Games within the game

Golf has always had games hiding inside it. The Saturday four plays Wolf, the regulars run a Nassau, and every group has someone who swears they never three-putt until Snake is on. Here are the rules, the scoring and a scorecard for each, plus the crazy golf and backyard games where a lot of us started.

Photo: 22563 (Pixabay) / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

On the course

Side games, explained properly

Each page has the rules, the scoring, a worked example, the usual house rules and a scorecard that does the adding up.

No. 1WolfWolf turns every tee box into a decision.4 players · 4 players · points No. 2NassauThe Nassau is the classic golf bet: three matches in one round.2 players · 3 bets in one No. 3SkinsSkins is the simplest money game in golf, and the most dramatic.2 to 6 players · win a hole, win a skin No. 4Bingo Bango BongoBingo Bango Bongo gives away three points on every hole, and none of them depend on your score.3 or 4 players · 3 points every hole No. 5VegasVegas is a two-versus-two game where the team's two scores are glued together into one number.4 players · 2 v 2 · big swings No. 6SnakeSnake is the side game that makes every short putt matter.2 to 6 players · don't 3-putt

Pick your poison

Your group	Try	Why
Two players	Nassau + Snake	Three bets keep a match alive; Snake adds pressure on the greens.
Three players	Skins or Bingo Bango Bongo	Every-player-for-themselves games that work with odd numbers.
Four players, similar ability	Wolf or Vegas	Changing partners (Wolf) or big team swings (Vegas).
Four players, mixed ability	Bingo Bango Bongo or net Skins	Points that don't depend on total score, or handicaps on the hardest holes.
Big group or society day	Scramble variants, Stableford	Fast, forgiving formats where everyone finishes.

Agree on the game, the points and any stakes on the first tee. Every golf argument we've ever heard started with “I thought we said…”

More formats

More ways to raise the stakes

Rabbit

The first player to win a hole outright "catches the rabbit" and holds it until someone else wins a hole outright and sets it loose. Whoever holds the rabbit after 9 (and again after 18) wins that leg.

Hammer

A match-play add-on: a player or team can "hammer" to double the value of the hole. The other side must accept or concede the hole at the current value. Usually only the side that's down, or the side whose ball is in play, can hammer.

Stableford

Points instead of strokes: a common scale is double bogey or worse 0, bogey 1, par 2, birdie 3, eagle 4, albatross 5. Pick up when you can't score, which speeds up play.

Texas scramble

Everyone tees off, the team picks the best shot, and everyone plays from there. Usually each player's drive must be used a minimum number of times.

Florida scramble

A scramble where the player whose shot is chosen sits out the next shot. It keeps the best player from carrying the team.

Chapman / Pinehurst

Both partners drive, swap balls for the second shot, choose the better ball, then alternate shots to the hole.

Best ball / Four-ball

Each player plays their own ball; the team's best score on each hole counts. The format behind most member-guest events.

Dots (Trash or Garbage)

Side points for achievements: greenies (closest on a par 3 and making par), sandies (up and down from a bunker), barkies (par after hitting a tree) and more. Pick a list and keep it short.

Off the course · where the name comes from