Bingo Bango Bongo is the side game with three points on every hole, and not one of them cares what you shot. Bingo to the first ball on the green. Bango to the closest once everybody is on. Bongo to the first ball in the hole. Play it in order, farthest away plays first, hole everything out, and the player who hits first all day gets first crack at the Bingo. Played gross, so the order of play is the handicap. Big Fairways asks who got what on every hole and keeps the live leaderboard, so you just play golf.
First ball on the green. The player farthest from the hole plays first, so the short hitter often gets first crack.
Closest to the hole once every ball is on the green. Not before.
First ball in the hole. Farthest away putts first, and nothing is a gimme.
This is a simulated round, not a live game. Four made up players, eighteen made up holes, with who got what called the way a group calls it on the green. Under every name on the board you will see the points that player took on the hole.
Bingo Bango Bongo is a golf side game with three points on every hole, none of which depend on your score. Bingo goes to the first ball on the green. Bango goes to the ball closest to the hole once every ball is on the green. Bongo goes to the first ball in the hole. It is played gross and strictly in order, farthest from the hole plays first, and nothing is a gimme, because the Bongo is the point for holing out. Most points at the end wins.
It is the great leveller. A short hitter who plays first is often the first on the green, a scrambler who chips it close takes the Bango, and the player farthest away putts first for the Bongo. The scratch player who stripes it to twenty feet can lose all three points on the hole to somebody who made a bogey.
| Players | Two or more. It works best with three or four. |
|---|---|
| Bingo | First ball on the green. |
| Bango | Closest to the hole once every ball is on. |
| Bongo | First ball in the hole. |
| The order | Strictly farthest away plays first, tee to green and on it. That is the handicap. |
| Scoring | Gross. A point each, three a hole. No strokes anywhere. |
| Scored by | The Big Fairways app, free, which asks who got what on every hole. |
You play a normal round in strict order and call three things on every hole. Here is the whole game in six steps.
Because the order is the handicap. The player farthest from the hole plays first, and that is usually the shortest hitter, so the shortest hitter gets first crack at the Bingo. On the green the player farthest away putts first, so the worst approach gets first crack at the Bongo. Play out of order and the whole game falls apart, which is why the group has to hold each other to it and why the app reminds you.
Because none of the three points has anything to do with the score. First on the green, closest once everybody is on, first in the hole: a stroke would not change any of them. The handicap is in the order of play instead. That is what makes it the best game for a group of wildly different abilities, and the reason a beginner can win it against a scratch player.
Four players on a par four. The shortest hitter is farthest away after the drives, plays first, and puts it on the green: Bingo. Two more approaches land on, the fourth player chips on last and, being farthest from the hole when everybody is finally on, has not taken the Bango. The closest ball once all four are on takes the Bango. Then the putting starts, farthest away first. The player thirty feet away putts first and misses, the next player holes from twelve feet: Bongo. Three points, three different players, and the player who made the lowest score on the hole may have taken none of them.
The Bango is the one point that can go unclaimed, because it needs every ball on the green, and a group that agrees a ball never got there can leave it. In Big Fairways an unclaimed Bango carries to the next hole, so the next Bango is worth two. Bingo and Bongo always go to somebody, because a ball always reaches the green first and a ball always goes in first.
Bingo Bango Bongo pays for three moments on a hole, not the score, so it rewards a different kind of golf. A few things win it more often than a good card does.
Bingo Bango Bongo is the game where the score does not matter. Here is how it lines up against the other side games. Every one of them is scored in the app, and you can run several at once on one card.
