Match play is a scoring system for golf in which a player, or team, earns a point for each hole in which they have bested their opponents; as opposed to stroke play, in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes.
Unlike stroke play, in which the unit of scoring is the total number of strokes taken over one or more rounds of golf, match play scoring consists of individual holes won, halved or lost.
In such events there are points accumulated over several days, playing different formats, and the total determines the winning team.
They include the biennial Ryder Cup played by two teams, one representing the USA and the other representing Europe; the biennial Presidents Cup for teams representing the US and International (non-European) players; and the older Volvo World Match Play Championship, an invitational event which is now part of the European Tour.
The first hole will be a standard par-3, and the second time around closest to pin will end the round.
Golfers can employ a slightly different strategy during a match play event since the scoring is different.
The situation in the match and the outcome of each shot already played on a hole will both be taken into account.
Since a very poor result for a hole is no worse than a slightly-below-average result when playing against an opponent with an average score, it often makes sense to accept the higher risk connected with aggressive tactics.
For instance, a player may choose to play more conservatively if the opponent has hit a poor tee shot or is otherwise under pressure to compensate for a poor start on a particular hole, reasoning that there is a good chance to win the hole with an average result.
The advantage is that ties in group or pool play can be broken by overall medal scores.
This format was used in the Piccadilly Medal, the Liggett & Myers Open Match Play Championship, the 1986 Seiko-Tucson Match Play Championship, the Dunhill Cup, World Golf Final, and starting in 2018, albeit with a nine-hole medal score, the Belgian Knockout.