Fun Golf Games

Does your weekly foursome play the same game over and over each time? And does this get a little boring to the group? Most of the golf fund raisers today use the Scramble, Ft. Lauderdale, Captains Choice, Best Ball (whichever you choose to call it) format. Even though it is a fun format and leaves you playing golf with no pressure it can get quite old.

In organizing events for my Lady Links Golf Association and other events I try to come up with different formats to keep the game interesting and rewarding not only for the BEST golfer but for the golfer that plays the particular chosen format the best. Try some of these different formats with your regular weekend foursome.

Stand a Side: Some also call this a Florida Scramble or a Dropout Scramble. Members of each 4-person team in the tournament play a scramble, but the golfer whose ball is chosen for each shot has to stand a side and not hit the next stroke. Usually when everyone finally gets on the green everyone plays each putt in a scramble format.

In the Bucket: Another name for this is the Eliminator. It’s a best ball tournament in which every fourth hole, one player is left “in the bucket” his or her score must count as the team score. That’s because on each of the three preceding holes, the player whose low-ball score counted as the team score is “elimated” (he still plays, but his score can’t be used). After the fourth hole, the rotation starts over again with all players eligible.

The Train: The Train is a golf betting game for groups that awards points for positive accomplishments – but can wipe those points away if something bad happens. In the Train, positive points are awarded thusly: Par – 1 point, Birdie – 2 points, Eagle – 5 points. The object is to accumulate the most points over the course of your round. But, there’s a catch and it’s a big catch. If at any point in the round you make two bogeys in a row or one double-bogey – you lose all your points and start over again at zero.

Whack and Hack: A format used for 4-person teams, or a betting game for several groups of four golfers each. The four team members each play their own ball for four individual scores. Two of those scores are combined to make up the team score on each hole. The two scores that are used are the low ball and the high ball. So if the four players score, 4,5, 6 and 7, respectively, the team score is 11 (4+7). But there’s an exception. If the low ball for the team is a birdie or better, then the team gets to use its two low balls on that hole.

Pinehurst System: Also known as Chapman System is a 2-person team competition format. The “inventor” Dick Chapman a great amateur golfer who played in the Masters 17 consecutive years came up with the format at The Pinehurst Resort. Both players tee off, and then they switch balls. Player A plays Players B’s drive, and vice-versa. Each player hits the second shot. Then they select the best of the second shots, and from that point until the ball is holed they play only one ball in an alternate shot format.

Bingo Bango Bongo: This is played with a foursome and you accrue points. One point for longest drive, one point for first on the green and one point for first in the hole. The person with the most points at the end of the round is the winner. The ladies really like this format.

I hope you will try some of these formats to make your weekly game more interesting.