Lesson 3: Adding Up Your Score
Once you have played a few holes and written down your scores, you need to add them up. Adding is one of the most important math skills in golf — you use it on every hole, every round, every tournament.
In golf, you add up your strokes. If you take 5 shots on hole 1, 4 shots on hole 2, and 6 shots on hole 3, your total is 5 + 4 + 6 = 15 shots.
You also compare your total to the par total. If the par for those 3 holes was 4 + 4 + 5 = 13, and you took 15 shots, you are 2 over par for those holes.
The best golfers in the world are also excellent at mental arithmetic — they know their score at every moment of the round without having to write it down.
To find your total score: add up all the shots you took on every hole.
To find how you compare to par: subtract the total par from your total score. A positive number means over par. A negative number means under par.
Quick mental math: You took 5, 4, 5, and 6 on the first four holes. What is your total? The par was 4, 4, 4, 5. What is the total par? Are you over or under, and by how much?
Professional golfers have to know their score compared to par at every moment of a tournament. Why do you think that matters? How would it change how you play if you knew you were 3 under par with 3 holes to go?
Play 6 holes and keep your own scorecard. After every 3 holes, add up your score so far and compare it to the par so far. At the end, add up your full total. Check your maths with your parent. Then answer: which hole was your best (closest to or under par)? Which was your hardest?