The simplest, most traditional format: count every stroke and the lowest total wins. Also called medal play, it's how professional tournaments are scored. There are no points and no side games — you just add up the card.
Play gross (scratch) to count raw strokes with no adjustment — a level field when abilities are similar. Play net to subtract each player's handicap strokes, distributed hole by hole by Stroke Index, so mixed-ability groups compete fairly. How handicap strokes work →
Standings use the golfer's language of score to par: −2 is two under, E is even, +3 is three over. Each player's running total and how many holes they've completed — thru 14, or F when finished — sit alongside, so a mid-round leaderboard reads just like a broadcast.
Play solo for an individual leaderboard, or in teams — a team's score is the combined strokes of its members, and the team with the fewest total leads. The scoreboard updates live as scores come in.
Once every hole is in, completing the round unlocks the Summary and Stats — the winner and margin, honours like low nine, easiest and hardest holes and biggest comeback, plus charts of the race to par and hole-by-hole scoring.
Set up a round in this format and share the link with your group — live scoring, free, no account needed.