Competitions and handicaps

Which competition formats can a golf club run?

Medal and stroke play, Stableford, match play, fourball better ball, foursomes, scramble, Texas scramble and ambrose, singles, knockouts and team events, order of merit and eclectic. The side games and structures clubs actually play are catalogued too, from skins and Nassau to quota, ringer and shootout.

The facts

• Formats the product runs: medal and stroke play, Stableford, match play, fourball better ball, foursomes, scramble, Texas scramble and ambrose, singles, knockouts and team events, order of merit, eclectic.
• Side games and structures in the Composer's catalogue: skins and aggregate skins, Nassau, quota and adjustable quota, ringer and eclectic, shootout, derby and horse race, cha-cha-cha, lone ranger, pick-a-pro, segmented rounds, team wheels, birdies, eagles, deuces and treys, best team players, teams within teams, gross-net bias, user-scored.
• Flights by handicap with guest rules, handicap allowances by format with WHS defaults, tee rules by category, tie-breaks in order.
• The Composer is a prototype studio, not yet part of the Competitions module.

How Paralo does it

In the Composer the professional describes a competition in plain words and the studio assembles a versioned definition, validates it, plays it through with a full field, and says what it will be like to run. It is in prototype, and we say so. What it gives back to a club is the invention of its own competitions, tested before Saturday rather than on it.

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Written by Paralo Ltd. Last updated 6 September 2026.