Golf · R&A/USGA 2023 Rules · current to 1 July 2026

Match play is decided hole by hole—not by total score.

Published 2 August 2026

The player and opponent compete directly for each hole. The lower hole score wins; an equal score ties the hole; and the running result is holes up or all square. Concessions, order of play, information duties and ruling deadlines make match play procedurally different from stroke play.

Quick ruling: under R&A/USGA Rule 3.2 in the 2023 Rules of Golf, effective 1 January 2023, a player wins a hole by completing it in fewer strokes than the opponent, receiving the opponent's concession of the hole, or when the opponent gets the general penalty. A player wins the match when leading by more holes than remain. A specified one-stroke penalty is added to the hole score; the general penalty is loss of hole.

Scope and version

Singles match play under the joint worldwide Rules

This page applies the R&A and USGA 2023 Rules of Golf, effective 1 January 2023, especially Rules 3.2, 6.4a and 20.1b. It was checked against the live digital Official Guide and the Additional Clarifications updated 1 July 2026.

The baseline here is individual, or singles, match play. Three-Ball, Foursomes, Four-Ball and team events add Rules 21.4 and 22–24. A Committee's Terms of the Competition decide matters such as the scheduled holes, tie procedure, handicap conditions and when the result becomes final; adopted Local Rules may also supplement the playing Rules.

Core format

Each hole is a separate contest

Rule 3.2 compares the player and opponent on every hole. The lower score, including strokes made and penalty strokes, wins that hole. Equal scores tie, or “halve,” it. Winning by six strokes or one stroke has the same effect: one hole won.

The players may also agree to treat a hole as tied, but Rule 3.2a(2) allows that only after at least one of them has made a stroke to start it. The running match score records holes rather than strokes: “two up” means a player has won two more holes than the opponent, while “all square” means the match is tied. Total strokes for the round do not decide a standard match.

Result

“Decided” and “final” are different moments

A player wins when leading by more holes than remain, when the opponent concedes the match, or when the opponent is disqualified. A player who is four up after 15 holes has won “4 and 3”: a four-hole lead with only three holes left.

If the match is tied after its final scheduled hole, Rule 3.2a(4) normally extends it one hole at a time. The extension continues the same round, and the same hole order and handicap-stroke allocation apply unless the Committee provides otherwise. The Terms may instead say that the match ends tied.

The result is decided when one of those winning conditions occurs, but becomes final in the way the Committee has stated—for example, when it is posted or reported to a named official. That distinction controls some late ruling requests under Rule 20.1b.

Concessions

A clear concession is final

A player may concede the opponent's next stroke before it is made, concede a hole before it is completed, or concede the match before its result is decided. The concession must be communicated clearly by words or an unmistakable action. Once made, it cannot be declined or withdrawn.

A conceded next stroke counts in the opponent's hole score. If the previous ball is still moving, a purported concession applies to the next stroke unless that moving ball is holed; deliberately stopping that moving ball is a valid concession only in the narrow circumstances stated in Rule 3.2b(1).

The opponent cannot claim a “gimme” without a concession. Under Rule 10.3b(3), a caddie cannot concede for the player; the attempt is invalid, although an opponent who reasonably lifts in reliance on it has no penalty and must replace the ball or ball-marker unless the player then concedes. Players also may not knowingly exchange hole concessions simply to shorten the match.

Order of play

Playing first can matter strategically

The first-hole honour comes from the Committee's draw or, if there is no draw, agreement or a random method. The winner of a hole has the honour on the next tee; after a tied hole, the previous honour continues. Once both balls are in play on a hole, the farther ball is played first.

There is no automatic penalty for playing out of turn. The opponent may promptly cancel that stroke before either player makes another stroke, after which the player must replay from the previous spot when it is their turn. The opponent may also let it stand or invite out-of-turn play to save time, giving up the right to cancel that stroke.

Penalty levels

Loss of hole is not the only penalty

One penalty stroke: applies in match play where the Rule specifies it, including ordinary penalty relief. It is added to the player's score for the hole.
General penalty: means loss of hole in match play, rather than the two-stroke penalty used in stroke play.
Disqualification: applies only where a Rule specifies it, including deliberately failing to apply a known penalty, knowingly agreeing to ignore an applicable Rule or penalty, and some wrong-handicap declarations.
Cancellation without penalty: is a separate match-play remedy for certain opponent-controlled mistakes; it is not a loss-of-hole penalty.

