What Score Do Pro Golfers Get?

Ever watch a professional golf tournament and wonder how those ridiculously low scores like -15 or -20 are even possible? You’re not alone. This article clears up the mystery by breaking down what scores professional golfers typically shoot, what those numbers actually mean, and what you can learn from them to improve your own game.

Understanding the Baseline: What Is Par?

Before we can understand a professional's score, we have to understand what it's being compared to. In golf, that baseline is "par."

Par is the predetermined number of strokes a highly skilled golfer - an expert - is expected to take to complete a hole. Every golf course is made up of holes with different pars, based mainly on their length:

• Par-3: These are the shortest holes, typically under 250 yards. An expert is expected to hit the green in one shot and take two putts.
• Par-4: These are mid-length holes, usually between 251 and 470 yards. The standard is two shots to reach the green, followed by two putts.
• Par-5: These are the longest holes, over 471 yards. This gives the golfer three shots to reach the green and two putts.

Most 18-hole professional courses are a "par 72," typically consisting of four par-3s, ten par-4s, and four par-5s. Others might be a par 71 or even a par 70. This total par number is the benchmark for a single-round score. Shooting a 72 on a par-72 course is called shooting "even par."

How to Read a Professional Scoreboard

When you watch a tournament on TV, you rarely see scores like 70, 71, or 72.Instead, you see numbers like -2, +1, or -15. This is because pro scores are almost always shown in relation to par. It’s a much faster and more effective way to see who is leading.

Single-Round Scoring Lingo

Here’s a quick guide to what the names for different scores on a hole mean:

• Double Eagle (or Albatross): 3 strokes under par on a single hole (e.g., a 2 on a par-5). Exceedingly rare.
• Eagle: 2 strokes under par (e.g., a 3 on a par-5). A huge momentum boost.
• Birdie: 1 stroke under par (e.g., a 4 on a par-5). Pros make a lot of these.
• Par: Meeting the expected score for the hole (e.g., a 4 on a par-4). A par is never a bad score.
• Bogey: 1 stroke over par (e.g., a 5 on a par-4). Pros try to avoid these at all costs.
• Double Bogey: 2 strokes over par (e.g., a 6 on a a par-4). For amateurs, these are common. For pros, they are round-killers.

Tournament Scoring Explained

Professional tournaments are played over four rounds (four days, typically Thursday through Sunday). A golfer's total score is their cumulative score relative to par over all four rounds.

For example, let's say a player has these four rounds on a par-72 course:* Round 1: Shoots 70 (2-under-par)* Round 2: Shoots 68 (4-under-par)* Round 3: Shoots 73 (1-over-par)* Round 4: Shoots 69 (3-under-par)Their cumulative score is -2 + -4 + +1 + -3 = -8. This is the big number you'll see next to their name on the final Sunday leaderboard.

So, What Score Do Pro Golfers *Actually* Get?

This is the big question. It’s one thing to understand the numbers, but what do the pros really shoot on average? The answer might surprise you.

The PGA Tour Scoring Average

The PGA Tour tracks the official "Scoring Average" for every player over a full season. In a typical recent season, the PGA Tour scoring average will be somewhere around 70.5 strokes on courses with an average par of about 71. So, on average, the typical tour pro shoots about half a stroke under par per round.

Let that sink in. Their "average" day at the office is better than what a good amateur player might hope for in their best-ever round. Players at the very top of the rankings, like Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy, consistently average under 70 strokes per round for an entire year.

Winning Tournament Scores

Shooting the tour average gets you a nice paycheck, but it doesn’t win you trophies. To win a standard PGA Tour event, a player usually has to go much lower.

Winning scores typically fall in the range of -15 to -25 under par for four rounds. On easier courses with perfect weather, a "birdie-fest" can lead to a winning score approaching -30. For a major championship like the U.S. Open, known for its brutal course setups, the winning score might be closer to -5 or even even par.

Making the Cut

To continue playing on the weekend and get paid, a player must "make the cut." After the first two rounds, the field is cut to roughly the top 65 players (and ties). The "cut line" score can vary wildly depending on the course and conditions. It often hovers around even par or -1, but can be as high as +4 or +5 at a very difficult tournament. Missing the cut means they go home with nothing.

PGA Tour Pros vs. Regular Golfers: The Real Difference

Pros hit it farther and straighter, for sure. But the real difference between a Tour pro and a great amateur isn't just distance. It's about damage control and extreme consistency.

• Avoiding Big Numbers: The scorecard of a scratch golfer might have a few birdies, lots of pars, and a few "blow-up" holes - a double or triple bogey. The scorecard of a pro has more birdies and almost zero blow-up holes. They are masters of "bogey avoidance." If they get into trouble, they take their medicine, get the ball back into play, and try to salvage a bogey at worst.
• Scrambling & Short Game: "Strokes Gained" statistics tell the true story. Pros gain the most on the field with their unbelievable ability to get the ball up and down from off the green. When they miss a green, they fully expect to make par. Their chipping, pitching, and bunker play are what truly save their scores.
• Course Management: A pro and their caddie build a strategy for every single hole. They know which pins to attack and which shots to play safely toward the middle of the green. They play the percentages and rarely make an unforced mental error. For example, when faced with a tough shot from the trees, an amateur might try a one-in-a-million Gero shot. A pro will execute a simple punch-out to the fairway, confident they can still save par with a stellar wedge and putt.

What About the LPGA Tour?

The skill on display at an LPGA event is just as incredible. While LPGA courses are set up to be slightly shorter than PGA Tour courses, the scoring is equally impressive.

In a typical season, the LPGA scoring average is usually around 71.5 to 72 strokes on courses with a par of about 72. This means the average player is right around even par for the year. Just like the men's tour, the top players separate themselves with exceptional consistency. Players like Nelly Korda and Jin Young Ko regularly post scoring averages under 70 strokes. Winning scores are also comparable, often needing to be well into the double-digits under par to claim a victory.

Final Thoughts

Professional golf scores are a reflection of an incredible combination of power, precision, and - most importantly - strategic thinking. The best golfers in the world average scores under par for an entire year, avoid catastrophic holes, and navigate the course with a discipline that most amateurs can learn a lot from.

This level of on-course strategy is one of the biggest, yet least-visible, gaps between pros and amateurs. Pros have a caddie to give them a second opinion, confirm yardages, and talk them out of risky decisions. To bridge this gap, we've developed a tool to put that same expert knowledge right in your pocket. With your personal AI caddie, Caddie AI, you can get instant guidance for any shot. You can snap a photo of a tricky lie in the rough or a bunker and get a smart recommendation on how to play it, or get a simple, strategic game plan for an intimidating tee shot, a lot like the advice a pro would receive.