There are tons of different formats to play in golf tournaments. The trouble is most golfers only play these formats once or twice a year. This leaves many golfers wondering how scoring formats like a bowmaker golf tournament work.
A Bowmaker golf tournament is a popular golf format that involves teams of four golfers. On each hole the best two scores on your team are recorded. The points are typically calculated using the Stableford point system.
This article is going to explain bowmaker golf tournaments as well as the scoring used in the Stableford point system.
How Does The Scoring Work In A Bowmaker golf tournament?
The most common scoring method for a bowmaker tournament uses the Stableford system. This means you will be accumulating points throughout the round. The team that finishes with the most points wins.
Stableford Scoring
- Double Eagle: 8 points
- Eagle: 5 points
- Birdie: 2 points
- Par: 0 points
- Bogey: -1 point
- Double Bogey or more: -3 points
In this scoring system, you are rewarded with points for good scores and lose points for bad scores.
Remember only the two best scores on your team of four are going to be counted in a bowmaker golf tournament. This means you likely won’t be losing points for bogeys unless your whole team has a bad hole.
This can be great for inconsistent golfers as they will be able to earn their team some points on their good holes. While their bad holes will likely be replaced with the score of one of their teammates.
Popular Variations Of Bowmaker Tournaments
Though the most common way to play Bowmaker is to choose the lowest two scores of the team. That being said there are several other ways in which you can play this golf tournament format.
Breaking The Course Into Thirds
One common variation of this game is to break down the course into thirds. On holes 1-6 you will take scores of the lowest 2 golfers. Holes 7-12 you will take the low scores of three of the four golfers. And as you finish off the day with holes 13-18 you will take the score of all four golfers.
This is a higher-pressure way to play this format as it becomes increasingly more difficult. Though it is certainly a lot of fun when you are finishing up your round and you know every shot counts.
Breaking It Down By Par
Another popular variation of a bowl maker golf tournament is breaking down the holes by their pars. On Par fives you will take the two lowest scores. On par fours, you will record three of the four golfer’s scores. And on par threes, you will take into account all four golfer’s scores.
This variation is a great option for golfers with beginners on their team. If you have a beginner you won’t have to worry about them scoring well on a par five. But rather just handling a par three.
This variation can also be more or less beneficial depending on your skill set. If you know some of golfers on the other team struggle with par threes you want to push for this format!
Closing Thoughts
All in all, a bowmaker tournament is a great way to play the game, especially for those looking to have fun with a couple of friends on the course.
Are you are interested in learning other golf formats similar to Bowmaker tournaments see our guides to the snake format or Umbriago.