Exploring Golf Pool Scoring Systems - Earnings vs To Par

Pool Scoring Options

One of the choices that will affect your pool the most is which scoring system to use. You have the option to score players based on earnings or their score and each one has it's own pluses and minuses. Read on to discover how each one works.

Earnings

Using the earnings scoring system, the earnings from each golfer on a team is summed up to produce a total dollar amount. If a player is CUT (cut), WD (withdrawn), DQ (disqualified) or DNF (did not finish) they will receive $0 and obviously won't contribute to the final total. The winner of the pool is the team with the highest total earnings.

Earnings is an exciting scoring option because it offers the greatest amount of fluctuation on a minute by minute basis because of the larger differences in money between positions.

To Par

Using the to par scoring system, the final to par score from each golfer on a team is summed up to produce a total to par score. If a player is CUT,WD,DQ or DNF then the player will be assigned a score of 80 for that round (+8 based on a par 72 course). The winner of the pool is the team with the lowest to par total.

To par is a good scoring option to keep all participants involved throughout the tournament. Because cut golfers still contribute throughout the tournament each team always has it's full complement of players.