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Who does not love playing games and having a good time? Who loves to live in isolation away from the people they care about? Who would not want to see people happy?
Well, if you affirm in the positive to all the questions above, you shouldn’t be interested in golf because the game of golf brings the opposite of the things stated above. Golf brings out the best in people just like any other sport we love to watch. There are games that golfers can play with friends and people they care about for their enjoyment whilst there are other games that can be played professionally. Today, we would be taking a look at some games that can be played on a golf course.
Golf Outing Ideas
When people play a regular round of golf, striking the ball and calculating their score, they are happy and consider it fun. It can be tedious and uninteresting when you have to do something daily that turns into a routine. There are various types of golf games to try out when playing with friends, and some of these games that you can play when at golf outings to help you try out something new when next you meet your friends.
Scramble
Scrambles are games that you can play at competitions and tournaments because they help players who are just beginning the golf journey and disabled players. The game usually has four golfers playing, and each of them hits their opening tee shot. From the outcome of the best drive, the players will hit their second shot, which continues until the last put, when they can record their scores from the game.
There are different types of scramble variations in golf, and a kind of this scramble is the step aside scramble. The golfer who has the best shot steps aside while other teammates get to hit their next shots in this game. Another type of scramble is the Ambrose scramble uses the disabled golfers to be fair and balance the teams equally.
Champagne Scramble
A champagne scramble which people refer to as shamble is a different type of scramble because although four players are still going to play, they can only drop their balls near the drive but not close to the hole where the ball should be heading towards. The team decides how close each strike should be before they begin playing the game.
The team members can use three drives to finish the hole with their balls and use the two highest scores. You will find the difference in par 3’s, where the players use their balls and finish with their ball. Then they write down the score of the best two.
Closest to the Pin
Closest to the pin is fun to play with friends, and you can calculate it during the main tournament event. The game aims to see whose ball gets closer to the hole. Typically, the players play the game on par 3s, and it can be on all par 3s or a specific par 3. If you want to place a bet, each member will put down their money to participate, and the one who hits the closest takes all the cash.
Best ball
All the players play the game using their golf balls during the best ball game. The players will record the lowest score when the game is over, representing the team’s best ball score. With groups of two to four people, you can play the game. For the best ball format, each player must hit their ball throughout the rounds; they are not to use the other player’s ball.
The Foursomes/Fourball Game
In the foursomes game, two golfers pair with each other and hit every other shot: you can also call this game an alternate shot. If one player hits the first shot, the second player will hit the next, continuing until the ball makes its way to the Cup. The two of them will keep alternating their shots for nine drives each, and they cannot play it with the drive of only one player. The Fourball is quite similar, but instead of the players alternating their shots, they will keep playing without waiting for the other.
Greensome/Patsome
The greensome is similar to the foursome because the teammates pick and tee off is the better ball to play. When they do not choose a golfer’s ball to play with, he will hit the second shot and continue to play the second shot on all the games they will be playing in even numbers on the hole with him playing the odd-number shots.
In Patsome, you will have to play the first six holes in Fourball, the following six in greensome, and the last six in foursome. Each player takes the stikes as in a foursome.
Stroke play
Stroke play is the most standard of all golf games, and apart from a few match play events, it is the typical format that you will see in use for the PGA Tour tournaments. One golfer can play this game and play it for fun or competition like the tournament. The player will count every stroke for each hole and add up the number of strokes when he finishes his rounds; they can win the match with the lowest score.
Matchplay
Matchplay is a golfing system that you can use for scoring in which each team or play gets the point for every hole they play into that is better than that of their opponents. The stroke play is different because you will count the total number of strokes over one or more rounds of eighteen holes. The match play is a one-on-one game involving two players, and each player gets the point for putting the ball in the hole with minor strokes. If there is a tie in the number of golf balls in a spot, they will push it and consider it an AS for all-square.
If there is a tap-in, you can concede that hole and give putts to the spot. You can end the game early; for instance, if a player is leading by two points and wins the sixteenth hole putting them in three holes, the other player cannot catch up, which makes the player whose ball is in the sixteenth hole to win the game.
