Match Play vs. Stroke Play
Two ways of scoring a round: match play counts holes won or lost head-to-head, while stroke play (the format used in most professional tournaments) counts total strokes over the round.
The distinction matters strategically, not just for scoring: in match play, a catastrophic 9 on a hole costs you exactly the same as a 6, you simply lose the hole either way, so aggressive, high-risk play is far more forgiving. In stroke play, every stroke counts toward your total, so a blow-up hole can wreck an entire round in a way it never could in match play.