Ready to Play Match Play?
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Hole by hole, win by win — match play strips golf down to its most direct competition. A double bogey doesn't cost you the round. It only costs you one hole.
Match play is one of golf's two primary formats (the other being stroke play, which is what most tournaments use). Instead of counting your total strokes across the round, match play is decided hole by hole. Win more holes than your opponent, and you win the match.
This distinction changes everything about how the game feels. In stroke play, a triple bogey on hole 4 haunts your scorecard for 18 holes. In match play, a triple bogey on hole 4 just means you lose that one hole. You step to hole 5's tee with a clean slate. The scoreboard says you're 1 down — not that you blew up. That psychological reset is why many golfers prefer match play for betting.
Match play is the backbone of the Ryder Cup, the WGC Match Play, and countless other prestigious events. It's also the scoring engine behind Nassau betting — which is essentially three simultaneous match play contests.
On every hole, you compare net scores (or gross if not using handicaps). The lower score wins the hole. If scores are tied, the hole is "halved" and no one gets credit. The match status is tracked as a running hole count:
The final result is expressed as "3 and 2" — meaning the winner was 3 holes up with only 2 holes left to play. Once the lead exceeds the holes remaining, the match is mathematically over. In casual golf betting, most groups finish all 18 regardless, which is fine.
If the match is tied after 18 holes, it's a "halved" match — typically meaning the bet pushes (no one wins or loses). Some groups play sudden death holes to break the tie; agree on this before you start.
Dormie is one of golf's best words and one of its most misunderstood. A player is dormie when they are up by exactly the number of holes remaining. Being "dormie 3" with 3 holes left means you can't lose — the worst case is the match halves. Dormie only applies to the leader; the trailing player is not dormie, they're "in need of" X holes.
All Square means the match is tied at any point, not just at the start. You'll hear groups announce "we're all square going to 14" — it just means the hole count is even after 13 holes.
Concessions (or "gimmes") are informal agreements where the leading player concedes a short putt to their opponent — they pick up the ball and the hole is considered finished. In friendly match play betting, most groups play with concessions for putts inside two feet. Concessions cannot be retracted once given. There's no equivalent in stroke play, which is one reason match play is often described as more sportsmanlike.
Match play can be played in two configurations that feel very different.
Individual match play (1v1): Two players, competing directly against each other. Clean, simple, and very personal. The classic Ryder Cup singles format. In a foursome, you'd set up two separate 1v1 matches — A vs C and B vs D, for example — each with their own bet.
2v2 Best Ball (also called Four-Ball): Two teams of two. On each hole, each player plays their own ball and the team uses whichever score is lower — the "best ball." The team with the lower best ball score wins the hole. This format is more forgiving because if one partner struggles, their teammate can save the hole. It also creates interesting tactical moments where one player plays aggressively (knowing their partner has a safe score) while the other tries to make birdie.
Best Ball is probably the most popular team format in recreational golf. It's what most groups play when they say "want to play teams?" For a deeper look at how Best Ball compares to Scramble, see Best Ball vs. Scramble explained.
The most common way to bet on match play in a casual foursome is via Nassau — three separate match play contests (front 9, back 9, and overall 18) running simultaneously. The Nassau format applies whether you're playing individual 1v1 or 2v2 Best Ball.
In a 2v2 Nassau, the teams compete in three Best Ball match play contests at once. On every hole, the team with the lower best ball score wins the hole in all three matches (front, back, overall). It sounds complex but feels completely natural after a few holes — you're just playing golf and the scoring sorts itself out.
See the full Nassau guide for how presses work and how to set dollar amounts.
Playing net match play means applying handicap strokes to level the field. The process: calculate each player's Course Handicap for the tees being played, then find the difference between the two players' handicaps. The higher-handicap player gets that many extra strokes, applied to the hardest-rated holes on the scorecard (the Stroke Index).
For example, if player A is a 12 and player B is an 18, player B gets 6 strokes — one on each of the 6 highest-stroke-index holes. On those holes, you subtract one stroke from player B's gross score before comparing. This levels the competition substantially and means a 24-handicapper can genuinely compete against a 6 in match play. Settle Up Golf handles the handicap allocation automatically when you enter player handicaps.
Play the match, not your scorecard. In stroke play, every shot matters. In match play, you should sometimes concede a hole rather than make a big number — take your medicine on a bad drive, make bogey, and reset rather than making a double or triple chasing a recovery that probably won't come off.
Know when to apply pressure. When you're up, let your opponent feel the weight of needing holes. Don't try hero shots — safe, boring pars win matches. When you're down, take more aggressive lines to create birdie opportunities.
Concessions are psychological. Giving your opponent a tricky 4-footer is information — they know you think they'll miss it. Sometimes the sportsman's gift of a 3-footer builds trust; sometimes holding out on that same length putt introduces doubt. Read your match and use this accordingly.
Don't forget you can hole out a conceded putt. Even if your opponent concedes a putt, you can still putt it out — and if it goes in, it's a better score. This matters in formats where the score also counts for something else (like skins on top of a Nassau).
Settle Up Golf tracks every bet, calculates every payout, and tells you exactly who owes what — so you can focus on your game.