Every number shows its working.
Golf arguments start at the turn: who won the skin, who gets a stroke, how the carryover worked. GolfBreak scores it live and lets you tap any total to see why.
1. Handicap strokes
With net scoring, each player receives strokes from their own handicap, given on the hardest holes first by stroke index. A handicap of 18 gets one stroke on every hole. A 22 gets one on every hole plus a second on the four hardest (stroke index 1 to 4). A 6 gets one stroke on the six hardest holes. In a nine-hole round, everyone plays off half their handicap. Plus handicaps give strokes back, starting on the easiest holes.
Hole 7 below is a par 4 with stroke index 7:
| Player | Handicap | Strokes on hole 7 | Gross | Net |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh | 6 | 0 (6 is less than 7) | 5 | 5 |
| Dave | 10 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Sam | 14 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Matt | 22 | 1 (his second strokes fall on index 1 to 4) | 6 | 5 |
2. Skins and carryovers
The lowest net score on a hole wins its skin. If two or more players tie for lowest, nobody wins it and the skin carries to the next hole. Above, Dave’s net 4 beats three net 5s. If holes 5 and 6 were tied, hole 7 was worth three skins, so Dave collects all three.
Tap the total and the app says why, in plain words: “Dave takes it on net 4, carryover from holes 5 and 6.”
3. Nassau and presses
Every pair of players plays a net match over the front nine, the back nine and the full 18. With automatic presses on, a new match starts for the rest of the nine as soon as someone goes two holes down. Each match shows who’s up and by how much.
4. Chaos points
Chaos points start from Stableford on your net score: 2 for a par, 3 for a birdie, 4 for an eagle, 1 for a bogey and 0 for anything worse. Then the Roll and the cards add bonuses:
| What happened | Chaos points |
|---|---|
| Survived a curse with net par or better | +2 |
| Completed a card that carries a bonus | The bonus on the card, adjusted for handicap by the Fair Play Engine |
| Your side won a best-ball, alternate-shot or scramble hole | +2 each |
| Closest to the pin on a rolled closest-to-the-pin hole | +2 |
| The Wolf beat the best of the pack | +3 to the Wolf |
| The pack beat the Wolf | +1 to each of the pack |
| Passed a verified simulator challenge | +3 |
| A Studio wheel segment with points | Whatever your group set |
5. The Equaliser
The Equaliser never changes the scorecard. It balances the dice and cards instead: curses lean on the low markers, blessings on the high ones, and nobody gets cursed three holes running. A small badge always explains why a twist landed on you.
6. Fixing mistakes
Someone entered the wrong score? Correct it at any time and everything recalculates: skins, carryovers, Nassau matches, chaos points and trip standings.
7. What the app never does
GolfBreak keeps track of points, coins and what your group agrees between yourselves. It never collects, holds or moves money. Official handicaps still come from your club or Golf Australia.