Betting Games

Golf is a great game that affords – if you’re bad enough – a near infinite number of betting possibilities. 😉 This week we’re going to have a look at the top five alternatives to standard old stroke or match play. Many of the games are betting games, but some of the formats are used in tournaments. The International, on the PGA Tour, uses the Modified Stableford format as its scoring method.

What betting game do you play most commonly? What is your favorite? What should have been on the list, but isn’t? Leave a comment below (at the end of the column) or post in our forum.

Number Five: Bingo Bango Bongo
Bingo Bango Bongo is a game that allows anyone to compete against anyone else, regardless of skill level. Golfers can still compete individually, turning in a valid score for handicapping purposes, making this a side bet that should not change the way a player approaches the round very much.

In Bingo Bango Bongo, points are awarded for being first to do each of three things. The first player to get on the green (“Bingo”) earns a point. The player closest to the pin once all balls are on the green (“Bango”) earns a point. The last point, “Bongo,” is awarded to the player who holes out first. Strict etiquette is applied, and the player furthest away must play first.

Bingo Bango Bongo gives higher handicappers a chance to compete because being first matters more than the score. Players who hit the worst drive get the chance to get on the green first, players who hit miss the green in regulation have a chance to chip close to the hole, and so forth.

Number Four: Mullies
Sometimes called “Criers and Whiners,” Mullies is a game played without handicap strokes. Instead, players are given as many mulligans as they would normally receive handicap strokes to use wherever they see fit. Sometimes players use only 3/4 or 2/3 of their handicap to force players to use their mulligans carefully. Other common rules include not being able to use more than one mulligan per shot. Some players grant the option to play either shot while others force you to use the mulligan.

Number Three: The Wolf
The Wolf is a four-player betting game. Players rotate as “the wolf,” and after everyone hits their drives, the wolf can decide to hunt alone (i.e. play one-on-three) or to hunt in a pack (two-on-two) by choosing a partner. Some play an alternative version where the wolf must choose a partner immediately after that player’s drive or forego the right to hunt in a pack.

The lower better-ball score wins the points. If the wolf hunts alone, he has the opportunity to win three times as much as a two-on-two payoff. He also risks losing three times as much.

Number Two: Modified Stableford/Southern Point
Stableford and Southern Point are essentially methods of changing the value of a score. Instead of a bogey and a birdie affecting your score by the same amount (one stroke relative to par), these points systems alter the value.

In Modified Stableford, the format used at The International, points are awarded based on the net score of the hole. Double bogey or worse is worth -3 points, bogeys -1, and pars are worth nothing. Birdies score +2, eagles +5, and double-eagles net a player +8. A player who records nine birdies and nine bogeys may shoot par with traditional scoring, but would be +9 in Modified Stableford (positive numbers are good).

In Southern Point, players earn one point for a par, two for a birdie, and three for an eagle. This minimizes the impact bogeys have on golfers. Some play modified Southern Point (which is identical to non-modified Stableford), which simply moves the scale up one: one point for a bogey, two for a par, three for a birdie, and so forth, minimizing the cost of a double bogey or worse.

Number One: Nassau
The Nassau is the most prominent and popular betting game. Nassau combines three bets into one: the front nine, the back nine, and the total. Players get new life when they step onto the 10th tee, though a disastrous front nine can make winning the total bet difficult.

The flexibility inherent in a Nassau is due, in large part, to the openness for scoring. Match play or stroke? Scramble? How about playing a Mullies (see above) Nassau? Some play Nassaus with automatic presses. A player or team that is trailing in a Nassau can “press” the bet – doubling the starting bet – for that nine. If the lead changes hands, players can re-press. Nassaus played with several presses can wind up being very expensive for some and quite lucrative for others.

Nassaus are usually a “base” game and $2 or $5 Nassaus are common. With, at most, $6 or $15 on the line before presses, Nassaus are often combined with other games to create a pressure-packed environment.

Just Missed the Cut
“Gamies” – Barkies, Arnies, Sandies, Chippies, and Greenies are all names for singular events, typically awarded when a player makes par. Barkies come after hitting a tree, Arnies after making par without ever being in the fairway, Sandies from a bunker, and Chippies by chipping in. Greenies are earned by being closest to the pin on par threes. These games can be combined with other games, and oftentimes the point (and dollar) value is doubled for a birdie.

Round Robin, or 6-6-6 – A foursome’s game, this game pits two players against two others. However, partners switch every six holes.

Snakes and Rats – Snakes, Rats, and other animals are symbolic of bad play. For example, players who three-putt a green are given the snake. Whoever holds the snake at the end of the round owes every other player the pre-defined amount of cash. Players can come up with different animals for various kinds of bad play: rats for a shank, crabs for leaving a bunker shot in the sand, and so on. These types of games are best played among players of similar skill levels, for obvious reasons.

Next Week
I’m not sure – and I’m open for suggestions. What would you like to see counted down next week?