What Is an Up and Down in Golf?

An up and down in golf means getting the ball into the hole in just two shots from off the green: one shot to get it “up” onto the putting surface, and one putt “down” into the cup. The first shot is usually a chip, pitch or bunker shot from around the green, and if the following putt drops, you have completed an up and down.

The phrase most often comes up when a player misses the green in regulation and still saves par, but the term itself just describes the two-shot sequence, whatever the final score. Here is exactly what it means, how to do it, and why golfers treat it as one of the best measures of a short game.

Breaking down the term

The name is literal. “Up” is the shot that gets your ball up onto the green from the fringe, rough, a slope or a bunker. “Down” is the putt that sends the ball down into the hole. Put them together and an up and down is a two-shot save from just off the putting surface.

Because the whole point is efficiency, an up and down is really a test of your short game and your nerve on the first putt. Miss the green, and a good up and down turns a potential bogey into a par, or worse into merely a bogey.

When it happens

The classic scenario is missing the green in regulation. “In regulation” means reaching the green in the expected number of strokes, two shots fewer than par, so a green in regulation, or GIR in golf, leaves two putts for par. When you miss that green, you need to get up and down to still make par.

The table below shows how an up and down produces different scores depending on the situation.

Situation	Shots to reach green area	Up and down for
Missed par-4 green in 2	2	Par (chip + putt = 4)
Missed par-3 green off the tee	1	Par (chip + putt = 3)
Great approach just off par-5 green in 3	3	Birdie (chip + putt = 4)
In trouble, reached green area in 4 on a par 4	4	Bogey (chip + putt = 5)

How to get up and down

Getting up and down consistently is a skill, not luck. A few principles help:

• Choose the right shot for the lie. A low, running bump-and-run golf shot is safer from a good lie with green to work with, while a higher pitch is better when you need the ball to stop quickly.
• Land it on a spot, not at the hole. Good chippers pick a landing spot and let the ball release toward the cup, controlling roll rather than trying to fly it all the way.
• Prioritise the easy putt. The goal of the first shot is to leave a short, straight putt. A chip to three feet is worth far more than a risky one that might hole out but could also finish twenty feet away.
• Commit to distance control. Most missed up and downs come from leaving the first putt too long, so distance matters more than perfect direction on the chip.

Sand saves and scrambling

An up and down from a greenside bunker has its own name: a sand save. It is counted the same way, two shots from the sand to the hole, and it is one of the toughest up and downs to pull off, which is why tour statistics track sand saves separately.

More broadly, your rate of getting up and down is called scrambling, and it is a key statistic for skilled golfers. A player who misses greens but scrambles well can still post good scores, while a player with a weak short game leaks shots even when striking the ball nicely. That is why coaches say a strong short game is the fastest route to lower scores, and why a good up-and-down rate often separates a par from a bogey in golf.

Why it matters to your score

You will miss greens, even good players miss plenty. What separates scorers from strugglers is what happens next. Every up and down you make saves a stroke you would otherwise drop, and over 18 holes those saved strokes add up quickly. Improving your chipping and putting from around the green is usually the highest-value practice for an average golfer.

The short version: an up and down is holing out in two shots from off the green, one to get up onto the surface and one putt down. It is most often used to describe saving par, but it can be for birdie, par or bogey, and doing it well, your scrambling, is one of the clearest signs of a sharp short game.