About This Format
Pin-Golf adapts the scoring system of golf to pinball. Each machine in the tournament is a "hole" with a target score set by the tournament director. Players attempt to reach the target score in as few balls as possible, and their total strokes (balls used) across all holes determines their standing — lowest total wins, just like golf.
How a Hole Works
Each machine has a target score posted. The player starts the game and tries to reach that target. Each ball plunged counts as one stroke. If the player reaches the target on their first ball, that's a 1 (equivalent to a hole-in-one). If they need all 3 balls and still reach it, that's a 3. If they use all their balls without reaching the target, they receive a penalty score (typically the number of balls plus additional penalty strokes, such as a score of 5 or 6).
Course Design
A typical Pin-Golf course has 9 or 18 holes, though any number of 3 or more is allowed. The tournament director sets target scores for each machine, ideally calibrating them so that average players need 2-3 balls to reach the target. Well-designed courses have an average strokes-per-hole of around 3 or higher.
Pin-Golf Multiplier (PGM)
The PGM adjusts TGP based on course difficulty. It's calculated as the average strokes per hole divided by 3, capped at 1.0. A well-designed course where the average player uses 3 or more strokes per hole earns a full PGM of 1.0. Easier courses where players breeze through in fewer strokes receive a reduced PGM, reflecting less competitive value.
Group Play
When Pin-Golf is played in groups (common in finals), players in the group take turns playing each hole. This adds the group-size multiplier to the TGP calculation (2.0x for 4-player groups, 1.5x for 3-player groups) because of the head-to-head competitive dynamics.
Finals Requirement
Pin-Golf qualifying requires a separate finals stage with direct player-vs-player competition for IFPA endorsement, with at least 10% of participants advancing.