| Game | Players | In one line |
|---|---|---|
| Bingo Bango Bongo | Any | First on, closest, first in. Three points a hole, played gross. |
| Midnight | Any | Twelve holes count, your best eleven plus the last. Lowest card wins. |
| Elevens | Any | Eleven holes count, your best ten plus the last. Seven throwaways. |
| Skins | Any | Win the hole outright to take the skin. Ties carry over or die, your call. |
| Nassau | 2 or 4 | Three matches in one: front nine, back nine and the full eighteen, with presses. |
| Wolf | 4 | The Wolf picks a partner after the tee shots or goes alone for double. |
| Vegas | 4 | Two teams, scores paired into a number, low number wins the difference. |
| Banker | 3 or more | One player takes on everybody else each hole. Presses allowed. |
| Junk | Any | Points for the little things: sandies, greenies, woodies and more. |
| Match Play | 2 | Head to head, hole by hole, up or down. |
| TILT | Any | Points on the net score with a multiplier that climbs on birdies and resets on a par. |
| Train | Any | A net par puts you aboard and every hole after it pays until two bogeys in a row. |
| Mulligans | Any | Your handicap strokes become do overs, then everybody plays gross. |
| Gridiron Golf | 4 | Two on two played like football. Win the hole to march the ball, reach the end zone to score. |
| Hammer | 2 or 4 | Either side can double the hole while it is being played. |
| Nines | 3 | Three players, nine points a hole, split five, three and one. |
| Hi Lo | 4 | Two on two. A point for the best ball and a point for the worst. |
| Snake | Any | Three putt and the snake is yours until somebody else does. No points. |
| Stableford | Any | Points for every hole, most points wins, a blow up costs you nothing. |
Looking for the full list? Every side game the app scores, each with rules and a demo round, is on the golf side games page.
The one rule that never bends is the order of play. Farthest away first, every shot, every hole. Say it on the first tee and hold each other to it.
Bingo Bango Bongo is the game where the beginner beats the scratch player and everybody laughs about it. Three points a hole, three different ways to earn one, and none of them care what you shot. The short hitter is first on, the scrambler is closest, the player who was in the bunker holes the Bongo, and the low handicap who made the birdie walks off with nothing.
Pick Bingo Bango Bongo when you set up the round and start playing. On every hole the app asks who got the Bingo, the Bango and the Bongo, one tap each, carries an unclaimed Bango, and keeps the running totals. The board shows who took what on every hole.
Run other side games at the same time and the totals never get tangled. At the end you get one clean total per player, one Settle Up list, and every round posts to your own lifetime scorecard, which only you can see. Send one link and the whole group follows the leaderboard live from their own phones.
Big Fairways walks you through every step, hole by hole. No rule sheet in your back pocket and nobody keeping a tally on a napkin.
Your group can scan the QR code to join in the fun, keep their stats, and see the live scoreboard. Send a text link to let your fans, friends and family get updates when you birdie 18 for the win.
Whether you are playing as teams, groups or individually, or all of the above, the points tally correctly no matter how many side games you have going.
No matter how many games you have going at once, or how complex the PRESS math gets, Big Fairways provides a clean scorecard, point total and leaderboard throughout the round, with simplified Settle Up totals at the end.
It is easy to set up tournaments of all sizes and formats with Big Fairways. A three day golf trip with four players, or 144 players in a local charity event, we have you covered. And groups inside your tournament can still play their own side games while the competition runs.
Three points a hole. Bingo to the first ball on the green, Bango to the closest once every ball is on, Bongo to the first ball in the hole. Played gross and in order, farthest away first, and nothing is a gimme. Most points wins.
No. It is played gross. The order of play is the handicap: the player farthest from the hole plays first, so the shorter hitter gets first crack at the Bingo and the worst approach gets first crack at the Bongo.
The point for the ball closest to the hole once every ball in the group is on the green. It is not awarded until the last ball arrives.
In Big Fairways it carries, so the next Bango is worth two. Bingo and Bongo always go to somebody.
No. The Bongo is the point for the first ball in the hole, so every putt is holed.
Two or more. It is at its best with three or four, where the order of play changes on every shot.
Yes, free while we build it. Every side game, the live leaderboard, the Settle Up totals and your lifetime scorecards are all included, and there is nothing to install because it runs in any phone browser.
Set it up in four taps, send the link, and let the app ask who got what.
START A BINGO BANGO BONGO GAME, FREE
Junk
Snake
Skins
Nines
Banker
Midnight