Need "Payout" Ideas for Newport Cup

[iacas]

At the Newport Cup (next week!), the eight contestants will throw in $50 and we'll have a bunch of prizes. The ones I've come up with so far are:

$50 = Blue Team MVP (most points)
$50 = Red Team MVP (most points)
$25 = Members of Winning Team (x4)

$25 Prizes
----------
Longest Putt
Closest to the Pin
Low Net
Low Gross
Most Holeouts (0 putts)


I'm looking for three more $25 prizes, but I'm stumped. They should be things that we can keep track of over five rounds of golf and, ideally, something that a higher handicapper might win (though I consider "low net" a higher-handicapper's prize) since four of the prizes there now are more likely for the better players (though weakly so in some cases).

With eight players, we'll be spread over two foursomes, so things like "Best Recovery Shot" or "Worst Par" probably won't work. Guys will have tape measures for the two measurement ones...

Not every round has a format that requires both players on each team in the foursome to hole out, so I have to be a little careful there when it comes to scoring prizes.

What else could we do? Any suggestions? I need three more.

[rubbery]

I did an outing once where each foursome had a special ball that rotated between each member, starting with the lowest handicap, and the score that the player recorded with the orange ball was put on a different card than his own, and the foursome with the lowest orange ball score got a prize.

This would require four $25 prizes though, so you could take out most holeouts if you want the higher handicappers to get prizes.

[bcollins]

Most GIR
Most Fairways
Lowest Total Putts

[Dent]

How about most Fairways hit? Or Most Greens in Regulation?

[ERC7.5]

Probably a little too goofy but (and a little extra work for each group)...but, how about bingo bango bongo ?

[iacas]

Thanks for the suggestions. Just going to respond quickly to a few in order to shape future suggestions.

I did an outing once where each foursome had a special ball that rotated between each member, starting with the lowest handicap, and the score that the player recorded with the orange ball was put on a different card than his own, and the foursome with the lowest orange ball score got a prize.

Unfortunately, we're probably all fairly particular about what kind of golf ball we have, and these are the the individual prizes, anyway. Plus, your idea wouldn't carry over five rounds of golf at different golf courses - the foursomes change every round.

Most GIR

Those don't strike me as things that the higher handicappers would have much of a chance of winning.

Probably a little too goofy but (and a little extra work for each group)...but, how about Bingo Bango Bongo.

Can't really be played in the team format, with mixing foursomes and so on. It's not a bad game in a single foursome, but I don't think it works over five rounds of varying games (Southern Point, best ball, combined score, etc.). Plus, by the rules, you can't putt out if you are close to the hole or concede short short putts, because the 1/3 of the points is "first in."

[iacas]

Something as rare as "most chip-ins" (holeouts) is pretty easy to keep track of. Most people don't do it even once every few rounds. I suspect the winner will have a total of about 3 over 5 rounds.

"GIR" is a stat that you have keep religiously, every round, and again doesn't favor the higher handicappers at all. Though I suspect everyone will keep stats so they can enter them into Scorecard when they get home, putting added emphasis on it all and keeping tallies is boring. The five "set in stone" prizes don't require this somewhat mentally draining and boring task.

Just spitballing and brainstorming in my own thread. I'll just write whatever comes to mind and perhaps comment on it afterwards.

• Highest score (sure you could "cheat" to win that one, but who wants to take credit for an 11?). Possible...
• (Random thought: without getting into those subjective ones, like "Most Creative Shot" or whatever, it's tough to think of these!)
• Best Recovery - Largest shot differential from one hole to the next. Undecided whether this would be gross or net, but this one seems kind of fair. A high handicapper could make a 7 on a par five and if a par three is next, a 2. Or a lower handicapper could make a 7 and then a 2.
• Anti-MVP or "Biggest Loser" - Since we don't actually care who wins or loses, this would be a hard-luck prize that was awarded to the player who got the least number of points for the week. Anyone could win that given the variety of games we're playing.
• I could give every player a Caesar golf ball. Each player will have to use it on three holes of their choice: a par 3, 4, and 5. Their score with the Caesar counts as their score for the hole. Low cumulative score wins. This one removes skill because the ball is so frickin' stupid to play with. I'm undecided whether to let the player use a second ball as well (their actual ball) to count for their team total, leaving the Caesar as a "fifth" ball in the group. Maybe I'd allow that, and the first person to yell "Caesar" upon completion of a hole gets to be the only one to use the Caesar on the next hole. Lose the ball (water hazard or just plain lost) and you're DQed from this competition. I'm liking this idea right now, but I may change my mind. This one's similar to the colored ball one from above, but with a twist, so thanks for that suggestion.

