Every now and then a few of my friends get together on the weekend for a round of golf. If we are lucky enough we have a foursome. We might have a side bet like closest to the hole on a par 3 or longest drive on a wide open par 5. Just your typical thing to spice up the round between friends. That closest to the hole on a par 3 might evolve to must be on the green and make par or better. This past year more of us got together on a random Saturday or with a bunch of groups and found some fun games for golf tournaments or our specific foursome.
Some of this may be new to you as a new golfer or all of these games may be something you’ve played before. I’ll include some fun golf games that maybe you haven’t played before.
Fun Games for Golf Tournaments
Scramble
A Scramble format can be played in groupings of two or more. A single score is kept for the group. It works like this. Each player hits their tee shot. It is then determined which is the best tee shot in the grouping. Put a tee down to mark that location. Of course the others will pick up their golf balls along the way. The “group” each will then hit their 2nd shot from the tee you put down. Pick the best shot once again. Put a tee down to mark the location and each player will then hit their 3rd shot from that spot. This continues until the ball is in the hole. Mark down your score for the group. Play in this manner for the round. The team or grouping with the lowest total score wins!
We played a Scramble recently as a yearly outing amongst a number of families from nearby states. A fun time was had by all. We were the only group with a threesome so it allowed us to choose one person each hole to take that extra shot. We stopped at the midway point for some beverages and hot dogs. The team that won gets to hold on to a trophy until next years event.
Best Ball
A best ball format is typically played with two player teams. Each golfer plays his/her own ball as they normally would throughout the hole. At the end of the hole mark down the lowest score on that hole for the team. Go on to the next hole. The team with the lowest total score wins! Along the way you can also choose to separately keep your own score. This golf game can also be played as a four player team where the game is called Fourball.
Nassau
This is a fun game which might involve a bet of a dollar or two per segment. I particularly enjoy this game only because it takes some of us (ummm errrrr looking in the mirror here) some time to warmup. We play this golf game usually as a foursome. The three segments are the front nine, the back nine, and the total score. Each of these segments is for low score. In the end at $1 bet per segment, you only stand to lose a maximum of $3. If you won all segments you could walk away with $9 in total from the other players in your foursome.
Six Six Six
More often than not this is a game we play amongst a select group of friends. I realize I call this article fun games for golf tournaments but the reality of it is sometimes it is just fun amongst a group of friends. We play this game as a foursome. Six Six Six has three different segments and has a change in partner (team) every 6 holes. So the person you are riding the golf cart with might be your first partner. The game itself can be played in a couple of different ways but we usually play the team with the lowest score wins the hole, which means they get a point.
Six Six Six with a Push
Wait a minute… I can hear you saying. What if both teams tie on a hole? We call that a push. So no one gets a point on that given hole but the next hole is worth two points. If both teams tie the next hole, you once again push the points to the following hole. The team with the most points after 6 holes wins. Then move on to another team. ie the drivers of the golf carts play on a team. Keep the same format. Keep track of the lowest score on each hole. That team gets a point. The team with the most points after the second 6 holes wins. Finally, you get the partner you haven’t played with yet. Play the 6 holes, tally up the team score and the one with the most points wins.
So every 6 holes is a separate bet. Sometimes you will play well but your playing partner on a particular 6 holes may not be playing their best. And in the reverse, sometimes your playing partner might get hot for a few holes and make your team a winner! Oh, for some that don’t like the name of this game, you alternatively can call it Round Robin.
Skins
It seems like a lot of golf games involve betting and Skins does as well. Of course you can simply play with a points system, maybe buy a beer at the end of the round, or take care of someone’s lunch. To start this game, we come up with a dollar amount per hole (can also be done with points per hole). That would typically be $1 per hole with par three’s being $2 per hole. The lowest score on each hole wins. If there is a tie, the hole is pushed and the dollar amount or points is pushed to the next hole until there is a winner on that hole.
