I’ve been doing some research on golf betting games played on the course and I was pretty surprised at just how many there were.

I’ve never been a big gambler on the golf course, well, with money anyway.. I always go for the risky shots and end up losing my shirt but… that’s a different story. It always seemed to me that there was enough pressure in golf without having to add the potential to lose money on top of it. But I think I’m in the minority here and many golfers claim that gambling only adds to the excitement of it.

Here’s a list of some the most popular and handicap tracking friendly golf betting games.

• The Skins Game: Probably the most popular, is a game where each hole has a value or skin (either money or points). The player who wins the hole wins the skin for that hole. If there is a tie than the skin from that hole is carried on to the next hole, giving it double the value. There’s also a Net Skins game where players factor in their handicaps in the scoring. It can be played either one-on-one or two-on-two and the minimum bet per hole is $1.

• Nassau: This golf betting game consists of three bets; lowest score on the front nine, lowest score on the back nine and lowest score over all. The minimum bet for Nassau is $2 per bet. After the front nine, the loser has the option to press the bet on the back nine, doubling the value of the back nine (where it was $2, now it’s $4). There’s also a “net” version of Nassau where handicaps are factored in and the winner is determined by adding up the number of holes won on the front, back and the total. This is mostly used when the handicap variance between the players is pretty significant.

• Bingo Bango Bongo: Also called, “Bingle Bangle Bungle,” this is a points based game where three points are awarded per hole. The first to player to reach the green gets a point, once all balls are on the green, the player closest to the hole gets a point and the player to hole out first gets a point. There’s also a variation to the last point, where the player to hole out in the fewest strokes gets the point. At the end of the round, add up the points and the player with the most points wins. This is a pretty good game to play because it gives the weaker players a chance to get some points. For example, the player with the worst tee shot gets to play the 2nd shot first and has the first opportunity to be on the green.

• Sixes: Also known as Hollywood or Round Robin, is a game to be played in a foursome. Players square off in a net two on two match. The partners are rotated every six holes, giving each player a chance to play with a different partner and the wager is settled up every six holes.

• Aces and Deuces: Another foursome golf betting game where on every hole, there’s one big winner, two smaller winners and one big loser. After each hole, the lowest score wins a set amount from each player and the next two lowest scorers wins a set amount from the highest scorer on the hole. In this format, if you lose a hole, you lose big.

• Arnies: This is a side bet where a golfer wins if they manage to make par without ever managing to get in the fairway. The bet is set at the beginning of the round and was named in honor of Arnold Palmer who is said to have made quite a few “Arnies” himself.

This last one I think is awesome because I’ve hit a few of these myself 🙂

• Barkies: This is another side bet where the bet is awarded to a player if they’ve managed to make par after their ball strikes a tree. Most players have a stipulation where leaves don’t count and the ball must strike some wood. There’s also a double barkie which is a much rarer creature where a player manages to make par after their ball has struck two trees on two different shots..

Wonder of they also have Roofies?? 🙂

-Dave

For info on other types of gambling and the best places to do it, check out Casino Guide.