[ERC7.5]

• Highest score (sure you could "cheat" to win that one, but who wants to take credit for an 11?). Possible...

Doesn't one of the formats kind of kill this one (not finishing a hole after double bogey)?

• (Random thought: without getting into those subjective ones, like "Most Creative Shot" or whatever, it's tough to think of these!)

I'm guessing this would be based on a vote?

• Best Recovery - Largest shot differential from one hole to the next. Undecided whether this would be gross or net, but this one seems kind of fair. A high handicapper could make a 7 on a par five and if a par three is next, a 2. Or a lower handicapper could make a 7 and then a 2.
• Anti-MVP or "Biggest Loser" - Since we don't actually care who wins or loses, this would be a hard-luck prize that was awarded to the player who got the least number of points for the week. Anyone could win that given the variety of games we're playing.
• I could give every player a Caesar golf ball. Each player will have to use it on three holes of their choice: a par 3, 4, and 5. Their score with the Caesar counts as their score for the hole. Low cumulative score wins. This one removes skill because the ball is so frickin' stupid to play with. I'm undecided whether to let the player use a second ball as well (their actual ball) to count for their team total, leaving the Caesar as a "fifth" ball in the group. Maybe I'd allow that, and the first person to yell "Caesar" upon completion of a hole gets to be the only one to use the Caesar on the next hole. Lose the ball (water hazard or just plain lost) and you're DQed from this competition. I'm liking this idea right now, but I may change my mind. This one's similar to the colored ball one from above, but with a twist, so thanks for that suggestion.

I like these ones although Caesar could slow up play a touch...

[goblue107501]

Are you doing a skins game at all? You could use the remaining $75 (or any remaining amount) as the skins pot (net skins for the higher guys?).

[Puttin4Bird]

Are you doing a skins game at all? You could use the remaining $75 (or any remaining amount) as the skins pot (net skins for the higher guys?).

This guy is on to something! That's what I'd do, everyone loves a net skins game. Someone getting a bump on a hole and happens to birdie it outright is an excellent recipient of a little extra dough.

The Caesar ball is a great one too, we do something similar to the colored ball suggestion above and it makes it really fun. Getting to play your "real" ball for team score is good too, sure it might slow things down a tad, but in the spirit of something a little fun it wouldn't be so bad.

[iacas]

Doesn't one of the formats kind of kill this one (not finishing a hole after double bogey)?

Not if you don't pick up. And believe me, nobody's gonna get the high score at the Lower Course at the Peak.

I'm guessing this would be based on a vote?

It would be, but I don't think you read that post properly. I said that it's tough to come up with more prizes without getting into the subjective crap that would, indeed, require a vote. I want to avoid those kinds of things.

Are you doing a skins game at all? You could use the remaining $75 (or any remaining amount) as the skins pot (net skins for the higher guys?).

Higher handicappers tend to win skins games, so that might not be a bad one to have, indeed. And since I imagine most skins won't survive the foursome (making keeping track of them fairly easy), I think that one's a winner.

So now I need two more.

[iacas]

Currently, unless something else bumps one of the bottom two out, the eight are:

1. Longest Putt (all week)
2. Closest to the Pin (all week)
3. Low Net (any round)
4. Low Gross (any round)
5. Most Holeouts (0 putts, cumulative)
6. Skins (week-long winner)
7. Biggest Loser (least points)
8. Largest Recovery (bad hole followed by a good hole)

[FortAsel]

Long Drive Competition, you can have both, weekly and daily

[Jay-Bird]

Fewest Bogeys (or worse) total
Consecutive holes of (net) par (or better)
most penalty strokes
most times in sand
longest birdie streak
lowest total strokes on any given hole (say the 1 handicap hole) for the week
best on par 3s
best on par 4s
best on par 5s

[G10_Jamie]

Our league has a weekly prize that is "Hidden" to the masses playing and is only known to the sec. of the league. She then reveals the prize after the round is played in our weekly email.
It changes weekly but has included highest score (net and gross) most putts, fewest putts, etc, you get the idea.

Good luck!

jamie

[907golfer12]

Our league has a weekly prize that is "Hidden" to the masses playing and is only known to the sec. of the league. She then reveals the prize after the round is played in our weekly email.

How do you have net highest score? Do you still subtract your course handicap, and then who ever has the highest score then wins that?

[G10_Jamie]

How do you have net highest score? Do you still subtract your course handicap, and then who ever has the highest score then wins that?

Yes that is what they do, we have a skins game every week and then have the random game that is unknown to us. It helps spread the $$ around.

Not normal but it works Jamie