The Golf Trip Games That Make the Trip

Every golf trip starts with ambitious plans for the games.

“We’ll do teams.”

“Ryder Cup?”

“Skins every day.”

“Yeah, we’ll figure it out when we get there.”

Then you get to the first tee and nothing has been figured out.

Someone is trying to Venmo everyone. Nobody knows who gets strokes where. One guy suddenly announces he’s an 11 even though you watched him shoot 74 three weeks ago. The starter is staring at you. The group behind you already hates you.

A little planning goes a long way.

You don’t need a 14-page rules document and a commissioner. You just need a game that works for the number of guys you have and enough money involved that your buddy’s four-footer for double on 18 suddenly becomes interesting.

2–3 Guys: Don’t Overthink It

With two or three guys, you don’t need some elaborate tournament format. You need something that keeps the round interesting.

Match play with carryovers is perfect. Halve the hole and the next one is worth two. Keep halving holes and eventually somebody is standing over a five-footer worth considerably more than it should be.

Throw skins on top of it and you’ve got enough action to keep things interesting even if the match gets ugly.

If you really want to start ruining friendships, play a Nassau with automatic presses. Go down two and another bet starts.

Simple. Effective. Financially irresponsible enough to be fun.

4 Guys: Golf Gambling as God Intended

Four guys is the sweet spot.

You have enough people for teams, enough combinations to rotate partners and nobody has to spend the afternoon trying to understand some scoring system invented during breakfast.

Start with 2v2 best ball. Rotate partners throughout the trip so everyone gets a chance to carry and be carried.

Wolf is also excellent with four because every tee shot matters. Do you take your buddy after he pipes one down the middle, or roll the dice because you think you can find someone better?

Nothing personal. Just business. If the handicaps are all over the place, quota games work well too. And a birdie pot is always worth having because it gives the guy who is 11 over through 13 something to live for.

6–8 Guys: Somebody Has to Be in Charge

Once you get to six or eight guys, “we’ll figure it out there” stops working.

This is Ryder Cup territory.

Split into teams before the trip. Give the teams names. Preferably stupid ones. Set the matches ahead of time and mix up the formats throughout the trip.

Best ball. Alternate shot. Singles. Maybe a shamble if you want to keep things moving.

Vegas can also be tremendous with the right group, although explaining Vegas to eight half-drunk golfers on the first tee is an excellent way to discover how poor your communication skills actually are.

The important part is having everything decided before you arrive.

Nobody wants to spend the first 20 minutes of a $300 round holding a committee meeting next to the cart barn.

8+ Guys: Congratulations, You’re a Tournament Director

Once you get beyond eight guys, this thing needs infrastructure.

Not Augusta National infrastructure. But somebody needs to know what the hell is going on.

A trip-long points race works well because every round contributes to something bigger. You can also flight the field so your 3-handicap isn’t beating a 19-handicap into submission for four straight days.

Stableford is your friend with bigger groups. Make a 9? Pick it up. Nobody needs to watch you finish that.

Most importantly, designate one person to keep the scores.

Do not let everyone “just keep track.” They will not keep track.

By the second night, there will be four different versions of the standings and someone will be arguing that his score from Thursday never got entered.

The One Game Every Golf Trip Should Have

Last Birdie Takes the Pot.

That’s it.

Everybody throws money in before the first round. Make a birdie and you own the pot. Somebody makes another birdie and they take it from you.

Whoever made the last birdie when the trip ends gets everything.

The beauty is that it can survive across every round, every format and every level of golfer.

And eventually you get the dream scenario:

Final round. Back nine. One guy has been sitting on the pot since yesterday. Every birdie putt suddenly has an audience.

A six-footer for 94 becomes the most important shot of the week.

That’s what you want.

Put Something on the Line

You don’t need to turn the trip into a casino. But golf is considerably more entertaining when something matters.

Five bucks. A trophy. Dinner. The right to spend the next 12 months reminding everyone that you won.

Figure out the games before you get there. Keep the rules simple. Make sure somebody is keeping score.

Then go argue about handicaps like adults.

Two Inches Short is a place where amateur golfers can unapologetically be themselves. It’s where we can all relate to the greatest game ever played at a level we can all understand.

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“Making triple bogey from the middle of the fairway isn’t just about skill, it’s a lifestyle.”