Midnight

What is the Midnight golf game?

Midnight is a net scoring game you lay over any normal round. Your best eleven holes plus your last hole make a twelve hole card, and the lowest card wins. It suits the player who is one blowup away from a bad round: the two worst holes go in the bin, and the round still ends on a putt that counts.

Players	Two or more. Everyone plays against the card.
Holes that count	Twelve: your best eleven plus your last hole.
Throwaways	Six. They do not come back.
Last hole	Always counts. On a shotgun start it is the hole before the one you started on.
Handicaps	Yes. Holes are compared on net score.
Scored by	Big Fairways, free on any phone.

How do you play Midnight?

Play a normal round. After every hole you make one call: clock it or pass.

1. Play the hole and post your score.
2. Clock it or pass before the next tee shot. A clocked hole stays clocked. A pass spends one of your six throwaways.
3. Once you have eleven clocked, every hole is a throwaway until the last.
4. Run out of throwaways and every hole left is clocked for you.
5. Your last hole is your twelfth clock, whatever you make. Lowest net twelve wins.

Why does the last hole always count in Midnight?

Without it, the end of the round goes dead. A player with eleven clocked would have nothing left to play for. The last hole fixes that: a player leading on the best eleven can still lose it all with a double bogey on the last green.

Why does a clocked hole stay clocked?

A decision you can take back is not a decision. If you could swap a clocked hole for a better one later, the game would turn into arithmetic at the end. Because the clock is final, a bogey on the third is a real question: keep it, or trust that better holes are coming?

What is an example of Midnight scoring?

Say a player shoots in the high eighties with an eight on the fourth and a nine on the eleventh. Both go in the bin with four other poor holes. The eleven clocked holes plus the last hole make the card, and the gross score for the day never comes up again.

What is Midnight like to play?

My experience with MIDNIGHT: The first time I played midnight was a Chambers Bay. I was even through the first 11 holes and ended up clocking them all. I birdied the 12th hole (lipped out my eagle putt), and followed that up with another birdie on 13. I was PISSED that I couldn't use those scores!! I left my eagle putt short on the final hole but made my birdie putt only to LOOSE by 3 strokes in MIDNIGHT. UGG. I wasn't a fan, but I understood the appeal. I've since played it a few times with other buddies, and I love it. Such a great equalizer for the mid-high handicap players and with the way it plays on bigfairways app, I actually really enjoy it.

Alex T., Big Fairways

What is the best Midnight strategy?

Clock net par or better without thinking, and spend your six throwaways across the whole round, not just the front nine.

• Save throwaways for the hardest holes, especially late ones. Burn them early and the back nine turns red.
• A net bogey is often worth keeping. Passing costs a throwaway you may need for a double later. The app shows what your Midnight net becomes before you decide.
• Do not fill up too early. Eleven clocked by the fourteenth means a late birdie has nowhere to go.
• On yellow, with one throwaway left, spend it only on a hole you are sure about.
• Play the last hole like it counts. It does.

How is Midnight different from Elevens?

Elevens is the same idea one hole shorter: ten clocked holes plus the last, with seven throwaways. Midnight counts twelve and throws away six. Both are exclusive to Big Fairways and use the same clocks.

How does Midnight compare with other golf side games?

Midnight is a card game: you play against your own scorecard. Most side games are match games, where you win or lose points against your group hole by hole. You can run several at once on one card.

Game	Players	In one line
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.

Every side game the app scores is on the golf side games page.

What do the Midnight words mean?

Clock

To count a hole on your Midnight card.

Throwaway

A hole you pass on. You have six.

Must clock hole

A hole the app clocks for you because your throwaways are gone. The clock turns red.

Midnight hole

Your last hole. Always your twelfth clock.

Full at eleven

Eleven clocked before the last hole. Every hole after that is a throwaway until the last.

How does Big Fairways score Midnight for you?

Pick Midnight when you set up the round. After every hole the app shows each player their clock, their throwaways left and what their net becomes if they clock it. Must clock holes clock themselves. Other side games run on the same card and settle together in one Settle Up list. Midnight is a score, so it never lands in the Points column.

Common questions

More golf side games