In this case a par 4 hole which is rated number 3 in difficulty will ensure the golfer receives 2 shots on the hole thus making the hole a Par 6. If a golfer plays off a 14 handicap then they will receive 14 shots during the course of the round - 1 on each of the 14 hardest holes. In this case a par 4 hole which is rated number 11 in difficulty will ensure the golfer receives 1 shot thus making the hole effectively a par 5. Every shot counts - good and bad and there is no ability to pick the ball up and move to the next hole or rely on your team members to carry you. As the name would suggest, a stroke competition requires each golfer to count every shot they take during the course of the competition round.
Stroke is easy to record on the scorecard as well.
You simply write down the number of strokes that you had on a particular hole. Play can be very slow due to every shot counting.