Five Games to Play on Your Next Golf Outing

There's nothing like a casual round of golf with friends.

But finishing up on No. 18 just to tally scores and find yourself in a pile of double-bogeys and three-putts while your friends celebrate birdies and par-saves can get frustrating.

To keep things competitive but fun, we compiled a list of the five best golf games to play with your friends no matter the skill level.

BINGO BANGO BONGO (2+ Players)

This is a great game for players of varying golf abilities to compete for points. Three points are awarded on every hole.

• The first player to get their ball on the green earns Bingo (one point).
• The player whose ball is closest to the hole once every ball is on the green earns Bango (one point).
• Lastly, the player who sinks their putt first gets Bongo (one point).

Traditional golf etiquette of allowing the player furthest from the pin to take their next shot is in play.

The beauty of this game is stronger players who may reach the green in fewer shots are typically doing so from greater distances, thus landing their ball further from the pin.

Weaker players who may land approach shots just off the green will put themselves in a great position to earn at least one point per hole with short chipping opportunities for Bango.

Keep track of the points awarded after each hole and the player with the most points by the end of the round is the winner.

CHAPMAN (2 players)

This game is meant for players not looking to get competitive with each other, but to get competitive with the course and implement golf strategy.

The goal of Chapman is to simply complete each hole with the lowest possible score — but there’s a twist.

Once both players tee off, they then have to swap balls for their second shot. The team then selects which of the two balls they want to play and will alternate on shots until the ball is holed for a score.

Teamwork and strategic golf are important to achieve the lowest possible scores.

WOLF (4 Players)

On the first tee box, determine the order of play. The Wolf is always the last player to tee off.

The teeing order will rotate, regardless of who has honors, to ensure each player becomes the Wolf every four holes.

Once every golfer hits their tee shot, it’s time for the Wolf to make a decision. They can either select one player to join  their team for the hole or choose to play solo as the Lone Wolf and attempt to beat the three other players. 

Every hole is played in a best ball format with the best individual score for a hole acting as the team score.

Scoring:

• If the Wolf chooses a partner and that duo wins the hole, they receive two points each.
• If the non-Wolf team wins the hole, they receive three points each. 
• If the Lone Wolf beats all other players, four points are awarded.
• If any player in the group of three beats the Lone Wolf, they each receive one point.

The winner at the end of the round is the player with the most points.

RABBIT (2+ Players)

This one is simple and requires no point tallying.

The first player in the group to have the low hole score captures the Rabbit. Any ties on those first few holes means the Rabbit is still on the loose.

Once the Rabbit is captured, it takes a low score from someone in the group other than the capturer to set it free. Once free, the Rabbit can then be won by the next player to earn the lowest score on a hole. Still, ties do not count.

Before anyone can capture the Rabbit, it must be set free first. The winner of the game is the holder of the rabbit at the end of the round.

VEGAS (4 players, 2 teams of 2 golfers)

In this game, four players are split into two teams of two. If there is a large skill gap across the group, pairing the strongest and weakest player together is recommended.

Have each golfer play their own ball for a score. The team's score is not added together, it is joined together. so, instead of a pair shooting a 3-5 for an eight, their score is actually a 35 — the lowest score goes in front.

To keep things more fair, the only time the higher score goes in front is if it reaches double-digits. If one player scores 6 and the other in the pair scores 10, the score will be 106 for the hole instead of counting as a 610.

The points should be added up for the team after each hole and the lowest team score at the end of the round is the winner.