Side game · 2–4 players
How to play Match Play
Also called: Head-to-head · holes up
Win holes, not strokes. Lowest score takes the hole, ties halve, and the match ends the moment one side leads by more holes than are left.
The rules
- Head to head, or two-person teams playing best ball with four.
- On each hole the lower net score wins the hole. Equal scores halve it.
- The match is scored in holes up or down. A side that leads by more holes than remain has won: 3-up with two to play is "3&2".
- A halved match after eighteen is a push unless you agree a playoff.
- For money, the winner collects the unit; a margin bet pays the unit times the final margin.
A worked example
Setup. $10 match, two players.
- Sam is 2-up through sixteen.
- Hole 17 halves.
Result. Sam wins 2&1, two up with one to play. Casey pays $10.
This is exactly how Bagpipe Golf settles it: hole by hole, zero-sum, no arguing at the 19th.
Variations and house rules
- Presses: when two down, start a second match from that hole to the end. The app supports manual and automatic presses.
- Pay the margin: settle at the unit times holes up rather than a flat unit. Choose it in the game settings.
- Concessions: match play lets you concede putts and holes. Record the conceded score and the app treats it as played.
How it works in the app
- Add Match Play at setup; two players, or four as two teams.
- The live screen shows holes up and the closeout point. When a side clinches, the app marks the match decided and stops counting.
- Settlement shows the final margin and any presses.
Match Play FAQ
- What does 4&3 mean?
- Four holes up with three to play. The match is over on the fifteenth green because the trailing side cannot catch up.
- Do handicaps apply in match play?
- Yes. The higher handicap player gets strokes on the hardest holes by stroke index, usually the full difference between the two course handicaps. The app allocates them.