How to play a quota game

Because a birdie is worth twice a par and an eagle twice a birdie, one good hole can make up for several bad ones. That is the main difference from Stableford, where a birdie is worth only 1 point more than a par.

The standard quota is 36 minus the player's course handicap for 18 holes. The logic is simple: 36 points is a par on every hole, and each handicap stroke lowers the target by 1 point. A player with a course handicap of 18 who makes 18 bogeys scores 18 points and meets a quota of 18 exactly.

For nine holes the quota is 18 minus the player's nine-hole course handicap. Use the course handicap for the tees each player is playing, not the Handicap Index (the course handicap calculator converts one to the other).

How Wedge scores it: Wedge sets each quota at 36 minus the course handicap (18 minus it on a nine-hole card) by default, or you can give everyone the same fixed target instead.

1. Set each player's quota before the round.
2. On every hole, look up the points for the player's gross score.
3. Add up the points for the round.
4. Subtract the quota. The result is the player's score in the game: plus 5 means 5 points over quota, minus 2 means 2 points short.
5. The highest result wins, however many total points that is.

Ben has a course handicap of 12, so his quota is 24 points. He shoots a gross 81 on a par 72.

Ben scores 29 points against a quota of 24, so he finishes plus 5. Here is how he compares with the rest of his group.

Al scored the most points but finished third, because his quota was the highest. Ben and Dev tie for first at plus 5 with very different rounds: Ben's two birdies and Dev's ten bogeys were each worth the same against their quotas.

Most groups pay by finishing place. With four players at $20 each, an $80 pot paid 70% to first and 30% to second would normally be $56 and $24. In the example, Ben and Dev tie for first, so they add the first and second place shares together and split the full $80, taking $40 each. Al, in third, is out of the money.

Another common method pays by the point: each player puts in the same amount, and the pot is shared among the players who beat their quota in proportion to how far over they finished. Wedge pays by finishing place.

• The Chicago. The same points with a quota of 39 minus the course handicap, which makes the target harder to reach.
• Albatross bonus. Some groups pay 16 points for an albatross. Wedge counts it as 8, the same as an eagle.
• Moving quotas. In a weekly game, each player's quota goes up 1 point after a round where they beat it and down 1 after a round where they miss it, so the target follows current form instead of the Handicap Index.
• Team quota. Partners add their quotas and their points and play as one side.
• One day or the whole trip. On a golf trip, quota can be a new game each day (Wedge's default) or one game with results added across every round.

• Counting the handicap twice. The handicap is already in the quota, so points come from gross scores. Taking strokes on the holes as well gives the higher handicaps a double advantage.
• Using the wrong handicap. Use the course handicap for the tees played. On a long or difficult course it can be several strokes higher than the Handicap Index, and every stroke is a point of quota.
• Plus handicaps. A plus handicap raises the quota above 36. A plus 2 player needs 38 points.
• A round that stops early. A quota is a target for a full round, so a player who leaves after six holes cannot be compared fairly. In Wedge a card that stops short of nine holes has no quota result, and a card that stops between nine and 18 holes is still measured against the full 18-hole quota.
• Nine-hole rounds. Use 18 minus the nine-hole course handicap, not half of the 18-hole quota rounded by guesswork.