I’m so bored of stroke play. Regular, old-fashioned stroke play. It must have contributed to more than 99% of the rounds I’ve ever experienced and it’s worn thin on me.
But, like anything, if an activity or action is repeated too often then it can become tedious and lose its allure. Plus, as they say, variety is the spice of life and sometimes a change is a good as a rest (or any other relevant cliché that takes your fancy).
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Admittedly, I haven’t played loads of golf this year because the weather hasn’t allowed it, but – when I do – I’d really rather stroke play features a lot less than it has done previously.
However, there is a slight problem with which I need your help. As something of an outsider to the game (I grew up playing soccer far more often), my knowledge of different golf formats is pretty slim.
(Image credit: Howard Boylan)
I know a handful of alternate formats, but there are likely to be plenty out there that I’ve never heard of and some that your fellow readers may enjoy as well.
With that in mind, please leave the name and a brief description of your favorite alternative to stroke play in the comments box below. Then, if we have enough feedback, there may well be a follow-up article going into a little more detail on the best.
It can be a game you’d play on your own or with others, something ultra-competitive or fun for everyone involved regardless of the result – there really isn’t too much of a limit.
In the meantime, here are seven different options I’m looking to try out in 2026…
MATCH PLAY
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Match play is almost like stroke play’s younger sibling or next in line to the throne, in my mind. It’s the second-most well-known format and is used in global events like the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup.
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Obviously it’s not that different to stroke play, but it can save a player from racking up confidence-wrecking eights or nines while also speeding up play. That is what I call a win-win.
Plus, it’s incredibly entertaining if the two/four players involved are closely matched and can lead to different emotions down the stretch. Fourballs or singles, match play is the obvious simple alternative to stroke play.
THREE-CLUB CHALLENGE
(Image credit: Olly Curtis)
Admittedly, this is still a version of stroke play, but a three-club challenge requires a different game plan to usual and the novelty could prove really fun.
Depending on where you’re playing, driver-7 iron-putter might be the call, but there are so many variations and it will ask you to wind up the most creative part of your brain when in awkward spots.
It might be one to try while squeezing in nine holes after work with a buddy, or you could attempt to break the score you’ve regularly been dipping under with a full bag. Either way, a version of this might be cool to try?
IRONS ONLY
(Image credit: Tom Lewis)
Similar to above, although a little less restrictive, I’ve wanted to try this format out for a while after seeing it on a competitions list at a golf course I was visiting.
As far as I’m aware, you even have to putt using nothing beyond a 9-iron, so that could make it really tricky but enjoyable as you’d have to concentrate on making the correct contact with either the full face of a long iron or the front edge of a short one.
Plus, it’s a neat way of practicing your iron play out on the course. And being a good iron player is a huge factor in making that journey towards being a single-figure handicapper or even venturing down towards scratch.
COMBINED-SCORES BETTER BALL
(Image credit: Future)
Here’s one for when you have a fourball and you’re arguing over which format to use for the day – combined-scores better ball.
You play in teams of two and try to score as low as possible as a pair. Your team score on each hole is added together and if you beat the cumulative total of the other duo, you take that hole. It uses match-play scoring in that sense.
The idea behind combining the scores is not only that it ensures everyone is always contributing but it also shows a truer reflection of the team’s ability, as opposed to regular fourball.
In that format, which is regularly used in pairs competitions, one of your side can still be suffering with the mother of all hangovers early on but gather themselves around the turn and take over the strain when player one – who was early to bed the night before – has run out of steam.
KEEP THE HIGH PLAYER DOWN
(Image credit: Kevin Murray)
I recently had this format explained to me by another member of the Golf Monthly team, and it sounded quite fun, so here it is.
Keep The High Player Down (more catchy title needed) is applicable for groups of three or four and almost guarantees a tight finish.
Whoever is first to shoot an outright low score on a hole goes one up. Then, the remaining players essentially join a team and try to beat the High Player on the next hole.
If the High Player cards an outright low score again, they go two up etc, but if any one of the other players beats the High Player next time out, everyone goes back to all square and it’s fair game again.
I’m told it’s particularly fun when combined with Skins and has regularly led to the High Player having their mettle tested in clutch moments.
GREENKEEPER’S REVENGE
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This might be the format I’m most eager to try. Although, admittedly, it’s not something you can really experience without it being set up by a club, so that could be tough as I’m a nomadic golfer.
Either way, I’d love to play a greenkeeper’s revenge round at least once, and I feel my vast experience of crazy/putt putt/mini golf would stand me in excellent stead.
For those of you who may be unfamiliar, greenkeepers basically make it as tough for you to hole out as possible. They might lay out objects like hoses or piles of sand on the putting surface, or they could place the hole right next to a 50-yard slope – dealer’s choice.
The point is, it’s supposed to be great fun and reminds us all that if we don’t repair pitch marks, these situations could become a more regular occurrence…
SKINS
Fred Couples with the skins trophy he won in 1999
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Regular stroke play can be so tiresome and the lack of jeopardy sometimes leads to lapses in concentration. But what if there was $1 or two on every hole? Now you’re locked in.
Skins has long been one of the best alternatives to stroke play in the game. In fact, it’s so good, the format has occasionally been used during golf’s silly season in December.
Win a hole outright – win the money. If a hole is tied, the skins roll over. Finally break the tie and the skins are all yours. There’s nothing like a little bit of pocket change to sharpen your senses on the golf course. But please gamble responsibly.
Please leave the name and a brief description of your favorite alternative to stroke play in the comments box below.