The two dials
A match format is two choices: how many games (Single game, Best 2 of 3, Best 3 of 5) and how long each game is — in GC First to 7 · 13 point game, First to 10 · 19 point game or First to 4 · 7 point game; in AC a 26, 22, 18 or 14 point game.
Every GC length is offered everywhere a format is set, blocks and knockout rounds alike. The pickers lead with the target because the totals alone are easy to confuse: a 7 point game is first to 4, while first to 7 is the 13 point game.
Block play takes one format per competition, set on Format (and mirrored on Scoring settings). Knockouts take a format per round — so early rounds can be single games while the final is a best-of-3 — set in the knockout wizard and adjustable any time in Scoring settings.
Format is a scheduling decision
Every extra game is lawn time. The schedule reserves a Game slot per match, so a best-of-3 needs a bigger slot than a single game — the knockout ladder budgets its rounds from the per-round best-of the same way. Set format before generating a schedule; changing it afterwards means regenerating.
Knockout ladders face the same question with a twist: rounds are budgeted by Round length assumes — every match going the distance (safe) or a typical length (tight).
Best-of and standings
Best-of formats add game-based tiebreakers (game wins, net games) above hoop-based ones, and scoring takes each game of the match in turn on the Scoring section.
Advantage Golf Croquet
An Advantage competition sets no single game length: every game starts 0–0 and each side plays to its own target, read from the players' handicaps. See Advantage Golf Croquet.
Related
- Choosing a format — the games-budget arithmetic.
- Advantage Golf Croquet — target scores, drawn scores and net SF.