: The "X & Y" Format

This is the most common way match play scores are reported, and it simply describes when the match ended. Let's say you are playing a match and after the 15th hole, you are 4 Up over your opponent.

With only three holes remaining (16, 17, 18), it's impossible for your opponent to catch up. They are down by four holes, but can only win a maximum of three more. The match is over!

The final score would be announced as: "4 & 3" (pronounced "Four and Three").

This reads as: The winning player was up by 4 holes with only 3 holes left to play.

Let's try another one. If a match ends on the 17th green because you are 2 Up, the score would be "2 & 1" (you were 2 Up with 1 hole remaining).

Going the Distance

If the match is still being played on the 18th hole, it means the lead is very small (either All Square, 1 Up, or 1 Down).

• If a player is 1 Up going into the 18th hole and then wins the hole, the final score becomes 2 Up (since the full 18 holes were played).
• If you are 1 Up and you halve the 18th, you win the match 1 Up.
• If the match is All Square after 18 holes, it usually goes into a sudden-death playoff, and the first player to win a hole wins the match. The final score is often recorded as being won on a specific hole, such as "Won on the 19th hole" or "Won on the 20th hole."

A Note on Concessions

A unique part of match play is the "concession." You can "concede" a putt to your opponent if you feel it's short enough that they won't miss it. To speed up play, you might say, "that's good," which means you're giving them the ahot. They pick up their ball and record the score they would have made if they'd holed the putt.

You can even concede an entire hole if your opponent is in a great position and you're in a terrible one. For instance, if they stick their approach to two feet and you’ve just hit two shots into the bunker, you might just say, "I concede the hole" to save time and move on.

Final Thoughts

Match play scoring shifts the focus from your aggregate number of strokes to the direct, hole-by-hole competition against your opponent. Understanding terms like "All Square," "Up," "Down," "Dormie," and final scores like "4 & 3" is all you need to follow along and feel like a seasoned competitor.

Once you are comfortable with the scoring format, your focus can turn to strategy, which is where things get really fun. Thinking your way around the course - knowing when to play conservatively and protect a lead versus when to be aggressive and press a advantage - is what separates good match play competitors. Our mission with Caddie AI is to give you that strategic advantage right in your pocket. Having an expert opinion on call can help you evaluate a tough on-course situation, choose the right club, or develop a smarter plan for a pivotal hole, giving you the confidence to make the shots that win matches.