Longest drive contest
Friends can decide to compete using the longest drive contest or during the main golf event. This game aims to see the player that can hit a long drive throughout the day. You will usually have a side spot for the contest while playing scramble or stroke play in the main event.
The Hole in One Contest Game
The hole-in-one contest is a side game you can play during the main golf event because it will not obstruct the competition. There are usually prizes that players can win, ranging from money or even a car—the player who first hits the ball into a hole wins the prize.
Skins Game
The players of this game will determine the skin value; usually, all the holes have the same skin value, and they state it before the round begins. Those who play this game use it for gambling, and if you have the lowest score in a hole when they compare it to others, you will get the skin. Players can be between two to four people, and ties are unacceptable. If there is a tie, the next hole is doubling takes it, and if there is yet another tie, it triples.
Some players love to spice things up by having six to nine holes having a specific value, and the successive nine or two sixes will have a higher value than the previous one.
Ryder Cup
Teams play the Ryder Cup, generally between the United States and Europe, consisting of twelve players for each group. For the United States, six golfers usually qualify to play while the captain, Steve Stricker, selects the other six. For the European team, the first four are from the European Points list, then the next five will be from the World Points list, and the last three will be Padraig Harrington’s pick because he is the captain.
According to the website of the Ryder Cup, this is how to play the game. The match they will play for two days each will include one four-match session of Fourball and another session of foursomes. On the last day, they will play twelve single matches. Each match has a one-point value, and a game that ends in a tie will give each team half point. The first team that arrives at 14.5 points will win the Ryder Cup. If the matches end them having fourteen issues each, the previous winners remain with the Cup.
Champman Game
The Champman is a golf game that two people play were using their drives; they hit their shots from the end of the aim of each other. The person who plays the better strike in the second round continues playing in that hole, and the players continue to play alternating shots until it gets to the spot. When you select a player’s second shot, they will play the third shot. You can play the Champman game in stroke, matchplay method, or tournament format.
The Stableford Scoring
When you see that the score on a hole gets a certain number of pints, it is the Stableford scoring. You can play the Stableford with two or more golfers, and you can also use it in a tournament.
Shotgun Start
All golfers in a tournament start and tee off simultaneously using the shotgun start from a different hole on the course. From the start point, the golfers will go through the golf course without changing the order.
Handicap Tournament
Different competitions need golfers with specific disabilities to play, which is an excellent way to separate beginners and low-handicap players when the tournament needs them to play. You will see a pair of low-handicap people with high-handicap golfers to balance the game during competition in some golf games.
Mixed Format
The mixed format games are always full of fun ideas. Golfers can play different holes in different methods; for instance, the first six holes can be in Chapman format, the following six can be in best-ball, and the final six in alternate shot format. They can also include both genders in the mix.
The Flag Tournament (Tombstone)
A flag tournament is a type of golf competition that will allow the players to have a certain number of strokes and give them the means to play the course until they run out of them. The flag name comes from golfers getting small flags at the beginning of each round. Once they hit their last shot, they put up their banner there.
If the golfer was to play seventy-seven strokes, for instance, and their last strike was at seventeen, they would place their flag at that point. If there is no other flag ahead of yours, then you will become the champion. A tie-breaker becomes important if another player is on their second shot on seventeen and is close to the hole where you can find the first player’s golf ball.
You can play the flag competition using full or partial handicap that determines how many stokes you will have. A golfer receives eighty-six strokes if he is a fourteen handicap and plays a course on par-seventy-two. It is usually the rating of par on the system and the handicap of the player that determines the strokes.
Conclusion
When golfers and their friends go to the course, it is always good to mix things up to feel part of the game. Placing bets and adding money can spice things up and make it more interesting, and everyone will bring in their A-game.
Who would not love to have a good time with friends, chilling and doing something you love or completely new? Trying out these games can be the best place to start. Try out these games with those you love and see how much fun you all will be having.