Simple golf games

The loser of a hole gets to pull a club out of his opponent's bag. Players only can reclaim their clubs by losing holes. A good golfer could, ideally, win the first four or five holes against weaker competition, but his loss of clubs would end up leveling the competition.

If you are only playing nine holes, consider allowing the loser to grab two clubs from the opponent's bag on each hole.

Patrick Cameron is a freelance writer with 10 years of diverse experience in consumer goods branding, promotions and retail communications. He works out of his home in Denver, Colo. He received his Bachelor of Arts in mass communication from the University of Minnesota. Spice up your next round by playing a game within the game. Most Popular. Fun Ways to Play Golf.

You can choose from plenty of courses, which offer realistic holes and exciting challenges. Avoid deep sand traps, stay away from water hazards, and try to sink the final putt in the least amount of strokes possible! Our collection will test every aspect of your craft, from long drives to chips to putts. Practice your backswing, perfect your aim, and hit balls like Tiger Woods!

Play any type of golf challenge, including match play, stroke play, and skins. Selected Score In this game, each golfer plays 36 holes.

Each then arrives at a final score by combining the two rounds, selecting the best net score from each of the 18 holes. The winner is the player with the lowest total. This format is usually played with two-thirds or three-fourths handicap. Selected score is a fun, leisurely format to use over a weekend, although I've seen some fanatics pack it all into one day.

Medal Play is the most basic format for golf tournaments. Contestants simply play 18 holes and prizes go to players with the best gross scores and net scores. Medal Play is the most serious and least forgiving tournament format no gimmies! Scramble In a Scramble, each foursome is a team competing against all other foursomes. Each player in the group drives off the tee, then all four golfers play their second shorts from the best-driven ball.

All then play their third shots from the best second ball, and so on. Each player in a foursome must have at least four of their drives used by the group. Don't wait until the end! Handicaps are not used during play, but they are used to create teams. All players should split into four handicap groups lowest to highest. Use four hats, and pick a player from each hat to form a team. A Scramble usually calls for a shotgun start, preceded by lunch or followed by dinner.

Seven-or-eight-under is usually the score to beat. Flag Tournament In a Flag Tournament, each player receives a certain number of strokes - usually the course par plus two-thirds of the player's full handicap. So, a handicapper on a par course gets 82 strokes.

He then plays 82 shots and stops, planting a flag on the spot where his 82nd shot landed. The flags should be provided on the first tee by the tournament director. Each participant should have his name taped to his flag. This way, as players make their way through the back nine, they can see where others bit the dust. If a player finishes all 18 holes before using his total strokes, he should either keep playing until he's out of strokes or stop.

Under the first option, the winner is the player who plants his flag farthest on the course. Under the second, the winner is whoever has the most strokes remaining after 18 holes. The reason two-thirds handicap is used, though, is so most people will finish somewhere inside of regulation.

One additional rule: You can't plant a flag past a hole that you haven't completed. In other words, if you're five feet short of a green with one stroke left, you can't blast the ball with your 2-iron onto the next fairway. Also, if the farthest two players both finish on the same green, the winner is the golfer closer to the hole. A flag tournament is essentially Stroke Play with a handicap, but the twist makes it a little more interesting. Pink Ball To play Pink Ball, use teams of four. Each foursome has a hideous, bright pink ball that rotates among players.

Of course, the ball can be any color, but the more obnoxious, the better. Player 1 uses it on the first hole, player 2 on the second, and so on. Take the best two net scores on each hole and add them. Whoever has the pink ball on a given hole must contribute one of the two scores.

One variation: The golfer with the pink ball is automatically disqualified if he loses it. This is perhaps too harsh, so I don't recommend it. Players should have a reason to stay interested, after all. Another, less harsh, variation: Keep the overall net score for the pink ball separately, and give a prize to the team with the best pink ball score.

If a team loses the pink ball, it's out. This makes for considerable camaraderie and tension if you're playing on a course with a lot of water. Trouble Also known as "Disaster". Trouble is a point game in which your actual score isn't relevant, at least not directly. The goal is to collect the least number of "trouble points" possible during a round.