Every group has had the round where the match was over by the seventh hole and the back nine felt like a long walk. The right game fixes that. Here is our ranking of the best ones, how each works, and the kind of group it suits. Want the quick answer instead? Use the game picker.
By the Big Fairways team ·
1
SkinsThe one everybody already knows
2 or more playersBest for: Big groups
How it works. Low score on the hole wins it outright, and that is the whole rulebook. Tie the hole and it carries to the next one, so a run of halved holes turns one putt on the seventh into the biggest moment of the front nine.
Why it is great. Nobody needs it explained, it works for any size group, and a player having an awful day can still steal a couple of holes on the back nine. Big Fairways keeps net and gross skins side by side, so the low handicap and the high handicap are both playing for something.
How it works. You play the front nine, the back nine and the full eighteen as three separate matches, each worth the same. Go one down and you can press: a brand new match starts on the next hole, with its own line on the ledger.
Why it is great. Lose the front and you still have the back and the overall to play for. The press is where the fun lives, because the player who is behind gets to decide when the comeback starts.
How it works. The Wolf rotates every hole. The Wolf watches everybody hit, then picks a partner, or goes it alone for double. The player who gets picked can even turn it down and go alone instead.
Why it is great. Every tee shot is an audition. Partners change every hole, so no team is stuck together for eighteen, and going alone on a hole where you striped it is about as good as golf with friends gets.
How it works. Your two scores make one number, low ball first, so a 4 and a 6 is 46. The lower team number wins the difference. Make a birdie and it can flip the other side's number around, which is where holes get very big very fast.
Why it is great. No lead is ever safe in Vegas. The side that is down can press on any tee, and one good hole can erase a whole nine. Five players can play it too, as two against three.
2 or more playersBest for: Forgiving a bad holeOnly on Big Fairways
How it works. You clock your best eleven holes as you play, deciding after each one whether it counts, and your last hole is always the twelfth. A clocked hole stays clocked, so every call is for real. Lowest twelve hole card wins.
Why it is great. It forgives the two holes that wreck most rounds and keeps everybody in it until the last green. It is also a real thinking game: do you spend a throwaway on the hard par four early, or save it for the finish? You will only find it on Big Fairways.
How it works. One player holds the bank and plays everybody else one on one for the points each of you put up. Low score takes the bank, and on the sixteenth the player down the most takes the bank for the run in.
Why it is great. Every hole is a set of little head to head matches, so a group of any size has plenty going on. Being the Banker on a hole you love is a great feeling, and you can press the bank if you fancy it.
How it works. Win the hole and you go one up. Lose it and you go one down. The app calls dormie the moment it happens and closes it out the proper way, like 4&3.
Why it is great. A blow up hole only costs you one hole, so you can swing freely. It is the format the Ryder Cup is played in, and it works between any two players with handicaps.
How it works. A net bogey pays one point, a par two, a birdie three and so on. A double bogey or worse pays nothing, so you pick it up and walk to the next tee. Most points wins.
Why it is great. It speeds up the round and stops a disaster hole from ruining your day. It is the table in the Rules of Golf, so there is nothing to argue about, and it scales from one player to a full field.
How it works. Every hole starts at one point. At any moment, either side can throw the Hammer. Take it and the hole doubles and the Hammer comes back to you. Turn it down and you hand over what the hole was worth right before the throw.
Why it is great. The best trash talk in golf. Throwing it after your opponent finds the trees is a classic, and the app prints the number on every button so nobody is doing arithmetic on the tee.
Bingo Bango BongoThree points that do not care what you shot
2 to 4 playersBest for: Mixed ability groups
How it works. Bingo goes to the first ball on the green, Bango to the closest once everyone is on, and Bongo to the first ball in the hole. Play in order and hole everything out.
Why it is great. The player farthest away plays first, usually the shorter hitter, and that player gets first crack at Bingo, so the order of play does the work a handicap would. Great for parents and kids, new golfers, or any group with a wide spread.
2 or more playersBest for: Mixed handicaps, no partners
How it works. Every hole has a value that starts at one. A net par pays the hole and makes the next one worth more. A net birdie pays double and builds it faster. A bogey costs you the hole and knocks you off until you make another par.
Why it is great. A streak of pars feels like it is going somewhere, and one birdie at the right moment cashes the whole run. Everyone plays their own game, so there are no partners to sort out.
4 or more playersBest for: A scoreboard instead of a ledgerOnly on Big Fairways
How it works. Two on two. Your side's net scores make one number, and the difference between the sides marches the ball down the field. Reach their 35 for a field goal, reach the end zone for a touchdown, and lose the hole and you punt.
Why it is great. It is the most fun scoreboard in golf. Watching the ball move after every hole, and the double points on the ninth and eighteenth, keeps the whole group into it all day. Only on Big Fairways.
Three putt and the snake bag is yours until somebody else three putts. Whoever holds it at the turn and at the end buys the root beers. No points at all, just pressure.
Wherever your handicap gives you a stroke, you get to replay a shot instead. Everyone plays gross, and it rides along with Train, TILT, Banker or Vegas.
Count your group first, then think about the mood. Two players, go head to head. Three, play Nines. Four, pick a partner game. A big group, play the card.
Skins and Nassau are the classics most groups already know, with Wolf, Vegas and Match Play close behind. Junk rides along with almost any of them.
What is a good golf game for beginners?
Bingo Bango Bongo and Stableford. Bingo Bango Bongo rewards being first on, closest and first in rather than your score, and Stableford lets you pick up on a bad hole without hurting your total.
What golf game is best for a foursome?
Wolf if your group likes decisions, Vegas if you like big swings, Hi/Lo if your handicaps are far apart, and Gridiron Golf if you want a scoreboard everybody watches.
Can you play more than one golf game at the same time?
Yes. Most groups run two or three, like Skins with Junk and Snake. Big Fairways keeps every game's points separately and shows one Settle Up list at the end.
Pick one for this weekend
Big Fairways scores every game on this list for you, live, with a leaderboard the whole group can follow. Free, nothing to install.