Common consequences

Some familiar errors work differently

Wrong ball: making a stroke at a wrong ball normally loses the hole under Rule 6.3c. If both play each other's ball, only the first to do so loses the hole; if it is unknown who did so first, there is no penalty and they play out with the exchanged balls.
Wrong place: the general penalty under Rule 14.7a is loss of hole.
Outside the teeing area: there is no penalty in match play, but the opponent may promptly cancel the stroke under Rule 6.1b.
Out of turn: there is no penalty, but the opponent may promptly cancel the stroke under Rule 6.4a.
Penalty relief: a one-stroke penalty for an unplayable ball, penalty area, or stroke and distance remains a stroke added to the hole score; it does not automatically concede the hole.
Starting time: the normal Rule 5.3a penalty is disqualification. Starting no more than five minutes early, or arriving ready no more than five minutes late, instead brings the general penalty on the first hole, subject to the exceptional-circumstances provision. If both arrive ready within five minutes late, Clarification 5.3a/5 gives both loss-of-hole penalties, so the first hole is tied and the match starts on the second hole all square.

Stroke information

The opponent is entitled to the right number

An opponent may ask at any time during a hole or after it is completed how many strokes the player has taken, including penalty strokes. The player must answer correctly; failing to answer is treated as giving a wrong number.

Under Rule 3.2d(1), wrong information brings loss of hole unless corrected in time. During a hole, correction must come before the opponent makes another stroke or takes a similar action, such as a concession. After a hole, it must come before either player starts the next hole or takes a similar action; on the final hole, before the match result becomes final.

The post-hole exception is narrow: there is no penalty if the wrong number did not change the opponent's understanding of whether the completed hole was won, lost or tied. It does not excuse misleading information while the hole is still being played.

Penalty information

Report a penalty as soon as reasonably possible

A player who gets a penalty must tell the opponent as soon as reasonably possible, even if the player did not recognize at the time that the Rules imposed it. Practical factors such as the players' distance apart are taken into account.

If the player fails to report and does not correct the failure before the opponent makes another stroke or takes a similar action, Rule 3.2d(2) imposes the general penalty. The exception is when the opponent already knew about the penalty—for example, after watching an obvious penalty-relief procedure. The duty matters because the information can change the opponent's next tactical decision.

Handicap match

Use the competition's Playing Handicaps

Before the match, the players should tell each other the handicaps they are using. Handicap strokes are applied on the holes in the Committee's published stroke-index order, and the lower net score wins the hole. The World Handicap System 2024 Rules of Handicapping, Appendix C, recommends a 100% allowance for individual match play, but the National Association is responsible for establishing allowances and the Committee should state the one in use in the Terms. In general match-play allocation, the lowest Playing Handicap plays from zero and the opponent receives the difference.

Rule 3.2c governs a wrong declaration: if the player states a handicap that is too high and does not correct it before the opponent's next stroke, the player is disqualified only if the error affects the strokes given or received. If the declared handicap is too low, there is no penalty, but that lower figure must be used.

Each player remains responsible for knowing where strokes apply. If the players mistakenly apply strokes to the wrong hole, the agreed hole result stands unless corrected before either starts the next hole—or, for the final hole, before the match result is final. Extra-hole stroke allocation must follow the Terms; it should not be improvised after a tie.

Match score

Confirm the score before the next tee

Rule 3.2d(3) expects both players to know whether the match is tied or how many holes one player leads. If they agree on a wrong match score, they may correct it before either makes a stroke to start the next hole—or, after the final hole, before the result is final.

After that deadline, the agreed wrong score normally becomes the actual match score. A timely ruling request can still require correction when an opponent gave the wrong number of strokes or failed to disclose a penalty.

Rules dispute

Do not play two balls in match play

Rule 20.1b does not let a player use the stroke-play procedure of completing a hole with two balls when uncertain. If a referee or Committee is not available in reasonable time, the player must decide what to do and play on. The players may agree how to decide the issue, and that outcome is conclusive even if legally wrong—provided they did not knowingly agree to ignore a Rule or penalty.

If they cannot agree, a player protects the right to a later ruling by telling the opponent that a ruling will be sought. When the facts are known before either player starts the final hole, the request must be made before either player starts another hole. For an issue learned during or after the final hole, it must be made before the result becomes final.

A request about an earlier hole is considered later only in the limited Rule 20.1b(2) case involving wrong stroke information or an unreported penalty, previously unknown facts, and a request made promptly after discovery. After the result is final, Rule 20.1b(3) is narrower still: the facts must previously have been unknown and the opponent must have known of their own information breach before finality.

