Favorite Golf Formats??

[David in FL]

Here's one me and my partner do often when it's just the 2 of us. We both tee off from the whites (middle tees) It you par the hole you stay at the whites If you birdie you move back a tee on the next hole It you boggy you move forward. Basically y

I take it you're not concerned with maintaining an accurate handicap..... ;-)

[SwampfireR1]

No, if I'm playing a goofy format it never gets posted to my handicap. The only scores I post are 100% Meaning, no 2 off the first, gimmies, ect.

[ryanson]

although I am on vacation currently in a hot country, the canadian winter is really making me miss Golf !! Hope you guys are well

[RandyBobbitt]

For fun events such as fund-raisers, it's hard to go wrong with a basic 4-person scramble. In most cases, teams are chosen at random. I know it's for fun and not to be taken seriously, but I prefer the old-fashioned way of doing it -- no mulligans for sale, no red tee busters, no selling pieces of string for moving the ball out of the rough, etc. And don't use handicaps.

I grew up on an Air Force golf course and the third Saturday of every month there was an event called ABCD. You sign up in advance, and based on handicaps the field is divided into A players, B players etc. That ensures each team an equal chance of winning. You're not on a team of 20+ handicappers up against a team of four scratch players. Most of the women were D players, but with one woman on each team it worked out. I miss those events.

Another format I've played recently is called a "shamble" -- front nine was a regular scramble; on the back nine all four players played their own ball and the team score for the hole was the average of the lowest two balls. It was confusing because it was a shotgun start, and a few teams thought it was THEIR first nine holes for the scramble instead of the first nine of the golf course. Also confusing with all of the half-strokes being added up.

About 10 years ago I played in a scramble on which each hole presented something different. On one hole the cup was 12 inches across. One par-3 had three holes cut in it, each with its own flagstick, and you didn't have to choose which one to play to until you were putting. On the longest par-5 on the course, you could only hit 7-irons and putters (originally it was going to be 7-irons only, but at the last minute the course superintendent got the rule modified to prevent carving up the green). On the back nine, two par-four holes were combined to produce an 800-yard "par 7" (so it was a actually a 17-hole event).

Next month a course near where I live is having a 9-hole "big hole" tournament with 12-inch cups.

Here's a game I invented for competition among three players:

There are six points available on each hole.

If all three players post the same score for a hole, each gets 2 points.

If they post three different scores, the lowest score gets 4 points and the second-lowest gets 2.

If there is a low score and other two players are tied with a higher score, the low score gets 4 points and the other two get 1 point each.

If two players tie for low score and the third player has a higher score, the two players tieing for the low score get 3 points each.

The highest possible score would be 72.

[RandyBobbitt]

Here's something similar to left/right -- good format for four players who don't know each other and/or play at different skill levels: First six holes two against two best ball, next six holes switch partners, last six holes switch again so you end up with a different partner for each six-hole match. For the first six holes, we usually pair the longest and shortest drives together. For the second six holes . . . I don't remember how we did that. I think it was called bingo-bongo-bango.

[ryanson]

I like your idea for the lef/right. THanks, Randy

[ryanson]

Guys, Can Wolf be played on a Par 3 hole?

[Club Rat]

Certainly, nothing better than hitting first and knocking it stiff.

Then reject the Wolf and watch everyone crumble under pressure.

We play - a player can also declare Wolf before they hit a tee shot.

Club Rat

[RussUK]

Couple of fun ones are "Portugese Caddie". Start of the round you decide how many portugese caddies you can use in a round, Using one means you can kick/throw the ball but you have to play it from where it ends up.

"Adolf": you get a a pre decided penatly for not escaping a bunker

Dunce - Matchplay format. Loser of the hole plays the next wearing a ridiculous hat. You may get some funny looks playing this one!