How it plays
- 1Everyone plays their own ball and records a score on each hole.
- 2Compare your score to each opponent separately: beat them, take a point; tie them, take a half; lose, take nothing.
- 3With four players, a hole is worth a maximum of three points.
- 4Total the points over nine holes. Highest wins.
Scoring and handicaps
- Maximum per hole = number of opponents. Four players: 3 points. Five players: 4 points.
- Ties are worth half a point each, which keeps the format from stalling on a hole where everyone makes par.
- Net play works normally — apply handicap strokes before comparing.
- Perfect nine-hole round with four players: 27 points.
Over nine holes
Points Duel is the most consistent scoring format in the rotation: no carryovers, no partners, no swings you cannot control. It rewards steady golf across all nine holes, which makes it the best measure of who is actually playing well.
How to actually win it
- Never pick up. A double bogey still beats somebody's triple and that is a point.
- Because ties are worth half, par is almost always a profitable score — take the middle of the green.
- It is the easiest format to score on a phone mid-round, which matters when one of you is filming.
Questions people ask
How do you score Points Duel golf?
On each hole you get one point for every opponent you beat and half a point for every opponent you tie. In a four-player game the best possible hole is worth three points. Add them up over the round and the highest total wins.
Is Points Duel the same as a Nassau?
No. A Nassau splits the round into three separate matches by section — front, back and overall. Points Duel keeps one running total but scores you against every opponent individually on every hole.
Watch it played
We film Points Duel live, badly, every season
Five friends, one camera, nine holes, and a forfeit waiting for whoever finishes last. The full round card for every Points Duel week is on this site the day the episode drops.