The most commonly played formula in golf is Stroke Play. It is what we are used to seeing on television and playing in club competitions, and it is actually the only possible formula when there are a hundred players on the course competing against each other.
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You play against the course, shot by shot, hole by hole, and at the end of the round the only thing that matters is the total: whoever hits the fewest, wins. Things change when you face each other in Match Play: you play holes, one against the other and whoever wins the hole scores a point.
We are always on the same fairways doing the same thing, but the strategy changes completely: we no longer play against the course, it doesn't matter how many shots we hit, just one less than our opponent. If he hits the ball into the water in front of the green of a Par 3, why should we risk making the same mistake? We play before the lake in safety to hit the second shot from where he will play the third.
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We dont need to make birdies: the bogey will most likely be enough to win the hole, and the fact that the scorecard says that the hole must be closed in three shots is of no importance. Some might turn up their noses at this statement, but it is the way in which the direct confrontation should be played.
Golf, formulas
Match Play is the formula of choice for little games between friends, but there are other unconventional and very fun formulas that require even different strategies. The Usa e Disposta requires very careful planning, before the start of the match.
It is played over an extension of five or six holes (about 10-12 shots between tee-shots and shots from the fairway) and every time a club is used, it can no longer be used, with the exception of the putter. I will probably reserve the driver for the longest par 4, while on the par 5 I will play an iron from the tee while still having the possibility of hitting the third to the green; if I am 20 or 30 meters short, rather than burning a wedge, I should hit the putter to put the ball on the green.
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If a player runs out of clubs before the reset hole, where all the clubs are returned to the bag and you start over, he can take one back at the cost of a penalty stroke. In the Bunker Game the score does not count: at each hole you have to hit the ball into a bunker around the green and play a shot from the sand; if unfortunately the ball lands on the green, you have to throw it into the bunker and play from there.
If you take the bunker in regulation it is 2 points, if you do an up&down it is 1 point, if you hole out from the bunker it is 3 points; if you do not come out of the bunker, you fly over the green or you go out and three putts, -1.
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It's a fun way to play and a great workout not only to practice sand exits, but also to improve the accuracy of fairway shots: hitting a bunker is much more difficult than hitting the green (the bunker is much smaller). Bingo-Bango-Bongo is another format where the score doesn't count for anything.
On each hole there are three points up for grabs: one for the first to put the ball on the green, once everyone is on the green a point for the person closest to the hole, and one for the first to hole out. In this formula too the strategy is very different from a conventional game: after my opponent's drive, I can decide to play a 3-wood to be the first to hit the green and earn a point, and if I succeed his game will be to miss the green and then approach and try to put the ball closer than mine. This formula works well for two players, but becomes even more fun and strategic if played with three or four.
