Medal play is played according to the rules of golf, with full handicap. The aim of medal play is to play all holes in as few strokes as possible. The number of strokes made is entered after each hole. At the end, this gives the gross score. The net score is calculated from the gross score minus the player's handicap.
Winners in Medal Play
For example: With a total score of 100 and a handicap of 36, the gross result is 100 and the net result is 74. The winner is the golfer with the lowest result, i.e. the lowest number of strokes or the lowest score. Depending on the tournament, there can therefore be both gross and net winners.
History of the Medal Play
The German translation of medal play is counting game. Medal play was first mentioned in writing in St. Andrews, Scotland, in 1759. A round of medal play consists of 18 holes to be played. Each hole must be played to the end, so the ball cannot be picked up as in the Stableford counting game. This is the reason why almost all amateur tournaments in Germany are counted according to Stableford. Amateurs usually only play one round per tournament. For professionals, a tournament usually runs from Thursday to Sunday over four medal-play rounds. The overall winner is the player with the fewest total strokes after 4 rounds.