How to Challenge a Friend to a Virtual Golf Match

Golf is more fun with something on the line, even if it is only bragging rights. The trouble is that your regular playing partners are not always free on the same morning, and some of them live in another town. A virtual match fixes that: you each play your own round, on your own course and schedule, and the scores decide the winner. Here is how matches work on PingAces, how to pick stroke or net scoring so the game is fair, and a few ideas for making a friendly match worth playing.

What a virtual match on PingAces is

According to the PingAces homepage, you can search any member to challenge them, or invite a friend with a shareable link. You choose stroke or net scoring, and each player plays qualifying rounds within the match window. In plain terms, you set up the match, both of you go play, and the rounds you log in that window count.

That makes it different from a TeeUp, which the same homepage describes as a way to post a course, tee time and player preferences so other golfers can request to join you in person. A TeeUp is for playing together. A match is for competing, even when you are miles apart.

Step 1: find the golfer you want to play

PingAces lets you find members by name or username and follow their golf updates, per the homepage, and the member features page describes one search box for finding golfers and courses. When two members follow each other, the homepage says they become Aces, which is PingAces' name for your connected golf crew.

Following first is optional, but it helps. You will see your opponent's posts and rounds in your feed, which makes the trash talk better informed.

Step 2: invite a friend who is not on PingAces yet

Not everyone you golf with has the app. The homepage notes that you can invite a friend to a match with a shareable link, so you can drop it in a group text or chat. PingAces is free to join with no subscription required, as the homepage states, so the ask is small. Your friend can create an account on the sign-up page and get straight into the game.

Step 3: choose stroke or net scoring

This is the most important choice in the whole setup, because it decides whether the match is fair.

Stroke (gross) scoring

In the Rules of Golf, Rule 3 (The R&A and USGA), a "gross score" is your total number of strokes, including strokes made and penalty strokes, with no handicap applied. The lowest total wins. Gross scoring is the simplest and works well when you and your opponent play to a similar level.

Net scoring

The same Rule 3 defines a "net score" as your gross score adjusted for your handicap strokes, and says this is done so that players of differing abilities can compete in a fair way. If one of you usually shoots in the 70s and the other in the 90s, net scoring is the way to go.

Your handicap strokes depend on the course and tees you play. The USGA's Course Handicap page gives the formula for an 18-hole round:

Course Handicap = Handicap Index x (Slope Rating / 113) + (Course Rating - par)

That is why the same golfer gets a different number of strokes at different courses. If those terms are new to you, our explainer on Course Rating vs. Slope Rating walks through them.

One more useful detail: the USGA's Course Handicap and Playing Handicap FAQ explains that a Playing Handicap is your Course Handicap multiplied by a handicap allowance, rounded to the nearest whole number. Formal competitions use those allowances. For a casual match between friends, just agree on the method before anyone tees off.

Step 4: play your rounds inside the match window

Each player plays qualifying rounds within the match window, according to the homepage. Log every hole as you go. The features page describes hole-by-hole digital scorecards for 9 or 18 holes with live score-to-par, and our step-by-step guide to logging a round on PingAces covers the details.

If you track rounds on a Garmin, the homepage says you can connect Garmin Golf to import recorded scorecards, shots and clubs, and keep the connection for automatic round sync.

The homepage also lists notifications for follows, comments, messages and golf invitations, with the option to choose which ones you get in Settings. Leave invitations on so you do not miss a challenge.

Our take: how to make a friendly match worth playing

Everything in this section is our opinion, not a rule. These are the habits we think make virtual matches fun instead of awkward.

1. Agree on the format before the first swing. Stroke or net, 9 or 18 holes, and which tees. Changing the deal after a bad front nine never goes well.
2. Play the tees that fit your game. A fair match starts with sensible tees for both players. Our guide to choosing the right tees can help.
3. Count every stroke. Rule 3 counts penalty strokes in your score, per The R&A. In a match where nobody is watching, honesty is the whole game. No mulligans unless you both agreed to them up front.
4. Use net scoring more than you think. The USGA notes that a player typically plays to their handicap 20 to 25% of the time and scores 2 to 5 strokes higher in most rounds. So do not panic if you lose a net match while playing "badly." That is normal golf.
5. Keep the stakes light. Loser buys the first round of drinks or posts a photo of their worst lie of the day. The point is a reason to play, not a reason to stress.
6. Make it a rivalry. One match is fun. A running series across a season, with a new match every few weeks, gives you something to look forward to all year.

Bring your crew into the game

Virtual matches are one of the simplest ways to keep playing with friends who have moved away or work different hours. Pick a rival, choose your scoring, and send the invite. You can see every member feature, including tournaments, challenges and achievement badges, on our features page, or join PingAces free and set up your first match today.

Sources

• PingAces homepage: feature descriptions for virtual matches, member search, TeeUps, notifications and Garmin Golf sync
• PingAces member features: search and discovery, and round logging and scorecards
• Rules of Golf, Rule 3: The Competition (The R&A and USGA)
• USGA: Course Handicap
• USGA FAQ: Calculate Course Handicap and Playing Handicap

The featured image is an AI-generated illustration and does not show a real course, player or device.