Friendly competition, anyone?

[Names Are Hard To Think Of]

What are some of the best mildly competitive golf betting games to play with your buddies? Any good/bad memories with them?

 

[knock it close]

we usually play fourball, five bucks a hole with carryovers or 10 bucks without, one time we played 10 with and unlimited presses, ended up winning $560 that day. Another fun one we play when we're playing 36 is high low 5 a side per whole on the first nine then up to 10 then 15 then the last nine is 20 per hole per side.

[blaird]

Usually the same as knock it close. Just little four balls. May have a swing where you and a partner play all combinations of the other 3 or however many are in your group.

Presses make for fun. We usually have done 2 down presses but have done 1 down automatic presses. You can always play wolf with 4 or 5 people. Although if you just have 3, 3 man wolf can get fun.

Played a practice round with two buddies once. Me and one guy gave the other guy par for a partner and played him single low ball and double low ball. Had presses going on all bets when the other guy holed out for a double eagle. Happily he finished bogey-bogey and we finished birdie-birdie to get all of it back plus some change.

You can also do a net game. Do a low net for 18 and net skins. There are closes to the pins and things like that. You can also come up with points and make each point worth $1 or something like that.

[MidwestGolfBum]

Depending on the size of the group, you can play other groups 2 low net with the course broken into 6 hole matches, play closest too on the 3s as well for this. You can play front, back and total this way as well. We have 4 groups that play the 6/6/6 and greenie game every Saturday and Sunday at my club and everybody throws in $160 or $40 part to be won, always make the low capper play as scratch and everybody plays off of him. This could obviously be changed to whatever $$$ amount you want.

You can play low net ball with high as the tie breaker for $5 a point, 1 down auto presses keep it fun. Unless somebody is just playing out of their mind well or out of their mind terrible, nobody really wins or loses a lot of money so long as the group is able to play to around their handicaps. This works best if you are in a group of 4, but it can be played as 2 man teams against as many others as you are willing to keep track of.

[sertshark]

Wolf sounds like a fun game. Especially the part where you can be the lone wolf for double the bet on the hole, if you decide to go against all three. I wonder if there is a way to play it with three players?

[MadGolfer76]

I don't play in a regular group anymore, but in my last one the guys would randomly call each other out, Caddyshack-style.

"Hey John, I bet you a beer you miss this 7-footer..." BS stuff like that. It did put more pressure on, because it is make or break with no chance to recover.

[topr]

The regular crew I play with is just a standard Nassau... with all the trimmings, aka, blips for a quarter. Blips are skins, birdies, greenies, sandies, barkies (hit a tree and par), hazzies, fewest putts, footers (made putts over flag stick length) and the snake. Forget a club on the green it cost you blip.

[blaird]

[quote name='sertshark' timestamp='1410971808' post='10132913']
Wolf sounds like a fun game. Especially the part where you can be the lone wolf for double the bet on the hole, if you decide to go against all three. I wonder if there is a way to play it with three players?
[/quote]

Yep...its the same as with 5 people. You just play 2 on 1 instead of 3 on 2. You just have to hope the other two dont decide to gang up on you. I have played it a few times. Lots of fun.

[Names Are Hard To Think Of]

[quote name='sertshark' timestamp='1410971808' post='10132913']Wolf sounds like a fun game. Especially the part where you can be the lone wolf for double the bet on the hole, if you decide to go against all three. I wonder if there is a way to play it with three players?[/quote]

Wolf is a great game! One of my personal favorites.

I've actually only played it with three players. It's my go-to three person game.

[PostandGhost]

Left/Right is a good 4 person game.

[vbb]

My usual group of friends plays "dots" where you get a dot for each hole won, skins style (and yes, ties carry over), a dot for a birdie, a dot for a greenie and a dot for a poley (draining a putt longer than the length of the flagstick). Each dot is worth either $.50 or $1 depending on how froggy we're feeling. You could get blown out and only lose about $20 total.

A larger group at my club plays a weekly blitz that plays a modified stableford, handicapped by varying point targets based on your average scores shot in previous blitzes. If your point target is 20, and one day you get 24, you're plus 4 on the day. Top points getters are captains and there is a blind draw for teams. Depending on how many come out we either pay one team or sometimes the #2 team gets a lesser amount as well. There's also a side bet for birdies. If you shoot birdie or better on a hole that doesn't get cut by someone else's birdie or better on the same hole (meaning an eagle has to get cut by an eagle), then you get part of the birdie pool.

In my group of coworkers and friends of coworkers (this is really my bosses group and his friends that I'll occasionally get the invite to play with), we either play a game where you are partnered with one person for six holes, the next for six holes, and then the 3rd person for six holes. Two man better ball each six. That, or we play wolf.

I've gotten to the point where it feels weird not to have something on the line, though I have shot some of my best rounds this year playing as a single paired up with a stranger.