How To Fill Out A Golf Scorecard? [Easy Steps]

Filling a golf scorecard out is one of the most important things you have to do when playing a golf competition. Keeping track of your score and ensuring it’s correctly filled out is crucial if you want to be able to compete and win.

There’s nothing worse than playing your best in a competition at your golf club, only to be fined penalty strokes or even disqualified for not completing the scorecard properly.

Fortunately, you don’t have to be a golf expert to mark a card in golf. In this article, we’ll take a look at what goes into completing golf scorecards. Making sure that the next time you’re out playing in an event, you’ll get everything properly completed and ready to pick up that 1st place prize.

How To Fill Out A Golf Scorecard?

Why Do Golfers Fill Out A Scorecard?

Golfers usually mark a scorecard because it’s the best way to keep track of golf scores. Playing 18 holes of golf can take a good few hours, so trying to remember what score you made on the 2nd could prove a little tricky. By marking the card after each hole played, it ensures the correct score is included for what you take on each hole.

Marking a scorecard in golf is also important because it’s proof that a score has been made by a player and can be used for a competition or for handicap purposes.

When talking about filling in a golf scorecard, a key point to mention is that in a competition, you will be marking the card of your playing partner and they will be marking yours.

By marking someone else’s scorecard, you’re effectively confirming what score they have made over the round and making sure that all scores are correct.

The problem is, especially if prizes and accolades are on the line, some people might decide to get a little creative with their scoring. Marking a 6, when they actually made a 7.

So by marking someone else’s card, you can make sure that what was scored, is actually written down.

Scorecard – Before The Round

Here’s an example of a golf scorecard which is used to keep track of a round of golf. Although not all scorecards will look like this, they will all have the same information which allows players to fill in the key details about a round.

So before you even tee off, there’s a few things you need to fill out on your golf scorecard card. Let’s have a look at what you need to write on the card before your round.

Players

At the top of the card, they’ll be a section for the players competing in the group. This will usually be broken down into Player A, B and C. Usually, when marking a card, it will only be for one person. Therefore, add your name to the Player A section.

For the markers section, add the name of the person who will be marking your card for the round.

Handicap Index

Next up, you’ve got a box for the player’s handicap index. This is basically the exact number given to you to help determine how many shots you get in a round.

Course Handicap

You’ve then got the box for your course handicap. This is a number that takes into account your handicap index, as well as the course and slope rating of the particular course you’re playing that day. This number gives a better representation of your handicap as different golf courses can vary in length and difficulty, so it takes all these factors into consideration.

Playing Handicap

The final box relates to the playing handicap. This uses your course handicap and usually takes 95% of it. It will give a playing handicap for the competition and the total strokes received.

Competition/Event

In the competition or event section, you’ll need to add the name of the competition in which you’re playing in. This could be the ‘Monthly Medal’ or the golf ‘Club Championship’ as an example.

Date

Next, in the appropriate box, fill out the date on which the event or the round is being played.

Tees

Finally, for the top section of the card, you’ll need to mark which tee box you are playing from. Whether it’s the red tees, yellow tees, white tees, blue tee boxes, or any other type of tee the golf course has.

In our example, we’re playing off the white’s so have ticked the box for white tees.

Scorecard – During The Round

Once you’ve filled out your card pre-round, you should then hand your card to the playing partner that will be marking it.

During the round is when the bulk of the scorecard will be filled out. The easiest way to do this is to write the score down after each hole has been completed. This makes it easier to keep track and avoids any confusion later on in the round.

Hole Numbers/Names

First up on the row is the hole number, which sometimes will be accompanied by a hole name as well. This number, of course, relates to the hole that is being played, starting from the 1st all the way through to the 18th. This number will help you identify the other relevant information that is associated with that certain hole.

Markers Score

The next column in the row is the markers score. This is the score of the person who is marking the card. Therefore, if you’re marking somebodies scorecard, then you need to put what score you got on a certain hole in this column.

The markers score is included on the card because it lets golfers cross-check hole scores at the end of the round. Each player can confirm which score they got and check that it matches up with what the other player wrote down.

Tee Box Yardages

The next three columns show the hole yardages from the various tee boxes. This helps players know to determine how far each hole is such as the yellow or white yards.

Par

The following column on the card lists the Par for each hole. This is basically the expected number of strokes required for this particular hole, which can sometimes vary depending on the tees.

For example, a hole might be a par 5 from the white tees, but a par 4 from the yellow tees. If this is the case, the column will show a split of ‘5/4’.

Stroke Index

The Stroke Index or S.I. column is a number that shows the difficulty of a hole when compared to the other 17 holes. The hardest hole on golf courses will be indicated as ‘1’, whereas the easiest hole will be ’18’.

This number is used to work out handicap strokes, and the net score for a player on a hole, as well as the Stableford points if it’s a Stableford competition. This could be one shot, two shots, or even three shots

For example, a golfer with a handicap of 11 would get a shot on the S.I. holes 1-11.

On our card above, the player has a gross score of 6 on the 1st, but they get a shot as it’s S.I. 8. Therefore the net score is 5, which would be worth 2 Stableford points. If they had made a birdie, the net score would’ve been an eagle 3.

Scores

The three columns marked A, B, and C is used for writing the actual gross score for a player on that hole. In most cases, the marker will only be marking one person’s score so column ‘A’ is used.

Some cards will also have a net column for marking the net scores. This card example doesn’t have a net column so the marker would put the net score into either the ‘B’ or ‘C’ column.

Points

The points column is specifically there for when playing a Stableford competition such as a 4BBB Stableford. Stableford is a golf format that uses handicap to work out a certain amount of points depending on what was scored on a hole.

The points system goes from 0 to 5 and takes into account the number of shots a golfer has on a hole. The amount of points is therefore based on net scores.

A net albatross (3 under) is worth 5 points, a net eagle (2 under) is 4 points, and a net birdie is 3 points. Then a net par is worth 2 points and a bogey is just 1 point. Anything higher than a net bogey, such as a double bogey doesn’t carry any points.

Scorecard – After The Round

As you come off the final hole having just shot the round of your life, it’s time to finalise the card and make sure you’ve got everything correct.

Out/In

After the round, add up the Marker, Player A, and Points columns. The total column of the front nine holes will be the ‘Out’ amount and the back nine holes will be the ‘In’ total. Add these numbers together and you’ll get the total number of strokes for all the holes in the round.

Handicap

Once you’ve got your gross total score and Stableford points total, you’ll need to add your handicap into the box and then take that amount off the gross total for a net score.

Sign

Once you’ve finished adding up the totals and have worked out the net score, you’ll need to sign the card at the bottom in the ‘Markers Signature’ section.

This is to show that you were happy with the score and you’re confirming that the score is correct.

You’ll then get your card from your partner and check that it is correct. If you believe the scorecard might be wrong, you’ll need to check with your partner to confirm.

Then, once you’re happy with the card, sign in the section ‘Players Signature’. And there you have it, a fully completed golf scorecard.

It’s then up to you to get your card into the competition secretary or the scoring computer.

Final Thoughts

Filling out a golf scorecard correctly is hugely important when you’re playing a round of golf. just a small error could result in you or your partner receiving penalty shots or even disqualification from a competition.

As a general rule of thumb, forgetting to sign your card or signing for a score that is lower than what was actually scored is how golfers get disqualified from rounds. If you sign for a higher score (net score not Stableford points), then this score will be taken rather than your actual score that was lower.

Although it may seem a little confusing at first, once you get the hang of marking a card, it will feel like riding a bike. So get out on the golf course and get practicing.