Me and 3 of my friends from college are planning to play a round on Saturday. The talent level between the four of us is vastly different. I shoot in the mid 80s, while one shoots low 100s and the other two don't play golf. What are some fun games we could play the would level the playing field while keeping pace?

Do everyone on the course a favor and leave the two who don't play golf at home.

Give him sone strokes and play $1 a hole 2 down automatic press with your buddy

Yes don't ever play golf with newbs bc they will slightly inconvenience other people who were born shooting par

Wolf low ball. Every hole ends up being either 2v2 or 1v3 with partners changing every hole. Each player is responsible for $1 a hole or however rich you are feeling.

Pick the tee shot order of players 1-4 (stays the same rotation the entire round regardless of who wins the hole). Player 1 tees off first and owns the hole. Player 2 tees off and player 1 can choose to have him as a partner for the hole or skip him and see what player 3 does on his tee shot. When player 3 tees off, player 1 can no longer pick player 2. Continues until everyone has teed off. If player 1 does not pick a partner, he goes "wolf" and plays his ball verse the other three players where he can win $1 from each of the other 3 players or he can pay $1 to each of the other 3 players.

Player 1 can go "blind wolf" if he calls wolf before the other three players tee off and the hole is worth double what wolf pays.

The low score for each team wins (one player, not combined score). Pushes can carry over or be null.

Player 2 owns hole 2 and tees off first and player 3 owns hole 3 etc. for the remainder of the round.

give the 100 shooter 1 shot per hole... and give the other two 2 or 3 shots per hole (depending on their level to make it comparable) and then play your ball against the low ball of the other 3

My advice is to drink some beer and enjoy the company. Your friends that don't play are likely going to need to pick up from time to time. I can't think of many games that are worth a damn when there are multiple people that never play involved. Maybe throw in some trash where greenies, sandies, etc. pay off, and you could weight the payoff more heavily for the guys that never play. But outside of that, most games I can think of would be a waste of time.

Depending on how bad they are, all three of them scrambling against you might be the only option. If they really don't play at all, there aren't any games where they can play their own ball each hole.

not sure what it is called, but you are partners with each person for 6 holes, best ball competition. This favors you as the lowest handicap, which in most other games with strokes given doesn't.

But I agree - for people who have never played, probably the last thing they want to worry about is a bunch of side games and such. your judgement on that.

Play you ball against their 3-some best ball. Nassau. Simple enough.

Bingo Bango Bongo?

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Bingo Bango Bongo is a points-based game that can be played by any number of players, from two up.
In Bingo Bango Bongo, three types of achievements are rewarded with a point. The first player in a group to get his ball on the green gets a point (bingo). The player in the group whose ball is closest to the pin once all balls are on the green gets a point (bango). And the player in the group who is first to hole out gets a point (bongo).

Add up the points at the end of the game, high points wins.

Bingo Bango Bongo gives weaker players a chance to earn points because what matters is being first at something. For example, all members of the group tee off on a par-4. The player who hit the worst drive (farthest from the hole) plays first, and so has the first shot at winning the bingo point.

So, too, with closest to the pin. The best players in the group are likely to be on the green in two (or three on a par-5), while the weakest players might be chipping. The closest-to-the-pin point is only earned once all balls are on the green, so the player who has hacked it up the fairway may be sitting just off the green and chipping - giving that player a great chance to pick up the bango point.

Because of these factors (and because the first person putting will be the one farthest from the hole), strict etiquette must be enforced. The player who is away always plays first.

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I was going to suggest BBB, but might cause the group to play too slowly...

I would just play a straight scramble. As a group, try to shoot the best score you can. I like scrambles for newbie because they don't get as frustrated with bad shots. Scrambles keep the pace up too.

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Scrambles keep the pace up too.

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usually slower, as everyone has to go pick up their shot then return to the ball their are hitting from.

A Shamble may be faster as most of the time getting off the box is the major problem for most high hdcp's.

Bloodsome.

Teams of two. Each player hits a tee shot. The other team decides which tee shot your team will play and you play alternate shots from there.

It's pretty fun and keeps the mood light

a 6 pt scotch game is do-able, but usually favors the best golfer. The way it works is

On the first tee, the 2 balls farthest to the left are partners, and will remain partners for 6 holes. On hole 7 the 2 drives the most left (cannot be the same two partners) are now partners and then on hole 13 the final parings play for 6 holes.

Each hole has 6 bets.
2 points for low combined score
2 points for low best ball
1 point for closest to the pin in regulation
1 point for birdie or better

if a group sweeps all 6 points you double the points to 12.


Now there are several ways to bet. You can name the price of the points say $1per, or you can create a pot. Everyone throw in $50, and after the round you total up all the points and figure out how much each pt is worth based on the $200 pot.

Some people may scoff at throwing $50 in the pot, but in most cases the worst golfer will win several points thus in reality only loses $20 max.

3-putt Poker: Ante and everyone starts with one card. For every 1-putt, you get a card, for every 3-putt you put money in the pot. Best 5-card hand after 9/18 wins the pot. Good game for good and bad golfers playing together.

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Most golfers couldn't get 5 cards by the end of the round unless they consistently missed the green then chipped close to the pin. But I like the game though!