Hi Lo is the two on two game where both balls count on every hole. Two points a hole: your side’s better net ball plays their better ball for the low point, and your worse ball plays their worse ball for the high point. A tie is half a point each. Win both on the same hole and the sweep pays a bonus. It is the partner game that keeps the worse ball honest all the way in, because the player having a bad hole is still playing for a point. Big Fairways keeps both comparisons and the live leaderboard, so you just play golf.
The better net ball on your side against the better net ball on theirs. Lower wins the point, a tie is half each.
The worse net ball on your side against the worse ball on theirs. Same rule. The player having the bad hole is still playing for this one.
Win both points on one hole and it is worth one extra. On by default in the app.
This is a simulated round, not a live game. Alex and Dave against Pete and Moose on a made up round. Under each side on the board you will see which point they took, which they halved and when the sweep paid.
Hi Lo is a two on two golf side game with two points on every hole. The better net ball on each side plays for the low point: lower wins it, a tie is half each. The worse net ball on each side plays for the high point the same way. Win both points on the same hole and the sweep pays one extra. It settles like a match: the side up on points at the end collects the difference.
It is the fix for the problem with best ball, where one partner can pick up and go for a walk. In Hi Lo the worse ball is worth exactly as much as the better one, so the player who is out of the hole is still in the game, and the pair that plays two solid balls beats the pair with one hero and one passenger.
| Players | Four, exactly. Two on two. |
|---|---|
| Points a hole | Two. The low point for the better balls, the high point for the worse balls. A tie is half each. |
| The sweep | Win both on one hole and it pays one extra. On by default. |
| Handicaps | Yes. Net, with strokes by stroke index, so a stroke can turn a worse ball into a winner. |
| Settling | Like a match. The side up on points collects the difference, split between the partners. |
| Scored by | The Big Fairways app, free, on any phone, with both comparisons shown on every hole. |
You play a normal round in two pairs and every hole is two small contests. Here is the whole game in five steps.
Because in most partner games it does not, and that is the problem. In a best ball, once your partner is on the green in two you can pick up and nobody cares. In Hi Lo your ball is still playing the other side's worse ball for a point that is worth exactly as much as the one your partner is playing for. Every player is in every hole to the end, and a pair of steady bogeys can beat a birdie and a nine.
The bonus for taking both points on the same hole. Win the low and win the high and the hole is worth three instead of two. It rewards the pair that plays two good balls at once, and it is what makes a big hole possible in a game that otherwise moves a point at a time. It is on by default in Big Fairways and can be switched off at setup.
Your side posts a net four and a net five. Theirs posts a net four and a net six. The better balls tie at four, half a point each. Your five beats their six for the high point. One and a half to a half on the hole. On the next hole your side posts three and five against their four and five: your three takes the low point, the fives tie for half each, one and a half to a half again. On the hole after that you post four and four against five and six, both points and the sweep, three to nothing.
Both are two on two and both use every ball. In Vegas the two scores on a side become one number and the difference between the numbers is the points, so a blow up can cost thirty on one hole. In Hi Lo every hole is worth two points and a sweep, whatever the scores, so the swings are small and the match is long. Vegas is the rollercoaster. Hi Lo is the grind.
Hi Lo is two contests a hole, so the right shot depends on which one you are in. A few things win Hi Lo more often than good golf does.
Hi Lo is a partner game where every ball counts. 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hi Lo | 4 | Two on two. A point for the best ball and a point for the worst. |
| 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. |
| Snake | Any | Three putt and the snake is yours until somebody else does. No points. |
| Bingo Bango Bongo | Any | First on, closest, first in. Three points a hole, played gross. |
| 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 comparisons are fixed, so the only real call on the first tee is the sweep. Leave it on and a big hole is possible. Switch it off and it is two points a hole, every hole.
Hi Lo is the partner game where nobody gets to go for a walk. The player in the trees is still playing for a point, the player who is on in two cannot win the hole alone, and a pair of honest bogeys beats a hero and a passenger. Every hole is two small arguments and the match is never over.
Pick Hi Lo when you set up the round, put the four names on two sides, and start playing. After every hole the app compares the better balls and the worse balls, hands out the points and the halves, pays the sweep when a side takes both, and keeps the running match. The board shows which point each side took and why.
Run other side games at the same time and the totals never get tangled. At the end the side ahead collects the difference, split between the partners, you get 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.
Two on two, two points a hole. The better net ball on each side plays for the low point and the worse ball plays for the high point. Lower wins each point, a tie is half each. Win both on one hole and the sweep pays one extra. The side ahead at the end collects the difference.
Taking both points on the same hole. It pays one extra point, so the hole is worth three. It is on by default in Big Fairways.
A tied comparison is half a point each. Both comparisons can tie, one point each side.
No. Hi Lo is two on two, exactly four. With five, Vegas plays two against three.
Yes. Both comparisons are on net score with strokes by stroke index.
Like a match. The side up on points at the end collects the difference, split between the partners.
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 to the group, and let the app keep both points.
START A HI LO GAME, FREE
Vegas
Wolf
Gridiron Golf
Skins
Nassau
Banker
Midnight