Golf Games to Play with Friends: Formats to Liven Up Your Round

For a round of golf with friends, pick the format by how many of you there are: three of you, La Chouette; four, The Wolf or Texas Scramble; two, Match Play or Skins. Every format changes the round: you team up, you betray each other, you wind each other up — and the best player doesn't always win.

Stroke play, where everyone counts their own strokes in their own corner, is still the most common way to play. It is also the loneliest: by hole 4, whoever has just taken a 9 already knows they have lost. The formats below put something at stake on every hole again.

How many of you are there?

Three classics to start with

🏆 Skins — every hole is worth something

The lowest score on the hole wins the “skin”. If there's a tie, the skin carries over and is added to the next hole: an ordinary hole can suddenly be worth four. 2 to 4 players. The rules of Skins

🐰 The Rabbit — the best on the hole scores

The player with the best score on the hole “has the rabbit” and scores 1 point for each opponent beaten. Simple, quick, and everyone stays in it right to the end. 2 to 4 players. The rules of The Rabbit

🦉 La Chouette — THE game for a three-ball

Six points are shared out on every hole according to the finishing order: 4, 2 and 0 if all three scores are different, with a set split for every kind of tie. The total is always 6. The rules of La Chouette

5 games that will cost you your friends by the 18th

The ones where you betray, bet, or decide for someone else. Only for groups who love winding each other up.

1. 😈 Gruesomes — in teams of two, both players tee off… and the other team chooses which ball you play. They always choose the worse one.
2. 🐺 The Wolf — on every hole, the Wolf picks a partner after the tee shots… or decides to take on everyone alone to win more.
3. 🔨 The Hammer — head to head or two against two, either side can “hammer” during the hole to double the stake. The opponent accepts, or gives up the hole.
4. 🏦 The Banker — one player holds the bank, the others bet against them on every hole. Whoever beats the Banker takes their place.
5. 🐍 The Snake — the player who takes the most putts on a hole picks up the Snake. Woe betide whoever is still holding it at the end.

The 5 craziest golf games

1. 🧵 Stringball — each player gets a piece of string (50 cm per handicap point) to move their ball whenever they like: out of a bunker, closer for a putt. Whatever is used gets cut off.
2. 🚩 Flag — everyone gets a stroke budget (course par + handicap). When it runs out, you plant your flag. The flag furthest round the course wins.
3. 😬 Worst Ball — you play two balls on every shot and always keep the worse one. No mistake goes unpunished.
4. 🃏 Mexicaine Las Vegas — in a four, the teams form on every hole according to where the balls finish after the drive, and the scores are combined Vegas-style (a 4 and a 5 make 45).
5. 🏅 Dots / Feats — every feat earns points: a birdie, a holed chip, a successful bunker shot… You play for the feats, not the score.

The 5 most original golf games

1. 💃 Cha Cha Cha — two against two, and the rule changes on every hole in a cycle of three: best ball, then the sum of both scores, then the sum counting double.
2. ⚡ 6-6-6 — a different game on each six-hole stretch. The most varied round there is, once you know the others.
3. 🔀 Patsome — three formats in one round: best ball, then Greensome, then alternate shot.
4. 🌴 Florida Scramble — a scramble in which the player whose ball is chosen sits out the next shot.
5. 🎯 Bingo Bango Bongo — three points per hole, for example first on the green, closest to the pin, first in the hole. A weaker player can win them.

What if you're not all the same standard?

That's the case in most rounds between friends. The handicap corrects the score at the end; it doesn't make the round lively along the way. There are formats made for exactly that: playing on the same team, or each playing against your own target. The formats for playing with different abilities

Further reading

• 9-hole golf games — when you have two hours, not four
• Scramble, Shamble or Florida Scramble: the differences
• Greensome, Foursomes or Chapman: the differences
• Original formats to liven up a club competition

Frequently asked questions