Game
Parful runs thisScotch
Also called 6-Point Scotch, Six Point Scotch.
Scotch is a four-player game in two pairs 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 all are on the green, and one for fewest putts. Most points over the round wins.
At a glance
- Players
- Exactly 4, two pairs, one group
- Points per hole
- 6 at most: 2 + 2 + 1 + 1
- Low ball
- 2 points for the single lowest score
- Low team total
- 2 points for the lower pair total
- Closest and putts
- 1 point each, from the group card
- Tied category
- Unawarded, so a hole can be worth less than 6
On this page8
How Scotch works
Four golfers split into two pairs and everyone plays their own ball. Each hole is worth up to six points, handed out in four separate contests, and a pair can win some and lose others on the same hole.
Two points go to the single lowest score on the hole. Two more go to the pair with the lower combined total. One point goes to whoever is closest to the pin once every ball is on the green, which rewards the approach rather than the drive. The last point goes to the pair with the fewest putts.
This is not the alternate-shot game some clubs call Scotch or Scotch foursomes. That is a playing format where a pair shares one ball. Scotch here is a points game where everyone plays their own.
What happens on a tie
A tied category is not awarded to anyone. If both pairs have a four as their lowest ball, nobody takes the low-ball points, and the hole is simply worth less than six.
That is a deliberate choice rather than the common habit of splitting a tied point in half. Splitting would put the only fractions anywhere in Parful into this one game, and an unawarded point is honest about a hole neither side won. The same rule governs Better Ball and Aggregate, the other pairs points game.
Try it
Can we play Scotch in our format?
Derived from the same compatibility rules the scorecard uses, so it cannot drift from the product.
3 of 4kinds of format can play it
- Own ball, individual Available
- Four-ball, best ball, counted scores Available
- Shamble, bramble, cha cha cha Available
- Scramble, foursomes, greensomes, chapman Needs a fact (putts, fairway) a shared ball cannot supply
What the group records
Two of the four points come from information beyond the score, and both are things the group already notes on the card for other games. Once every ball is on the green, the group records who is closest. Each player records their putts.
Neither is compulsory. A hole where nobody recorded the closest ball simply does not award that point, and the other three contests are unaffected. Parful never guesses which ball was closest.
How Parful scores it
Start Scotch from the group scorecard and split the four players into two pairs. The scores are the ones the group is already keeping, and the closest call and the putts go on the shared line the card already has for game information.
A hole is only scored once all four balls are in, so a round in progress shows what has actually been played rather than a partial hole. Each of the four contests is decided independently, and a category with no clear single winner, whether from a tie or from a fact nobody recorded, is left unawarded. Standings show each pair with its points broken down by category, so a group can see exactly where the round was won.
It runs on own-ball rounds, four-ball style outings and shambles. It is unavailable on a scramble, where there are no individual scores or putts to compare.
Worked example
A worked example: three holes
Ana and Ben against Cal and Dee. Net scores are shown, with the closest call and the putt counts the group recorded.
| Hole | Ana | Ben | Cal | Dee | Low ball (2) | Low total (2) | Closest (1) | Fewest putts (1) | Hole points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | Ana | Ana and Ben 8 | Ana | Ben, 1 putt | Ana and Ben 6 |
| 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | Tied at 4 | Cal and Dee 8 | Cal | Tied at 2 apiece | Cal and Dee 3 |
| 3 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | Tied at 4 | Ana and Ben 9 | Not recorded | Dee, 1 putt | Ana and Ben 2, Cal and Dee 1 |
Swipe the table to see every column.
- On the second hole the low ball tied at 4 and the putts tied at 2 apiece, so two of the four points went unawarded and the hole was worth three.
- On the third nobody called the closest ball, so that point went unawarded too. The other three contests were unaffected.
Common variants
- Split the tie
- Common play halves a tied point between the pairs. Parful leaves it unawarded instead, so the games layer carries no fractions.
- The umbrella
- Some groups double or triple the hole when one pair sweeps all six points. Parful does not score the umbrella; a group playing it can settle the multiplier between themselves.
- A birdie point instead of putts
- Some versions award the sixth point for a birdie rather than for fewest putts. Parful scores the putts version.
- Scotch foursomes
- An entirely different game: a pair sharing one ball and alternating shots. That is the foursomes format, not this points game.
Scotch questions
How does 6-Point Scotch work?
Four players in two pairs. Each hole is worth up to six points: two for the low individual ball, two for the low team total, one for closest to the pin once all are on the green, and one for fewest putts. Most points over the round wins.
What happens when a category is tied in Scotch?
Nobody gets those points and the hole is worth less than six. Parful does not split a tied point in half.
Is Scotch the same as Scotch foursomes?
No. Scotch foursomes is alternate shot, where a pair shares one ball. This Scotch is a points game where all four players play their own ball.
What if we forget to record who was closest?
That point is not awarded and the hole is worth one less. The other three contests are unaffected, and Parful never guesses which ball was closest.
Can we play Scotch in a scramble?
No. Scotch needs an individual score and a putt count for each player, and a scramble produces one ball for the side. It runs on own-ball rounds, four-ball style outings and shambles.