Golf games
Rules and explanation onlyScotch
Also called 6-Point Scotch, Scotch points game.
Scotch is a four-player, two-versus-two points game with six points on every hole: two for the low individual ball, two for the low team total, one for the ball closest to the pin once the approaches are in, and one for any birdie. The pair with the most points after 18 wins.
- Players
- Exactly 4, two pairs, in one group
- Points per hole
- 6: low ball 2, low total 2, closest to the pin 1, birdie 1
- Scoring basis
- Net for low ball and low total; birdie is usually gross
- Ties
- A tied category is split or unawarded, by agreement
- Not to be confused with
- Scotch foursomes, which is an alternate-shot format
How Scotch works
Scotch is played by two pairs in the same group, everyone playing their own ball. The name is also used for an alternate-shot format (Scotch foursomes); the points game here is a different thing, with six points available on every hole.
The two big categories are the ones a normal four-ball already tracks. Two points go to the side with the lowest individual net score on the hole and two points go to the side with the lower combined net total. A side that has the best ball and the best total takes four points before the small categories are considered.
The two single points are what make Scotch its own game. One point goes to the side whose ball finishes closest to the hole once all four approach shots have been played; groups usually restrict this to balls on the green in regulation. One point goes to a side for a birdie, and in the common form every birdie on the hole earns a point, so a pair that both birdie collects two.
The umbrella
When one side takes all six points on a hole it is called an umbrella and the hole is doubled to twelve. That is the swing that decides most rounds, because it needs the low ball, the low total, the proximity point and at least one birdie all at once, and the other pair only has to win a single category to prevent it.
Groups that want a quieter game play without the umbrella and simply total the six points a hole. Either way the pair with the most points after 18 holes wins, and any money is usually paid on the difference between the two totals.
Ties and edge cases
Categories tie often. When both sides share the low ball, most groups split the two points one each; the low total ties are handled the same way. A tied proximity point (two balls the same distance) is either measured again or left unawarded. Agree the rule on the first tee, because the umbrella depends on it: a split category can never be part of a sweep.
A birdie made by a player whose ball was not the closest still earns its point, which is why a pair can lose the proximity point and still win the hole 4 to 2.
What Parful does
Parful does not score Scotch. The game is registered in the games catalog as unsupported so that the picker can never offer it. Four of the six points can be worked out from the group scorecard, but the proximity point needs a closest-to-the-hole call on every hole, and the umbrella depends on it. Parful captures a closest-once-all-on fact for Bingo Bango Bongo, not the approach-shot measurement Scotch needs.
The rules on this page are the common form of the game. When Parful builds Scotch, the ruleset will be ratified first and this page will change to describe exactly what the resolver does.
Worked example
A worked example: three holes
Ana and Ben play Cal and Dee. Net scores are shown. Closest to the pin is called by the group once all four approaches are on the green.
| Hole | Ana | Ben | Cal | Dee | Low ball (2) | Low total (2) | Closest (1) | Birdie (1) | Hole points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (par 4) | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | Tied 4, split 1 each | Cal and Dee 8 beat 9 | Dee | None | Ana and Ben 1, Cal and Dee 4 |
| 2 (par 5) | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | Ana 4 | Ana and Ben 9 beat 11 | Ana | Ana (gross 4) | Umbrella: Ana and Ben 12 |
| 3 (par 3) | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | Cal 2 | Ana and Ben 6 tie 6, split 1 each | Cal | Cal (gross 2) | Ana and Ben 1, Cal and Dee 5 |
- On hole 2 Ana had the low ball, the low total, the closest approach and a birdie, so all six points went one way and the hole doubled to 12.
- On hole 3 Cal took five of the six points but Ana and Ben tied the low total, which kept one point and blocked a second umbrella.
Common variants
- No umbrella
- The six points are totaled without the doubling. The game becomes a steady accumulation rather than a swing game. Parful does not score this variant either.
- Proximity in regulation only
- The closest-to-the-pin point is only available to a ball on the green in the regulation number of strokes. A chip that finishes nearest does not count. This is the most common reading of the rule.
- Scotch foursomes
- A different game with the same name: partners play one ball in alternate shots. It is an outing format, not a points overlay. See the foursomes page for how Parful runs it.