Golf games?

[Fat Slice]

I am having a golf outing instead of the stripper bachelor party. I have 4 groups of 4 (16 total). I want to have some contests, games, etc.

What would be fun? I figure...

- Long drive

- Closest to hole on par 3s

How about four man best ball? That might be hard as a few guys don't have handicaps.

What's the game where you all hit and then all play the best ball (of choice)? Does that slow things down or speed them up?

Any other games? I figure skins and net scores are out (again, handicaps). Or should/could we just give the max handicap to those players (36.4?) as I know they probably shoot worse than that.

Any way to play 'teams'?

We're going off at 8:00 and have to drive and have things to do after golf, so getting smashed (drinking games) wouldn't be very smart.

Any suggestions would be appreciated! I am sending out the email to the golfers tomorrow.

THANKS!

[microcrayfish]

How about the winning team gets a stripper?

On a more serious note, I'm pretty sure all hitting and choosing the best one slows things down. I've done it before in a fund raising tournament playing without handicaps and it worked fine, we just had a rule that you had to use at least 4 of each person's tee shots so one good player couldn't just bomb drives and dominate. You should be okay if you mix up the teams with good and bad players though.

[billysandy]

All players decide amongst themselves what their handicaps should be. just put everyone else level if you're not sure what your friends would play off.
Each player has a length of string according to their handicap. You have a handicap of 22, so you get 22ft of string. Let's say your friends have handicaps of 36, then they have 36ft of string.
The string is used to get yourself out of trouble such as behind trees, out of bunkers out of a bad lie or to secure that crucial putt. You cut off the length you have used each time.
String may not be used on the 17th or the 18th green, and between these two holes, everyone's string is cut in half.
If moving a ball on the fairway, ball may be placed, but from rough, ball must be dropped and land reasonably near to the end of the length of string you have opted to use.
Ball must be marked before you move it.
Out of bounds is 1 shot penalty, or string cut by half. Same applies to water hazard.

Can be strokeplay or stableford format.

Hope this helps - just something adapted from a small article i read in a golf mag.

[ApocG10]

A bachelor party without strippers isnt really a bachelor party.


EPIC FAIL!

[mkrolewski]

As far as scramble format, there is a way to determine the team handicap on the fly -- preoria scramble see below. I personally like two man teams -- with minimum number of drives and/or second shoots.

Scramble
This is a comfortable format for golfers of various skill levels, easing some pressure from less skilled golfers. Each member of the foursome hits her own ball from the tee box. The best shot is chosen from every stroke, with each team member then playing from the best location. This continues until the hole is finished. Variations of the basic scramble level the playing field and allow everyone to contribute. Variations include the Texas Scramble (at least four drives of every player must be used), the Florida Scramble (the player whose shot is chosen cannot play the very next shot) and the Ambrose Competition or 4-person scramble (a calculation transforms individual handicaps into a group handicap).

Best Ball (or Four Ball)
While still a team effort, this format appeals to better golfers who like to play their own ball. Everyone plays her own ball for the whole round, with the best score on each hole serving as the team’s tournament score.

Modified Scramble
This format also appeals to golfers who want to play their own ball, but it can speed up play. This is similar to a scramble in that each player hits their own drive, the best shot is chosen and the second shot is hit from the best location. From here each golfer plays her own ball to the hole. Like the ‘best ball’ format, the best score on each hole serves as the team’s tournament score.

Peoria System (or Secret Holes)
The Peoria System is a one-day handicap system used when most players don't have established handicaps. It allows all players to calculate something resembling a handicap allowance, following the round, and apply it to their scores. Peoria involves totaling a score on six pre-selected holes (which are unknown to golfers) and then each player's net score is calculated with a formula.

Callaway System
Like Peoria, the Callaway System is a scoring system that substitutes for handicaps and generally evens out the field. The Callaway System involves consulting a chart following the round to determine a handicap deduction and handicap allowance.

Competitive Formats
Formats selected for competitive golfing include match play (including skins games ) and stroke play (also known as medal play ). One variation of stroke play is the Stableford competition , where the goal is to have the highest score based on points awarded at each hole. A birdie, for example, might be worth 2 points.

