Explaining the Selected Score Golf Format
Selected Score can also be used as a two-day tournament format or as a bonus game or wager in a two-day tournament.
Selected Score In a Group: Two Rounds, Same Day
Selected Score is the name of a golf game or bet played over 36 holes of golf. To play Selected Score, start by playing 36 holes. Both rounds have to be on the same golf course.When playing Selected Score within a group of friends, it is most common to play both rounds (36 holes) in a day. (You can play them over two days if you prefer.)
Once you and your golf buddies have finished both rounds, look at the scorecards for both 18s and compare your scores. Compare the score on each hole — Hole 1 in Round 1 vs. Round 2; Hole 2 in Round 1 vs. Round 2; and so on — and pick out the lower of the two scores on each hole.
For example: If you made 6 on Hole 1 in the first round and 5 on Hole 1 in the second round, your Selected Score Hole 1 score is 5. Go through your two scorecards and select the better of the two scores you made on each hole. Add up those 18 scores for your total.
Pretty simple. Low score wins.
Selected Score Tournament Format: Two Rounds, Two Days
If your golf association wants to play a two-day tournament, Selected Score is one twist you can put on it.The scoring is the same as described above, but in this case the Selected Score rounds are played on two different days. And the days don't even have to be consecutive. A Selected Score first round can be this Saturday, and the second round can be next Saturday.
So long as the two rounds are on the same golf course, which is set up the same for both rounds, it's good.
Another option is to use Selected Score as a bonus game for a standard, 36-hole stroke-play tournament. In that case, the golfers add up their 36-hole totals and places and winnings are assigned.
But then they also calculate their Selected Score total for the two rounds, and payouts from a bonus pool are made.
Example of Selected Score Scorecard
Just to be clear, here's what a Selected Score scorecard, with two rounds and the Select Score total noted (using nine holes for this example just to keep it simple).
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Tot. | |
| Round 1 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 43 |
| Round 2 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 42 |
| Selected Score | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 |
The lower of the two scores on Hole 1 was 5; the lower of the two scores on Hole 2 was 4; and so on. In this example, a golfer who carded gross nines of 43 and 42 wound up with a Selected Score total of 36.
