Up and Down in Golf: Meaning, Sand Save and Scrambling

An up and down in golf means getting the ball into the hole in two strokes from off the green: one chip, pitch or bunker shot to get close, then one putt. It is the key skill for saving par on holes where you miss the green in regulation. “Up and down” itself does not depend on your score, but related terms used in statistics, such as scrambling, come with a score condition, so the words do not mean quite the same thing.

What up and down means and how it is used

“Up” is getting the ball up onto the green and close to the hole, and “down” is holing the putt. These are both up and downs:

On a par 4, your second shot stops in the rough beside the green → your third shot, a chip, finishes three feet away → you hole the putt for par.
On a par 4, your third shot stops short of the green → you chip your fourth close → you hole the putt with your fifth for bogey.

Golfers most often talk about getting up and down for par, but the phrase works for any score, as in “I got up and down for bogey.” Getting up and down from a greenside bunker is called a sand save.

A chip-in (holing the ball directly from off the green) takes only one stroke, so it is not an up and down.

Up and down, sand save and scrambling: the differences

Several similar terms are used in English, each with slightly different conditions.

Term	Meaning	Score condition
up and down	Holing out in two strokes from off the green	None (most often used when saving par)
sand save	Holing out in two strokes or fewer from a greenside bunker	None in tour statistics
scrambling	Making par or better on a hole where you missed the green in regulation	Par or better
chip-in	Holing the ball directly from off the green	None

Typical ways to use the phrase are “I got up and down”, “a great up and down for par” and “Can you get it up and down from there?”

Scrambling is broader than up and down. After missing the green, it counts as a success whether you get down in two or chip in, as long as you make par or better. On the other hand, an up and down for bogey does not count as successful scrambling.

How often professionals get up and down

The PGA Tour publishes scrambling and sand save percentages as official statistics.

Scrambling: the tour average is around 60%, and the season leader is usually around 70%. Even top professionals fail to make par about one time in three after missing a green.
Sand saves: the tour as a whole is around 50%, with the best players in the high 60s. Even professionals get up and down from bunkers only about half the time.

Other tours keep similar records of recovery and sand save rates. For amateurs, a few more up and downs in 18 holes can make a big difference to the final score.

How to practice getting up and down more often

An up and down needs two things to work together: a good short game shot and a reliable short putt.

Roll it when you can. If nothing is in the way between you and the green, a putter or a low-lofted iron that keeps the ball on the ground gives you a smaller margin of error than lifting it into the air. Treat the bump and run as your first option for any approach shot around the green.
Pick a landing spot. Instead of aiming straight at the flag, decide where the ball needs to land so that it rolls out to the hole, then hit to that spot.
Practice putts of three to six feet over and over. However good the chip, it is not an up and down unless that putt drops. On the practice green, spend more time on short putts than long ones.
Play an up-and-down game. Drop one ball each in different spots around a green (rough, fringe, bunker, uphill and downhill lies), play each one out until it is holed, and count how many you get down in two. Recording your score out of nine each time shows your progress.

During a round, look at the slope of the green before you chip. An uphill five-footer is easier to hole than a downhill one, so aim to leave the ball below the hole. Learning how to read greens goes hand in hand with this.

Chipping at golf courses in Southeast Asia

Many courses in Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia use warm-climate grasses, and in places the grain (the direction the grass grows) is strong. Chipping into the grain or down-grain changes how the ball checks and how the club comes out of the grass. If you usually play on cool-season grasses, the ball may react differently around the greens than you expect, so spend a few minutes on the practice green before you tee off to get a feel for it. At courses with caddies, asking “Which way is the grain?” will often get you a useful answer.

Frequently asked questions

Does up and down only count when you make par?

No. If you get the ball in the hole in two strokes from off the green, it is an up and down even for bogey or double bogey. It is true that the phrase is most often used when saving par.

Is a chip-in an up and down?

No. A chip-in is holing out in one stroke from off the green, while an up and down takes two strokes: the chip and the putt. In scrambling statistics, a chip-in does count as a success as long as the score is par or better.

What is the difference between a sand save and an up and down?

A sand save is getting the ball into the hole in two strokes or fewer from a greenside bunker. In other words, it is an up and down played from the sand.

What is scrambling in golf statistics?

Scrambling is the percentage of holes where a player misses the green in regulation but still makes par or better. It includes up and downs and chip-ins for par or better, but not an up and down for bogey.

What Is an Up and Down in Golf? Sand Saves and Scrambling Explained