[Danattherock]

  Fat Slice said:

I am having a golf outing instead of the stripper bachelor party.

Good for you man. I think it shows a great deal of respect for your wife to be. I went a similar route myself when I got married.

  Fat Slice said:

What's the game where you all hit and then all play the best ball (of choice)? Does that slow things down or speed them up?

Were I live, we call it "Captain's Choice". All four hit, choose best ball, everyone plays from that spot. Same on the greens. Divide teams up by ABC, and D players, trying to keep it even as possible. A fun way to play for sure and it will take pressure off the lower skilled players. The good players can show off a bit, and everyone will have fun and contribute a drive, iron shot, putt, etc.. Even the crappy guy will hit a putt at times. Maybe let the lesser putter go first to give the other players a read. And if he hits it, he will feel like part of the team for making it. A win-win if you ask me.

Editing here, I looked up Captains Choice, it is Scramble. Link below to the rules. Same as the earlier post I believe... http://golf.about.com/cs/golfterms/g/bldef_scramble.htm

[jopela]

  Danattherock said:

Good for you man. I think it shows a great deal of respect for your wife to be. I went a similar route myself when I got married.

+1 A classy way to go. I did the same thing for my bachelor party...

Keep in mind that you don't even need to stick with the traditional variants. I have played in friendly family competitions where each hole has its own set of rules. 9 irons only on a par 4 must hit into (and out of) the sand before you can get on the green (good on a hole with a fairway sand trap as well as the ones surrounding the green) best ball on 1 hole worst ball on 1 hole scramble on 1 hole etc...

[M2R]

We play something called "Order Up" where handicaps aren't used but it does help if the captains know the other players because they have to pick their own teams. One "real" golfer per team to act as captain is also required to make it work.

Captains select their teams, worst captain (highest handicap) picks first then it just goes down the order, back up, back down, etc until everyone is chosen. For example with 10 people there would be three captains.

1. Mike
2. Don
3. Paul
3. Gene
2. Harry
1. Bill
1. Joe

The first captain plays with a foursome the other two teams play as threesomes. Teams tee off in the order that the captains select teams, worst to best. One gross score per hole counts toward the team score. Playoffs are decided by matching team cards starting at the first hole.

In your case Fat Slice you would need 4 captains and each team would play as a foursome.

Assigning holes: Before teeing off the first captain has to assign the first four holes (three holes for the other teams) one to each team member and he is allowed one "swap" per set of holes. This process of assigning sets of four (three) holes before teeing off is repeated for each set of four (three) holes until the round is completed.

Swaps: The first team captain assigns the following order 1st captain, 2nd Bill, 3rd Joe, 4th Mike. Unfortunately the captain doubles the first hole and Joe pars it so they decide to use their "swap". Joe's par counts as the team score and he is now off the hook for three more holes. Now the captain is on the hook for the 3rd hole and so is everyone else for their assigned hole, whatever they end up with now counts toward the team score.

This game was invented to directly engage everyone (higher handicap players request) in the outcome and still allow everyone to play their own ball (lower handicap players request). Everyone WILL contribute one way or the other, I once had to use an 11 on a par 3

You also tend to learn a lot about people playing this game, some people can swing away and feel perfectly comfortable knowing that someone is there to back them up but left on their own can't bring in even a triple. It also puts extra demands on the captains as just playing good golf isn't nearly enough, the winning team usually has a captain with strong leadership, decision making, and interpersonal skills ... and/or lots of good luck!!!


In any case Fat Slice good luck with your plan, I hope everyone enjoys the day.

[clearwaterms]

consider the 12 chips gambling game listed here
http://dealadaygolf.com/past-deals.php

What you do is you assign a monitary value to each chip. The good chips win the monitary value and the bad chips lose it (or you could assign beers / a shot for later / etc)

The good chips are:
Par
Birdie
Eagle
Sandy Save
Chip in
one put

The bad ones are:
Water
OB
triple bogey
snowman
3 putt
Sandy

Each person earns a chip when ever they do something good or bad. The person who has the chip at the end wins / or looses.