How a Quota Golf Tournament Works

A "quota tournament" is a golf format in which golfers earn points for their scores on each hole, and the aim of the game is accumulating enough points to beat your pre-set goal.

The thing that varies depending on who is running the quota tournament is what that pre-set points goal is. There are two common methods for setting each golfer's goal (or quota, hence the name of the format).

This format is also known as: Point Quota or Points Quota, and it is also very, very similar to the Chicago format. (Quota and Chicago are sometimes synonyms for one another.)

What Your Scores Per Hole Are Worth

Your score on a hole earns you points in a quota tournament, and this is the most common way points are awarded:

• Bogeys - 1 point
• Pars - 2 points
• Birdies - 4 points
• Eagles - 8 points

Note that these points are for gross pars, gross birdies and so on. (This is because your handicap is used in determining your quota goal.)

Quota Format 1: Each Golfer Begins With Points and Tries to Beat 36

In this version of Quota, the goal is beat a target of 36 points, and the golfer who exceeds that goal by the most is the winner.

But every golfer begins with a certain amount of points. Start by determining your course handicap. Let's say your course handicap is 10; then 10 is your starting amount of points. You tee off No. 1 with 10 points. If you par the first hole, you earn 2 points, and now you're at 12. And so on.

Let's say your course handicap is 24; then you begin with 24 points. If you double bogey the first hole, you earn no points and are still at 24. If you bogey the second hole, you earn one point and now have 25. (Remember, we're talking about gross scores, not net scores.) And so on.

If you finish with 42 points, you beat the quota by six points, or +6. If you finish with 30 points, you finish at -6.

Again, the golfer who, in this version, beats 36 points by the most is the winner.

Quota Format 2: Handicap Is Subtracted from 36, Golfers Begin at Zero

The points earned per hole are the same in this version of Quota, but all golfers begin with zero points.

In this version, golfers subtract their course handicap from 36, and what remains is the point total they must beat during the round:

• A course handicap of 10 results in a quota of 26 (36 minus 10). So that golfer is trying to beat 26 points.
• A course handicap of 24 results in a quota of 12 (36 minus 24), and that golfer is trying to beat 12 points.

Again, the winner is the golfer who exceeds her quota by the most. If the golfer whose quota was 26 finishes at 30, she is +4. If the golfer whose quota was 12 finishes at 17, she is +5.

Playing Quota as a Team Tournament

It's easy to play a Quota, or Point Quota, tournament in any team format in which each golfer on a side is playing their own golf ball throughout. Just figure the quota for each golfer on a side, then sum it all out at the end.

For example, Player A finishes at +3, B at -6, C at +1 and D at +4. Add those up and the team score in this example is +2.