Fun golf games

Don't know if this thread has been done before, but interested in some fun golf games you play with your buddies.  I've played dozens, but can never seem to remember the mechanics of them when I'm on the tee.  Maybe this will help.

I'll share a game I've always liked--used to play this all the time when my regular group was a threesome (it really only works with 3 players).  It's a points game, with each golfer getting strokes on handicap holes relative to their individual handicaps.  Once strokes are allocated per hole, each player plays their own ball for score.

Each hole is worth 1 point.  If one player wins the hole outright, he gets a full point.  If two players tie to win the hole, then they each get half a point (and the loser for that hole gets nothing).  If all three players tie, then you can play as a push or carryover, depending on your tendencies.

A point can be worth whatever you want.  You can play for $1 a point, or for total points at the end of the round (loser buys the beer).  You can also increase the per-hole point value as you want.  You could play 9 and 18 are worth 2 points, the last three holes are worth 2, 3, 4 points, or 1 point for 1-6, 2 for 7-12, and 3 for 13-18.

You just described a skins game ... why do you think it doesn't work with a foursome?

Some friends of mine recently introduced me to Snake: If anyone fails to get up and down from within a club length of the green (or fails to 2 putt from on the green), they have to wear a two foot long rubber snake on their belt loop.

It sounded a bit silly at first, but it turns out it's more embarrassing than you'd think to wear a snake on your waist as you walk the course, especially when you have to explain it to other groups.  I suppose if a rubber snake isn't bad enough you could make it more embarrassing by using other things - rubber chicken, barbie doll, a sign around your neck that says "Hacker", etc...  (Although the snake was motivation enough for one of the guys I was playing with that day - he has a phobia for them... The first time he had to take the snake he stuck out his putter for me to hang it on... cracked me up.)

If more than one person fails to get up and down, the last one to putt wears the snake. (The thinking being that the shortest missed putt deserves it the most.) And once you wear the snake you keep wearing it even if you do subsequently get up and down - you don't pass it on until someone else fails to get up and down.  The exception is if you get a birdie or better you can take off the snake, even if it's not going to anybody else.

Another interesting one is beer rules golf.  Every player has to crack a beer on the tee, and finish that beer before they hole their putt.  If any player in the group makes a birdie, then every other golfer has to crack a beer on the green, and finish that beer before they tee off on the next hole.

Note:  this game is best played on 9 hole courses.

I actually have an interesting story about beer rules golf from when I was in college, which ended up with me puking in the Champions Club dining room and getting ripped by Jackie Burke.

I like Hi-Low, Played with a foursome you have two teams, you switch after 6 holes, so everyone has played on a team with everyone. Basically after every hole you pit the highest score versus the highest score and lowest score versus the lowest score.

So lets say on the first hole Team one has a scores of 3 & 6, and team two has scores of 4 & 5. So each team gets 1 point, 3 beats 4, but 5 beats 6. You can do payouts on this in number of wins or pt difference, or per point.

Wolf. It's two-man best ball, partner changes each hole.

The mechanics is, you have to have a foursome & you have a set tee order. Player 1 hits first in the first tee, Player 2 on the 2nd tee, Player 3 on the 3rd tee, Player 4 on the 4th tee. Then repeat. In other words, there's no Honors system - the tee-off order is pre-set.

The player that hits first has to pick a partner for that hole based on that person's tee shot. For example, Player 1 hits first on the 1st (and 5th and 9th and 13th & 17th) hole is the decider. Player 2 hits it in the woods off the tee. Pass. Player 3 stripes it down the middle, so Player 1 picks him. So for that hole it's Players 1&3 versus Players 2&4. One the next hole. Player #2 gets to choose his partner. The players that win a hole get a point. Play for a value per point, like a dollar.

Now, the player that hits first can also decide to not choose anyone, in other words he can go 'Lone Wolf' on a hole. 3 versus 1. If so, point values double. A great example of this is a par 3 where Player 1 stiffs it to like 6 feet. He may just pass on picking a partner, and if he runs in that birdie putt he gets TWO points from each of the three guys.

And another wrinkle is, we call it the F-You Rule. The Chooser can pick a player, but that player has the option of declining. If so, THAT the player (the one that declined, or basically said F-You) is now the Lone Wolf. Let's take the par-3 example: Player 1 hits a bad tee shot. Player 2 stiffs it to 6 feet. Player 1 chooses Player 2. Player 2 has the option of saying F-You, I'll go alone.

It sounds complicated but it really isn't, and it's really fun. By the end of the day you've partnered with everyone & the dynamics are great - on one hole you're rooting for your partner to make a putt, the next hole he's your opponent & you're rooting against him. Like my buddy John used to say "Was that my partner that just made that birdie, or did that c**ksucker just luck out?'

Excellent story!  I'm sure someone on here will rip you for tarnishing the honor of the game and their fine club, but everyone who has played golf for a long time should have one or two stories like this.

It's a betting game. You don't need an actual snake, but whoever has the 'snake' at the end of the round pays out to the group ... round of beers etc.

In my group, to 'snake a putt' is synonymous with missing a 2 putt even when you're not playing snake.

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Originally Posted by WWBDD

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If more than one person fails to get up and down, the last one to putt wears the snake.

It's a betting game. You don't need an actual snake, but whoever has the 'snake' at the end of the round pays out to the group ... round of beers etc.

Oh, I like that.

LOL...this reminds me of a story I heard -

Seems an 18-handicap challenged a Scratch to a match, straight up. No strokes. The only stipulation was the Scratch had to drink a shot of whiskey on each tee. The story goes that the Scratch was one-up on the 18th tee when he passed out.

What he described isn't skins.  In skins a tie between any two golfers results in a carryover.  What he described is where a tie between two players gives them each a half of the prize (or point).

A group I play with play a game called Rabbit.  If one player beats the others on any hole, he gets a rabbit leg.  then the other 3 are playing against him to take it away.  If any player beats him, he loses his leg.  If the guy with the leg wins another hole he keeps collecting legs. Finish the 9th or 18th with a leg and everybody pays $5 to the person with the leg.

Battle Golf like in the Tiger Woods game. Match play format. The winner of the hole gets to take a club out of the opponents bag. If you win a hole you have the option of taking your club back or taking one of your opponents. I think it would be a blast...as long as I'm playing good that day.

Thanks for posting this.  Tried it today because we had four guys, wanted to play against each other, but had two good and two bad.  Playing this way kept it really interesting (we had tried best ball before, but we ended up just using the same guys shots over and over).  What is really interesting about this is occasionally you get one of the bad players hole out or something to go up against the good player.  It was alot of fun and we're going to play again next Saturday with this format.  It also allows you to play matchplay while keeping track 100% of your own score - in other words, you always try to beat the best guy, so you really play your golf as oppossed to match play where you might be more conservative if your opponent misses a tee shot, etc...  This format lets you basically play both stroke and match play.