How it plays
- 1Set each player's quota before the round: 18 minus their nine-hole course handicap is the usual formula for nine holes.
- 2Play the hole and bank the points for what you scored.
- 3Add up your points at the end and subtract your quota.
- 4The highest number over quota wins. Beating it by two when everyone else missed theirs is a win.
Scoring and handicaps
- Points per hole: bogey 1, par 2, birdie 3, eagle 4 — gross scores, no strokes given.
- The handicap adjustment lives entirely in the quota, which is why the scorecard stays simple.
- Example: an 8 handicap over nine holes has a quota of 14; scoring 17 points puts them +3.
- The league pays quota weeks 10 / 6 / 3 / 1 on the finishing order of those +/- numbers.
Over nine holes
Quota is the format that levels the group without anybody having to do stroke-index arithmetic on the tee. It is the one we schedule when a guest is playing and nobody knows how good they actually are.
How to actually win it
- Quotas are set from recent form, not vanity handicaps. Recalculate every quarter or the sandbagging starts.
- Because points are gross, a high handicapper needs pars — attack the short holes and take the medicine on the long ones.
- Track the running total out loud. Knowing you need a birdie on the ninth to beat quota is the ending you want on camera.
Questions people ask
How do you calculate a quota in golf?
For nine holes, start at 18 points and subtract the player's nine-hole course handicap. A 6 handicap over nine holes has a quota of 12. For 18 holes the same formula runs from 36. Some groups use recent scoring averages instead of the handicap, which is harder to game.
What is the difference between Quota and Stableford?
Both award points per hole on the same scale. Stableford applies handicap strokes to your score on each hole; Quota leaves the scoring gross and puts the whole handicap adjustment into a target you have to beat. Quota keeps the hole-by-hole maths simpler.
Is Quota fair for beginners?
It is the fairest common format for a mixed group, because the target moves with the player. A beginner with a low quota can win the day with a handful of bogeys, which is a realistic goal in a way that beating a scratch player on gross score never is.
Watch it played
We film Quota live, badly, every season
Five friends, one camera, nine holes, and a forfeit waiting for whoever finishes last. The full round card for every Quota week is on this site the day the episode drops.