Whether you’re looking to make a little money on your next round or just add a little excitement golf betting games are a great way to have some fun on the course.
We’ve put together a list of 20 of the top golf betting games you can use in your next round.
Nassau – ( 2-2-2, Best Nines)
Players 2-4
Nassau, which gained its name from the Nassau Country Club on long island is a golf betting game where each player places three bets.
The bets are based on
Front Nine Point Total
Back Nine Point Total
18 hole point toal
The bet amount is determined before the round and the amount is placed on each bet. ( ex $5 per bet, total $15)
Points are determined by whichever player records the lowest score on the hole. Once you have recorded the lowest score you receive one point.
If two or more players are tied for the lowest score on a hole the hole then becomes a “push”.
This means that the next hole is worth two points for whichever player that wins.
Round Robin – (Sixes, Hollywood)
Round robin is a four-player golf game in which the players compete against each other in teams of two.
Every six holes the golfers will switch team members until you have played six holes which each member of your foursome.
A bet is placed on every six holes so as you have a new team member a new bet starts.
There are two ways in which you can keep score for Round Robin.
The first being cumulative score, this means that you and your partner add your score on each hole and the team with the lower score gets a point.
The other option is to go with the “one low ball per team”. This means each team takes the lowest score that either member of their team shot.
If your team has the lowest score on the hole you receive one point. If the two teams tie, the hole becomes a push and the next hole is worth two points.
Garbage Aka Dots
Garbage one of the more complex on our of list of best golf betting games especially due to how easily it can be customized to your group.
This game which can be played solo or in teams a two consists and the group determining a set of positive achievements that will be rewarded in points.
Examples of these achievements could be longest drive, birdies, greens in reg, up and downs. Though they are really up to the discretion of the group.
Each time you complete one of these achievements you are awarded points. The value of the points is also determined prior to playing the round.
If you would like to play a more advanced version of Garbage you may also add negative achievements which result in losing points. These could be hitting your ball in a hazard or three-putting.
The just of this game is that it’s almost entirely customizable to how your group wants to keep score.
Bets can either be recorded based on total points and can be divided up amongst the leaders of each achievement you have chosen.
We found it helpful to just get a small notebook for your golf bag to bring along for scoring purposes.
Bingo Bango Bongo
This golf gambling game can be played with two three or four players.
The scoring of this game is broken down into three elements
Bingo: First on the green
Bango: Closest to the pin once on the green
Bongo: First in the hole
You are awarded a point for each of the achievements you win. This game allows for high handicap players to still have an opportunity to win. Since their drives tend to not travel as far as low handi cappers the high handicapper will be further away and thus have the first shot at bongo.
You may also elect to give double points to a player if he achieves Bingo Bango and Bongo.
Wolf AKA ” Ship, Captain & Crew, and Boss”
Wolf is one of the funnest and best golf betting games that is played by four players.
On each hole one player is designated as the wolf. He or she then decides if they want to play the hole 2 v 2 or 1 v 3.
It is important that you rotate the order of who is teeing off. If you tee off first on hole one, you will then tee off fourth on hole two and third on hole three.
This rotation is important as it is always the player teeing off that is the wolf.
The choosing of 1 v 3 or 2 v 2 is done on the tee block by the wolf. The wolf watches the other players tee off and must determine if he wants to choose them as a teammate immediately after their drive.
Playing Alone As The Wolf
If each player hasn’t hit a good drive and wolf has selected no one he then must play the hole alone. The winner of the hole is the lowest score on the team which makes playing alone quite difficult.
The reason the wolf may choose to go alone is that their winners will be larger if they win. Each player puts a wager on each golfer they playing against each hole. This amount is decided before the round (ex $2 per hole). When your team wins you collect money from each golfer you beat.
Though when the wolf chooses to go alone the amounts double so if he loses he will receive $4 from each golfer but if he loses he owes each golfer $4.
Holes do not carry over in this game and there are no pushes.
Once through sixteen holes and the rotation has been completed, the position of the wolf is given to the player in last for the 17th and 18th holes.
Las Vegas
Las Vegas is another golf betting game made up of two teams of two. Though we suggest this game if you are willing to bet a little more money than your traditional golf bets as the points in Las Vegas add up fast.
The scoring in Las Vegas is quite different as players scores are paired together and not added. This means that if Player A shoots a 3 and Player B shoots a 4 there scores is 34 and not 7.
The lower number is always placed first when pairing scores in Las Vegas which ensures that your score is much lower.
