More Golf Formats & Types
Texas scramble
This game is played by a team of 2,3 or 4 players all on the same side. The
best shot of the side is selected, and all players then play from the (marked)
position of this ball.
It is customary for a side to be required to take a fixed number of tee-shots
from each player. This adds an additional dimension (and pressure!) to the game.
The handicap allowance varies from location to location but normally is 1/10th
of the combined handicaps rounded to the nearest decimal point.
Skins
Normally played as a 3 or 4-ball (sometimes more!). A single player has to
win a hole outright to win a ‘skin’. Holes where there is no outright
winner are normally accumulated until a hole is won. Often followed by hours
of argument in the bar as to who owes how much to whom!
On the perch
A variant of the ‘skins’ theme for 3 or 4 players. A player can
only win holes, once he/she is ‘on the perch’ – ie having
already won a hole. That player stays on the perch until knocked off it by losing
a hole to any of the other players.
American points
An excellent game for 3 players, avoiding the imbalance of 2 against 1! 6 points
are played for at each hole, and shared out on the basis of 2:2:2 if all players
halve the hole, 3:3 if 2 players halve through to 4:1:1 for an outright win
with the other 2 halving, or 4:2:0 for an outright win and second place.
For ease of keeping the score, the lowest number is returned to zero after
each hole (pro-rata for the other scores). The total points of the other 2 players
should always be divisible by 3.
Flag
All players carry a marker, or Flag, with them, which is inserted in the ground
at the point where the number of strokes allowed (course par + handicap allowance)
expires. The furthest-placed flag (sometimes part-way round the 2nd 18 holes,
depending on the format!) is the winner.
Yellow Ball
This is frequently introduced as an additional competition in open golf events
and society days, in addition to the normal format/type of competition. Each
player in the 3 or 4 takes strict turns to play a hole with the Yellow Ball,
and a separate yellow-ball scorecard is kept. If the yellow ball is lost, the
game is over at that point.
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