Guide

The double-par pickup rule, explained

Each hole has a limit of twice its par. A player who reaches the limit without getting the ball in the hole picks it up, and the limit is their score for that hole. It keeps a bad hole from turning into a long one, for the player and for every group behind.

What to write down

Write the limit. A player on a par 4 who has taken 8 strokes and isn’t in the hole picks up and scores 8. A player who holes out on the 8th stroke also scores 8. Nobody scores more than the limit.

The usual way it plays out: on a par 4, a player who has taken 7 hits once more. In the hole, it’s 8. Not in the hole, they pick up, and it’s still 8. Some leagues let a player finish the hole for practice after picking up. The score stays 8.

Penalty strokes count

A penalty stroke is part of the score on a hole, so it counts toward the limit like a swing. A player on a par 3 with a ball in the water has used two of their six before they hit again. Whiffs count too: see does a whiff count as a stroke?

Why leagues use it

• Pace. On a shotgun start, one slow group holds up the whole course.
• Kids. A beginner who has hit twelve times on one hole needs the next tee, not another try.
• Fair team scores. One terrible hole can’t sink a team on its own.

Not every league does it this way

Some use a fixed number on every hole instead of double par. Some play every hole out. Some use double par for younger players only. Ask the coach before the first tee. It’s the one rule a scorekeeper can’t guess.

It’s also not the same as the “net double bogey” used to post adult handicap scores, which works from each player’s handicap. In a youth match, double par means twice the par printed on the card.

How GolfJot handles it

The coach sets the pick-up rule when making the match, double par or no limit, and it comes with the card to every scorekeeper’s phone. The scoring screen shows each hole’s number at the top, PAR 4 · PICK UP AT 8. When a player reaches it, their row says HAVE THEM PICK UP and further taps don’t count, so an extra tap can’t push the score past the limit. If a league does let a score go past it, the number can still be set by hand.