If your golf game is anything like mine, a typical hole looks something like this:
- 1st stroke: into the water
- 2nd stroke: penalty stroke
3rd stroke: duffed drive off the tee
- 3rd stroke: 250 yards down the middle of the fairway
- 4th stroke: topped fairway-wood 50 yards (at least it stayed on the fairway)
- 5th stroke: into that pesky fairway bunker
- 6th stroke: missed the ball in the sand-trap
6th stroke: hit the lip of the sand-trap and rolled back to your feet
7th, 8th, 9th stroke: angrily swinging at the ball until it pops out of the bunker
OK no more gimmees, back on track...
- 5th stroke: sliced to the right of the green
- 6th stroke: took a big divot on the chip
- 7th stroke: chipped past the hole, down the slope on the front of the green
- 8th stroke (or is the 9th?): putt past the hole
- 9th/10th stroke: short putts
- 11th/12th/13th stroke: missed the tap in (twice)
Trying to put your score together as you walk off the green after a hole like this can be a challenge, especially if you’re trying to be honest with yourself. This is where a good golf score counting tool or technique can come in handy.
Here are 5 score counting techniques, from low tech to high tech, that will make your golf score keeping easier and more accurate:
The Pocket Tee Transfer
Those of you who are cricket fans might know this technique. When the umpires need to keep track of the number of balls bowled they transfer coins from their left pocket to their right pocket. The umpire then knows the “over” is complete when he has transferred six coins to his other pocket. You can use this technique with golf tees by keeping 10 or so in your right pocket and transferring one over to your left pocket after each stroke. Just remember to move them all back over to your right pocket after the hole!
Cost: Free!
Bracelet & Watch Counters
For those of you (like me) who would hate having that many tees in your pockets (I would need to keep at least 15 in my pocket to ensure I had enough!), there are bracelets, keychains or watches that you can use to keep track on each hole. The concept is simple, after each stroke you move a bead or rotate the watch to indicate one more stroke.
Cost: $3 - $30
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Simple Clicker Counters
If you are looking to keep a cumulative score for the whole round, you can use a clicker counter. There are many types out there, but I prefer a digital tally counter with options to both add and subtract. These are great because they can slip in your pocket and are pretty durable and low cost.
Cost: $5 - $15
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Smartphone Apps
A wide range of simple scorecard apps can be found for a few dollars or even free, and apps with good GPS capabilities can be found for around $30. The thing you always need to be aware of with these more advanced options is that they use a lot of battery power and you can find yourself with a dead phone or GPS unit with 3 or 4 holes to play. For a good free option check out the SwingU app.
Cost: Free to $30
GPS + Scorekeeping Devices
For those of you who are looking for something a little more advanced, look into a digital golf GPS rangefinder like SkyCaddie. Not only will these devices keep track of your score, but they will also keep track of the number of fairways your hit, your greens-in-regulation and your number of putts. They also have built in GPS and wireless technology to give you accurate, on-the-go yardage and course maps as well as the ability to upload your score for handicap tracking. These are really the Rolls Royce’s of golf score keeping, but you will pay for it. The cheapest option we found was about $150.
Cost: $150 - $300+
