Low scratch/net · Stroke¶
What it is¶
Low scratch/net is the simplest team aggregate: everyone plays their own ball for a full eighteen, and the team's score is all of those rounds added together. Nobody's card is dropped — every hole each player makes counts toward the team total, so the side wins by depth rather than by carrying its weakest player. "Scratch/net" means the result is recognised two ways at once: low scratch rewards the lowest combined gross, low net the lowest combined net after handicaps.
How scoring works¶
- Every team member plays their own ball and records a gross score on every hole, completing a normal individual card for the round.
- Each player's net is their gross adjusted for the handicap strokes they receive, which fall on the hardest holes by stroke index.
- The team total is the sum of every member's score across the round — all cards count, none are dropped.
- The lowest combined total wins: lowest combined gross takes the scratch prize, lowest combined net takes the net prize.
- Level teams are separated on countback — the better back nine, then the last six holes, then the last three, then the final hole.
Worked example¶
One team of three — Player A, Player B, and Player C — over three holes, net scores shown:
| Hole | Par | Player A | Player B | Player C | Team (all count) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 13 |
| 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 |
| 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 16 |
| Total | 12 | 15 | 12 | 39 |
The team total is 39 — every player's score adds in, whether it was their best hole or their worst. Player B's heavier card is not dropped; in low scratch/net the whole side has to score well, not just the front runners.
When to use it¶
Best when you want every player to matter all the way round, with no hiding behind a teammate's good hole. It runs gross and net side by side, so a scratch team and a higher-handicap team can both win something from the same round. A group seats up to four players; larger sides simply play across more groups and their cards add into the one team total.
Variations¶
- Scratch, net, or both. Award the scratch prize, the net prize, or run the two together as the standard does.
- Best N to count. Some events count only the best two or three cards in the team rather than every one — a gentler version that forgives one weak round.
- For the head-to-head team format, see Team Match Play; for a per-hole team count, see Irish rumble.
Last updated: 2026-05-07