The betting of this game is based on the difference between the two teams scores. Say team one shoots a 3 and a 4 they 34 and two team shoots a 4 and a 5 they shoot 45. The total owed from team two is 45 – 34 = $11.
You can see how this game’s bets can add up quickly.
Aces Deuces
Aces deuces is a four player game in which your focus is to win each hole as well as not have the worst score.
The winner of each hole (the ace) receives money from each while the loser of each (the deuce) pays money out to each player.
The betting amount is determined before each round ex: Ace $2 Deuce $1
The ace value is usually double that of the deuce.
Carryovers or push holes can be used in this game though that tends to make the game quite expensive. Players of Aces Deuces tend to consider the holes ties and not push though you can play either way.
Gruesomes – How To Play
Gruesomes is a four player game in which you play in teams of two.
The other team watches both of your drives and they get to choose which one you will play. ie the more “gruesome” drive.
At this point, you may either play a combined score for the team or play low ball.
You may also play match play per hole or calculate the aggragate score.
Criers And Whiners -How To Play
Criers and whiners is an interesting game based on each players handicaps.
The premise of this game is that golfers are able to convert their handicap into mulligans. A mulligan is an opportunity to retake a shot from the same location.
If you are a 10 handicap you will have 10 mulligans you can use throughout you round to save some strokes.
This game can be played in teams of two as well as individually. The betting of this game can be determined by the players as there are many ways to score this.
Bisque – How To Play
Bisque is similar to most stroke games with handicap but there is a significant change to the rules. Instead of having your handicap strokes being given on the most difficult holes players are able to choose which holes they use their handicap strokes.
The catch is that you must state you are using one of your handicap strokes before you tee off on that hole.
The rest of your game can play out like regular stroke play as well as be played individually or in teams.
Closeout – How To Play
Closeout is a game similar to Nassau and many other matchplay games. The difference being once it is determined who is going to win the most points of the 18 holes. A second bet is then placed on the remaining holes.
The second bet is worth half the value of the original 18 hole bet and present the leader to increase the winnings and allows the loser a chance to reduce their money owed.
Quota – How To Play
To play quota each golfer must have an established handicap. You then must take that handicap and subtract it from 36. That point total then becomes your “Quota”.
You then spend the round gaining points based on your score in an attempt to reach your quota.
Standard points for a mid handicapper would be 1 point for a bogey, 2 points for a par, 4 for a birdie and 8 for an eagle though you can change these point totals however you want.
The golfer that has the highest surplus over their quota wins the predetermined pot. If no one reaches their quota you can choose to carry the pot over to the next round or give it out to whoever got closest.
Strike Three – How To Play
Strike three is a great game for those golfers who tend to blow up on a couple of holes each round.
The premise of this game is that once the round is completed each golfer is able to throw away his worst three holes.
This makes sure that the golfers stay into this betting game late into the round as it tends to even out the playing field.
Bounce Back – How To Play
This is another one of the best golf betting games that’s great for mid to higher handicappers.
This golf gambling game works by awarding points when a player recovers from a double bogey or worse on the previous hole and shoots par or better.
If a golfer completes this task they are awarded a point. If they get back to back double bogeys or worse the golfer loses a point.
Let It Ride
Each golfer earns points by getting a bogey or better on a hole. The interesting twist is that players are able to either bank their points on “let it ride”.
By letting it ride the player can then receive double the points on the next hole. But if they happen to shoot a double bogey or worse they will lose all their points.
The standard scoring looks like this 5 for a bogey, 15 for a par, 30 for a birdie and 60 for an eagle. And if you choose to let it ride all those point totals would be doubled for the next hole.
Pickup Sticks Or Bag Raid
This is a great golf betting game when you’re looking to really shake things up for your regular rounds.
Each time a team wins a hole they remove a club from an opponents bag. Meaning they cannot use this club for the rest of the round.
Some variations allow returning clubs if a birdie is made but that is up to your discretion.
This game really changes things up from your traditional round of golf.
Trouble
This game works by giving players points based on their bad plays. Instances of bad plays could be shots into bunkers, water hazards out of bounds, chunking tee shots, skulling chips, three putting etc.
If you choose you can take away points for good plays such as birdies or long putts.
This is a great game if you’re looking to tune up your game management and working on staying out of trouble.
Conclusion – Best Golf Betting Games
We hope you enjoyed our list of best golf betting games. If you want to check out even more golf games you can click here. In this section of our website, we have written articles on how to play every golf game we could find on the internet.
