stroke play

American  

noun

Golf.

1. medal play.

---

stroke play British  

noun

1. Sometimes shortened to: medal play.  golf Compare match play Stableford

   1. scoring by counting the number of strokes taken

   2. ( as modifier )

      a strokeplay tournament

---

Etymology

Origin of stroke play

First recorded in 1750–60

Example Sentences

With stroke play, he says, “one bad break like that would ruin your chances for the entire event.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

Mark Fine, who has co-written a book about bunkers, says the increased use of rakes after World War I was the result of a shift from match play to stroke play.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

The team competition will continue to run concurrently, with each team's cumulative individual stroke play scores determining the team result.

From BBC • Nov. 4, 2025

Woods will be among 264 players who will go through 36 holes of stroke play on the North and South courses at Oakland Hills to determine which 64 players advance to match play.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 20, 2024

When he won at Bellerive in 2018 and Bethpage Black in 2019, he joined Woods and Padraig Harrington as the only back-to-back PGA champions in stroke play.

From Washington Times • May 12, 2023