The side games we play in golf

Release

Is there a favorite side game you play with your golfing buddies ?
Which on is it and how do you play the game ( or a variation of it ) ?

I will start by an older more common side game .
NASSAU
The common side bet is either a stroke or match dividing the 18 into 3 sections.
The front 9 and the back nine and the 18, each holds a bet, so the dollar bet would be the winner of the front nine gets one point ( what ever the value assigned to it ), winner of the back nine gets a point and the winner of the 18 gets a point.
Our group used to play double the points for the back nine for a chance to catch up.
Another variation is the NASSAU 4 ways, in which you're betting with all other 3 players in the group. So a $5 NASSAU could max out $45 total lost if you are the low man on the totem pole.

PA-PLAYA

Vegas is a fun game. But it can also be very expensive. It's a points-based game where each point is given a money amount. We usually play quarters.

Four players, two teams. Both players on Team A make a pair of pars on the opening par4, for 44 points total. One player on Team B makes par, and his partner records a double bogey, giving them 46 points. So two points was all that exchanged on that hole, a whopping 50 cents. (the lowest score of the team is the first number used for the total)

Here's where the "risk" value comes into play, however, with this format. Any birdies made on a hole reverses the other team's highest score on the hole to be the first number used in their team total, not the lowest per usual.

Example: Ned and Ted are playing Ralph and Ron. On the par3 2nd, Ned makes birdie, Ted makes par, for a total of 23 points. Ralph Makes double bogey 5, Ron makes par. Ordinarily with no birdies - they would have 35 points total on that hole, but there was a birdie. So suddenly that is switched from 35 to 53. So Ned and Ted won the difference on that hole of 30 quarters. On this hole alone - $7.50 exchanged hands.

So you can see how it could and sometimes does get out of hand really quick if one guy isn't on his game for one hole, but another guy from the other team is. With birdies reversing the low-high to high-low number totals, there's a lot of stuff that can go on and it can get expensive over the course of 18 holes.

I lost 63 dollars last fall playing this with a couple other guys from our club. Of course - I've won more than my fair share playing it too. It just comes down to how comfortable you are with wagering and how serious you take it. If it's going to create issues between friends - this is not the game for them, for sure.

darpar

If we only have a threesome we'll play a game called "nines".
Each hole is worth a total of 9 points.
If player #1 gets a birdie and the other two players get a par,player #1 gets 5pts. and the others two get 2pts. ea.
If player #1 gets a birdie,player #2 a par and player #3 a bogey then #1 gets 5pts.,#2 gets 3pts. and #3 gets 1pt.
If player #1 and player #2 both par a hole and #3 gets a bogey,#1 and #2 gets 4pts. ea. and #3 gets 1pt.
If all three players tie a hole they each get 3pts.
We usually play front,back and total for $$ whatever.
What's nice about this game is that you can be behind a few points and make them up in a hurry....sometimes!

PA-PLAYA

darpar

That is an excellent game on those occasions when you've only got three players. We play it on occasion at my club, and it's just a fun little wagering game to keep things interesting.

On occasion we also play C.O.D. if we've got 4 players, and it is known that one of the guys is going through a tough patch with his game. It's basically a $2 best-ball nassau, 3 six-hole matches, with cart against cart on the opening 6 holes, opposites on the next 6 holes (driver from cart 1 teaming with passenger from cart 2) and then cart driver playing with cart driver on the last 6-hole set.

It just ensures that everyone gets a chance to play with each other, helping offset any unfair advantage that might otherwise come if one player was stuck with the struggling golfer for the entire 18 holes.

We also throw in side games quite often. Natural birdies are worth a dollar to the individual golfer who makes them, and then we also do short-and-long, which is a dollar to the team who gets closest to the pin on the par3's and par5's (ball must be on the green obviously).

Some guys play all sorts of "junk" - like par from a bunker or 3-putts cost a dollar, etc. That's just too much to keep track of.

One fun side match however is Appearance Fees. A tee is flipped to determine who tees off in order on the opening hole, but starting on the 2nd tee box - whoever wins the honor on the tee box for each hole earns a dollar. If no one beats the opening hole score of the guy who teed off first on the first hole - he gets a dollar for having the honors on the second hole, and that continues. Ties still count as a win for the previous player who still has honors.

MartinD

The standard game in the fourballs that I play in is a best-ball Nassau (although we don't call it that - usually 50-50-pound or pound-pound-pound (referring to the money that we're playing for - not very much money, but it's more about having something to play for)). A variant of this that's sometimes used in my Saturday group is to use total score instead of the better ball - means that there's more reward for consistent scoring...

If there are three of us, we sometimes play a variant on what darpar describes - the 'six-point' game. On each hole, the best score gets 4 points, middle score gets 2, high score gets nothing (with points split between any players that tie - for example, if A makes par and B and C both make bogey, A gets 4, B and C get 1 each).

MidwayJ

We often play three 6-hole four ball matches with rotating partners. Each person wins a "robin" for each match their team wins. What makes it interesting is the "press." If your team goes down by 2 holes, you have the option to "press," which starts another robin for the remainder of the 6 holes. For example, say during the first match your team ties two holes and loses two holes after four have been played. Your team is two down with 2 holes to play. You press, which starts another robin for the last 2 holes. Say you tie the 5th hole and win the 6th. The original robin still continues, so you end up losing it by a score of one down. However, you win the press 1 up so it's a tie overall. Lose the press and your team loses 2 robins for those 6 holes. A press can also be elected by a team that is one down with 1 hole to play. That starts a 1 hole robin on hole 6 that can potentially "flip" the match. If either team goes down by two in the press, (or down by one with 1 hole to play) they can press again, opening up a 3rd robin in play for the match. That does not happen too often. Is this clear? 🙂

PA-PLAYA

MidwayJ

Yes, very familiar with presses. We generally do a 2-down optional, but once the team who goes 2-down declines to press - it's off the table and can't happen thereafter. We generally do it on the standard front-back-total, per the standard two 9-hole matches and of course the overall.

There's also a skins-based game called Validation. It's just traditional skins, but with an interesting twist.
Example: I birdie the hole, win the skin. Any player in the group can declare validation before teeing off on the very next hole. If I achieve the par-value of that next hole (even if someone else happens to birdie it) the player who declared me to validate my previous skin by making par on the next hole owes me an additional skin. If I fail to make par - then the player who declared validation doesn't have to pay the skin from the hole prior. This can be very strategic in nature, especially if you play with players enough to know which holes on the layout they struggle with, and one of those tough holes happens to be the very next hole we're playing after he just won a skin.

MidwayJ

PA-PLAYA
We also add extra stuff (greenies, sandies, etc.) Validation. Wow, if I make a birdie validation would be called every time!

Release

How about 18 holes greenies ?

The player whom reached the green closest to the pin with fewer shots wins the greenie . This was played with more than 2 players and all 18 holes. Of course some of my friends demand a par or better to take the greenie .

Release

I remembered playing the "Hogan Point" when I was playing regularly.

It can be played by a 2-some,3-some or 4-somes. In addition to other arrangement , this game simply adds a point to fairway hits on the drive, a point to green in regulation, a point to either 1 or 2 putts, 2 points for scoring a birdie, and 5 points for scoring an eagle.

It's simple and don't need to bring your book keeper to tally the points.

Usually we have at least 2 score keepers to make sure no "honest" mistakes were made.