Enforcement

The presence of a referee changes who must act

Without a referee assigned for the entire match, each player protects their own interests and may choose whether to act on an opponent's breach. They may not agree to ignore a Rule or penalty they know applies after either has started the round; both would be disqualified.

A referee assigned to accompany the match must act on breaches seen or reported in time. A referee or Committee resolves disputed facts from the available evidence, applies the Rules and prescribed penalties, and checks whether the request and any correction were made before the relevant deadline.

Decision path

Resolve the hole in this order

Name the format. Confirm that this is singles match play, and identify the Terms and adopted Local Rules.
Count strokes and penalties. Include every stroke made and each penalty stroke that applies.
Check whether play already ended. A concession, loss-of-hole penalty or completed lower score may decide the hole before both players hole out.
Check information and order. Ask whether a wrong number, unreported penalty, wrong tee or out-of-turn stroke was corrected or cancelled before its deadline.
Apply handicap strokes. Use the competition's Playing Handicaps and published stroke-index allocation, including its extra-hole terms.
Compare net or gross hole scores. Record the hole as won, lost or tied, then update the match score.
Preserve a dispute promptly. If no official is available and the players cannot agree, notify the opponent of the intended ruling request and play on with one ball.

Worked case 1

A concession fixes one score, not necessarily the hole

Situation: on the 17th green, Alex lies three and Blair lies four. Alex clearly concedes Blair's next stroke.

R&A/USGA 2023 ruling: Blair's hole score is now five whether or not Blair subsequently putts. The concession cannot be withdrawn. The hole is not yet decided if Alex still has a possible score: Alex wins by holing the next stroke for four, ties by taking two more for five, and loses by taking three more for six. The decisive fact is that a conceded stroke fixes Blair's score; it is not a concession of the hole.

Worked case 2

A holed putt can still be cancelled

Situation: Blair is nine metres from the hole and should play first. Alex, six metres away, plays out of turn and holes. Before either player makes another stroke, Blair cancels Alex's stroke.

R&A/USGA 2023 ruling: under Rule 6.4a(2), Alex's stroke does not count and must later be replayed from the previous spot under Rule 14.6 when it is Alex's turn. If Blair instead makes the next stroke without cancelling, Alex's stroke stands. The decisive fact is the prompt-cancellation deadline, not whether Alex's putt was successful.

Worked case 3

A wrong number may be harmless only after the hole

Situation: after both hole out, Alex says “five” but then discovers the correct score was six. Blair scored seven, so both numbers meant Alex won the hole.

R&A/USGA 2023 ruling: Rule 3.2d(1)'s post-hole exception means no penalty because the error did not affect Blair's understanding of the result. If Alex had given the wrong number while the hole was still in progress and failed to correct it before Blair's next stroke or similar action, Alex would lose the hole. The decisive fact is when the information was given and whether it changed the opponent's understanding.

Common mix-ups

Do not import stroke-play habits

“The lower total always wins”: not in standard match play; holes won and lost decide the match.
“Every breach adds two strokes”: the general penalty is loss of hole, while specified one-stroke penalties still add one stroke.
“A putt inside the leather is automatically good”: there is no automatic distance; the opponent must concede it.
“Playing out of turn loses the hole”: normally there is no penalty, but the opponent can cancel the stroke promptly.
“I can play two balls and ask later”: that uncertainty procedure belongs to stroke play, not match play.
“Practice on the course before any competition is forbidden”: Rule 5.2a normally allows it before match play, but an adopted Local Rule may prohibit or restrict it.

Competition boundaries

Do not transfer a ruling between formats without checking

Rule 21.4 makes one ball serve two simultaneous matches in Three-Ball and modifies cancellation and opponent-ball penalties accordingly. Rules 22 and 23 govern sides in Foursomes and Four-Ball, including partner order, completion of a hole and penalty attribution. Rule 24 adds team provisions.

These are Rules-format differences, not informal club customs. Separately, the appointed Committee may set authorised Local Rules and Terms covering practice, caddies, match length, tie procedure, handicap allowances and finality. This page does not assume a professional tour, national championship or club event has adopted identical terms.

Official references

Governing-body sources and effective version

Checked on 27 August 2026 against the joint 2023 Rules of Golf, effective 1 January 2023, the live digital Official Guide, the Additional Clarifications dated 1 July 2026, and the World Handicap System 2024 Rules of Handicapping. The singles Rules are the baseline; the appointed Committee's Terms, adopted Local Rules and handicap conditions, plus Rules 21–24 for other formats, may supplement or modify the identified procedures.