I’m a fairly decent golfer at times but the guy who doesn’t like to spend $4 on lottery tickets. So the thought of even losing around $20 or so kind of irks me and I don’t enjoy this game as much. From memory, we once played Skins where we had 6 consecutive holes tied and there were 2 par 3’s in those holes. So the hole won by one of my buddies ended being worth $9 per golfer. He was a happy camper.
Murphys
I find Murphys a fun golf game once you understand the rules. I’ve played it alone rather than keeping a standard score but it can be played in two-somes, threesomes, foursomes, and in different variations involving team or tournament play. You get zero points for a par. 2 points for a birdie. 5 points for an eagle and if someone were to get a hole in one they get 8 points. On the flip side, you get -1 point for a bogey and -3 points for a double bogey or worse. The goal of Murphys is to get the highest score possible as the highest score wins!
Stableford
If your buddy or playing partner ever ask you to play by Stableford rules, here’s just a very quick primer on how it works. Not so much a fun golf game but a different way of scoring. You get 1 point for a bogey. 2 points for a par. 3 points for a birdie. 4 points for an eagle. 5 points for a hole in one. So for the vast majority of my playing partners, we will be shooting to get at least 1 point on each hole (so as not to get a double bogey or worse). We will be happy to get 2 points for a par and very seldom will we see 3 points for a birdie. So the Stableford rules are pretty easy for us to remember.
Snake
Snake is perhaps my least favorite golf game yet one I’m all too familiar with. It can be played with anywhere from 2-4 players. Everyone starts off the same. A bet is made. It could be to buy lunch or simply to have bragging rights that you aren’t the snake. Cuz being the Snake is bad. If you 3 putt a hole you become the Snake. You hold that title of Snake until someone else further in the round 3 putts a hole and then they become the snake. At the end of the round, the person who holds the title of Snake has to pay up on the bet.
Pink Ball
Pink Ball can be played as a fun game for a golf tournament involving multiple teams. The premise is that each team gets a single Pink Ball. That in itself is sometimes our biggest issue so I go to Amazon and pick up a bunch of Pink Balls.
The golfer using the Pink Ball records his or her score. For the purpose of this game, other scores amongst the team are not marked down. After the first hole, the Pink Ball is given to another member of your team. Again, the golfer who has the Pink Ball records his or her score on the 2nd hole. This continues throughout the round. The end goal is to finish the round with the lowest score.
What routinely happens with Pink Ball is the ball is lost, hit into the water, etc… So the winner of this game is the team which manages to make it through 18 holes with the lowest score and still has the Pink Ball. If no team makes it through 18 holes (or 9 holes if you would like to play that version) and still has the Pink Ball, then it is the team who made it through the most holes before losing the Pink Ball who is the winner. This is a fun game!
Steal A Shot
We play this in our annual golf classic. Each foursome gets a black poker chip. We simply pick a number out of a hat to determine which player in each foursome starts off with that chip. That player with the chip will tee off last. If the player with the black poker chip determines he likes one of his playing partners drives (before he tees off), he may give the black poker chip to that partner and steal their drive. That playing partner now must hit another drive. The black poker chip can only be used once a hole.
There is another version of steal a shot where you don’t take (steal) your playing partners shot but you make that person hit another shot. ie your buddy hits a ball on to the green from 150 yards away and it lands 6 feet from the hole. You can give your buddy the black poker chip and tell him to hit it again. Of course now your buddy has the black poker chip and can steal a shot or tell a playing partner to re-hit if he wishes on the very next hole or a few holes down the line. Once you steal a shot you give up that black poker chip to the person you stole the shot from.
Pick A Game To Play This Weekend
Well, if your normal golf outing has become slightly mundane, I hope I’ve opened your eyes to a few fun games for golf tournaments or outings that might add a little spice to the normal 18 holes. Some of the mentioned games might be just a tweaking of the rules while others can be played in tournaments. The great thing about some of these games or rules is that they can sometimes be combined to come up with a game of your own. Let us know if you have a different golf game that you play.