Fans of MLB’s American League can try the Designated Putter rule. Used in team games, or in a golf outing scramble format, one player is the designated putter. He doesn’t hit, but once the ball is on the green, he’s the only one allowed to putt.

The designated putter should be rotated on every hole.

Here’s a game you can play with your group while waiting for your tee time (at our league there’s a LOT of waiting for tee times). Pick a spot just off the practice green and have each player chip at the hole. Each round, the player furthest from the hole is eliminated. Last man standing wins the pot.

Of course, make sure chipping is allowed onto the green before playing. It is at our league’s course, but not at some of the other places I play.

Known by various names, Chasing Par is an elimination game played as a side bet with full handicaps. Players in this game simply attempt to be the last to fail to make par. That player collects the agreed amount from the other players.

American Foursomes, also known as Chapman or Pinehurst Foursomes, is a variant of the alternate shot format.

In this two man team game, each player tees off on every hole, then plays his partner’s ball on the second shot. For the third shot, the best ball is chosen and is played by its owner. The other is picked up. Play then proceeds with a single ball as with an alternate shot game: the fourth shot belongs to the team member who didn’t play the third and so on.

Chapman is named for US and British Amateur winner Dick Chapman, who developed the handicap system used for this game: 60% of the A Players’s handicap is added to 40% of the B Player’s.

George, George, George of the Jungle
Strong As He Can Be
Watch Out For That Tree!!

In George of the Jungle, each player agrees to pay an amount to the others each time he hits a tree.

This can be very expensive on the tree lined fairways of Northern Michigan.

Here’s a game that I cooked up with the coach of my high school team’s crosstown rivals (who also practiced on the same course): A mini Ryder Cup.

Each two man team played the first three holes as alternate shot; the second three as fourball, and; for the final three holes, paired off as singles. We were only allowed to play nine at a time by the course, but there’s no reason you couldn’t repeat for the back nine.

Protect This House is a game that can be played out over several rounds with your usual foursome. Each player is assigned one hole per nine as his “home turf.” On that hole, the owner gets two points for each of the other players that he betters, and one for each tie. If one of the other players beats him in his “house,” he gives a point. Add up the scores over several rounds and see who has the best home-field record.

To make it even more interesting, hold a “draft” before the first round. Each player in order (perhaps the order of finish in the previous round), picks a hole on the first nine, and then the order is reversed on the back.