This is one my buddies and I have often played. It’s particularly good for groups of mixed skill levels.

All you do in the game is keep track of the number of putts for each player. At the end of the round, the player with the fewest number of putting strokes wins the bet.

You could also do this as a “Nassau.” That is, one bet for fewest putts on the front; another for fewest on the back; and a third for fewest overall.

It’s a good game for mixed skill groups because putting tends to be the great equalizer. A short hitter, or poor irons player often can putt as well as the best ball striker in the group.

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In this game, players win points by being the only one in a group to hit either either fairways or greens. As is usual, players should decide how much each point will pay before the game begins.

There are two points possible on each hole. You score one point if you are the only one in the fairway after teeing off, and one point for being the only one to hit the green in regulation. Par threes, naturally, are one pointers—greens in regulation only.

If no one hits a fairway or green in regulation, or if multiple people accomplish the feat, the points carry over to the next hole. In this sense, it’s like skins, in that the value of a single hole can rapidly increase.

Still, its unlikely in this game that anyone will lose a ton of money. If you’re playing for fifty cents a point, your total out of pocket would be $18 if you never won a point.

This is a good game for a group of less skilled golfers.

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While the proper term is foursomes, most US golfers refer to this format as alternate shot. As defined in Rule 29 of the Official Rules of Golf, Foursomes are played between two teams of two golfers, each of which plays just one ball. Players on each team alternate teeing off, and then alternate each shot thereafter.

Example: Player A tees off while his partner, B, watches. Player B then hits the ball from where it lands after A’s shot. Then it’s A’s turn until the ball is in the hole. On the next hole, Player B tees off, even if he took the final putt.

Foursomes can be scored as either match or stroke play.

A couple of special rules apply:

In Foursomes match play, if a ball is played out of order—that is, if A takes a stroke when it’s B’s turn—the hole is lost.

In Foursomes stroke play, a ball played out of order results in a two stoke penalty. The offending team must correct the error before playing from the next tee. That is, if A accidentally took a stroke on B’s turn, A must hit again, with a two stroke penalty to get back into the proper order. 

If the error is not corrected before the next tee shot, the offending team is disqualified.

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Bingo Bango Bongo probably is one of the most-played side games in golf because it can give players with uneven skills sets a chance to compete evenly. For the game, each hole is worth three points. The first point—“Bingo”—goes to the player who first hits the green on that hole. The second point—“Bango”—goes to the player who is closest to the pin after all have finally landed on the green. A third point—“Bongo”—is awarded to the player who first puts the ball in the hole.

It’s important in this game to play in the proper order. The player who has the shortest tee shot (presumably the weaker player) will then have the first shot at Bingo on the green. A player who misses Bingo and the green may actually have the best chance at Bango with a nice chip toward the hole. Similarly, the person furthest from the hole will have the first crack at Bongo.

Because of the game’s format, the worst player in a group can actually score quite well. After hitting the shortest driver, he then has first crack at Bingo. If he misses the green, he has a legitimate shot at Bango. If the chip wasn’t good, he’ll then be in a position to take Bongo.

Bingo Bango Bongo does not often get played as a high stakes game. A bet that I’ve often seen with this game is five cents a point, so that the most anyone would lose is $2.70.

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I got these very cute soft plastic birdies in the mail the other day from a company in Denmark called NordicDraw. They’re about six inches tall, and made from the same material as your typical rubber duck. Their heads have carabiner clips, and they squeak when you squeeze them.

Company owner Rasmus Markholt says the birds are designed to help players celebrate their on course accomplishments:

Twenty five years ago, I bought a green dragon that was meant for use as a bell on my bike. I put it on my golf cart and called it my “Birdie Dragon.” I tooted the Dragon for each birdie I made.

The birdie dragon got a kind of cult status among other players, and in my division team, players began to think that my Birdie Dragon brought them good luck.

Now I got designer Anton Sølvsten to make the three figures that have the same function as the Birdie Dragon, but simply adapted the right terms about the game.

Markholt says that he’s not worried about annoying other people on the course. The noise, he says

is no high and penetrating sound, that can be heard all over the course, but only for pleasure for the players of the ball. I have great respect for the game of golf and the players who require peace around themselves to achieve full concentration.

I don’t know about tooting the birds in celebration, but I do see these as potential pieces in a golf game. During the course of a round, the birds would exchange hands based upon various on-course accomplishments. A player who scores an unanswered birdie would get to hang Bennie the Birdie from his bag until someone else pulled off the feat. An Eagle would earn Eddie the Eagle; Andy the Ace would be awarded for the hole-in-one. At the end of the round, the player with the most NordicDraw birds wins the bet. The game could be played with or without handicaps. If the Ace and Eagle are too stringent, you could assign other events, such a sand save, or a chip-in from off the green.

They’d also make a pretty good baby squeeze toy for the progeny of a golf fanatic.

NordicDraw also has a clothing line and putters on the way. I look forward to seeing them.

NordicDraw

Aces and Deuces, aka Acey Ducey is a betting game best played between four evenly matched players.

On each hole, the Ace, or low score, wins a set amount from the other other three. At the same time, the Deuce—high score—loses a set amount to the other three. The Deuce payout typically is half the amount of the ace bet.

For example, if the Ace bet is $2 and the deuce bet is $1, on a win, the winner would collect $6 and the high score would pay $1 to each of the other two. The winner thus collects $7, and the loser pays out $5 ($2 + $1 to the winner and $1 to each of the other two.)

This is not a game for the faint of heart, or for a group where one of the players is markedly worse than the others. If that’s the case, the player who consistently gets the high score on a hole will lose a ton of money. In the example above, with just one and two dollar bets, a player with a high score on each hole would pay out $90.

The game can be made more even by playing with handicaps.

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With the Ryder Cup here, here’s a primer on the Foursomes game:

While the proper term is foursomes, most US golfers refer to this format as alternate shot. As defined in Rule 29 of the Official Rules of Golf, Foursomes are played between two teams of two golfers, each of which plays just one ball. Players on each team alternate teeing off, and then alternate each shot thereafter.

Example: Player A tees off while his partner, B, watches. Player B then hits the ball from where it lands after A’s shot. Then it’s A’s turn until the ball is in the hole. On the next hole, Player B tees off, even if he took the final putt.

Foursomes can be scored as either match or stroke play.

A couple of special rules apply:

In Foursomes match play, if a ball is played out of order—that is, if A takes a stroke when it’s B’s turn—the hole is lost.

In Foursomes stroke play, a ball played out of order results in a two stoke penalty. The offending team must correct the error before playing from the next tee. That is, if A accidentally took a stroke on B’s turn, A must hit again, with a two stroke penalty to get back into the proper order. 

If the error is not corrected before the next tee shot, the offending team is disqualified.

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