Golf games

Parful runs this

T and F

T and F is a golf side game played over 18 holes in which only nine holes count: 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 15, the holes whose English names begin with T or F. Each player adds their scores on those nine holes and the lowest total wins, gross or net.

Players
2 or more, in any group of the outing
Counting holes
2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 15
Round
A full 18 holes; the other nine are played but ignored
Scoring basis
Gross or net, chosen when the game is created
Wins
Lowest total over the nine counting holes
Ties
Equal totals share the position

How T and F works

T and F is a counting game. Everyone plays a normal round and only the holes whose names begin with T or F are added up: Two, Three, Ten, Twelve and Thirteen for the T; Four, Five, Fourteen and Fifteen for the F. That is nine holes: 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 15.

Each player adds their scores on those nine holes and the lowest total wins. Played net, each counting-hole score is reduced by the strokes received there from the player's Course Handicap™; played gross the raw scores are added. The nine ignored holes are still played and scored, because the card is usually also feeding the day's main competition; they simply do not move the T and F total.

The name is sometimes written T & F. It is the natural partner to N.O.S.E., which counts exactly the nine holes T and F ignores: 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 16, 17 and 18. Between the two games every hole on the course counts once.

Which holes count, and when the game is decided

The four counting holes on the front are consecutive, so the game starts on the second tee and a player who opens with a triple loses nothing. The back nine carries five counting holes but none of the last three, so T and F is settled on the fifteenth green while the main competition still has three holes to run.

  • Front nine: 2, 3, 4 and 5 count. Holes 1, 6, 7, 8 and 9 do not.
  • Back nine: 10, 12, 13, 14 and 15 count. Holes 11, 16, 17 and 18 do not.

Try it

Can we play T and F in our format?

Derived from the same compatibility rules the scorecard uses, so it cannot drift from the product.

  • Own ball, individual

    Available

  • Four-ball, best ball, counted scores

    Available

  • Shamble, bramble, cha cha cha

    Available

  • Scramble, foursomes, greensomes, chapman

    Needs a score per player; this format keeps one per side

How Parful scores it

T and F is a side game a member can start from the scorecard on a club outing. It needs at least two players from any groups, so it can run across a whole field. The person starting it chooses gross or net and can attach a stake.

Parful adds each player's scores on holes 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 15 from the cards already being kept and recomputes the standings on every score. A player is ranked only once all nine counting holes have a recorded score; a missing or picked-up counting hole leaves that player unranked rather than guessed. Equal totals share a position. Because holes up to 15 must exist, the game needs an 18-hole round. A correction reruns the totals from scratch.

A stake is settled on stroke differences between every pair of players and shown as who owes whom; Parful never moves money. The partner-split version described below is not scored. T and F needs each player's own hole scores, so it is available on individual rounds, four-ball and counted-score formats and shamble-style rounds, but not on a scramble or any format with one score per team.

Worked example

A worked example: three players, gross

Ana, Ben and Cal play gross. Only the marked holes go into the T and F total.

HoleCountsAnaBenCal
1No454
2Yes544
3Yes445
4Yes344
5Yes544
6No454
7No455
8No544
9No454
10Yes545
11No455
12Yes544
13Yes454
14Yes454
15Yes645
16No344
17No544
18No454
18-hole total788077
T and F total9 holes413839
Ben wins T and F on 38 from Cal on 39 and Ana on 41. On the full card the order is reversed: Cal 77, Ana 78, Ben 80.
  • Ben's total is 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 5 + 4 = 38. Cal's is 4 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 5 = 39. Ana's is 5 + 4 + 3 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 4 + 4 + 6 = 41.
  • Ana's 6 on the fifteenth, the last counting hole, cost her second place: a 4 there would have tied Cal.

Common variants

Partner-split T and F
Two-player teams where one partner's scores count on the T holes and the other's on the F holes, added together for the pair. Parful does not score this version; each player's own nine-hole total is what Parful counts.
N.O.S.E.
The complementary game on holes 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 16, 17 and 18. Parful scores it as its own game, and the two can run on the same round.
Stableford T and F
Points on the nine counting holes instead of strokes, highest total winning. Parful does not score that version; it adds strokes, gross or net.
Money per stroke
Players attach a stake per stroke of difference. Parful can carry the stake as a wager on the game, shows who owes whom at the end and never moves money.

T and F questions

Which holes count in T and F?

Holes 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 15. Their names start with T (Two, Three, Ten, Twelve, Thirteen) or F (Four, Five, Fourteen, Fifteen). The other nine holes are ignored.

What is the difference between T and F and N.O.S.E.?

They count opposite halves of the card. T and F counts 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 15; N.O.S.E. counts 1, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 16, 17 and 18. Together they cover all eighteen holes once.

Is T and F played gross or net?

Either. Net reduces each counting-hole score by the strokes the player receives on that hole before it is added. Parful lets the person starting the game choose.

Can we play T and F in pairs?

The partner-split version, where one partner takes the T holes and the other the F holes, is a known variant, but Parful does not score it. On Parful every player has their own nine-hole total.

When is T and F decided?

On the fifteenth green. None of holes 16, 17 and 18 count, so the last three holes cannot change the result.

What if I miss a counting hole?

You have no T and F total and Parful shows you unranked rather than guessing a score. A pickup on one of the nine ignored holes changes nothing.

Trademarks

GHIN® and USGA® are registered marks of the United States Golf Association.

World Handicap System™, WHS™, Handicap Index®, Score Differential™, Low Handicap Index™, Course Handicap™, Playing Handicap™, Course Rating™, Bogey Rating™ and Slope Rating™ are trademarks and service marks owned or licensed by the United States Golf Association and The R&A.

Ryder Cup® is a trademark of PGA of America and Ryder Cup Europe. Pinehurst® is a trademark of Pinehurst, LLC.

Parful is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any of these organizations. Game names such as Stableford, Nassau, Wolf, Vegas and Skins are used descriptively.