Wolf

What is the Wolf golf game?

Wolf is a four player golf side game in which one player is the Wolf on each hole and the job rotates. The Wolf tees off first, watches the other three tee shots, and then picks a partner for a two on two best ball against the other pair, or howls and plays the hole alone against all three for double. The player the Wolf picks can turn the Wolf down, and then that player is the howler, alone against everybody. One point a hole, two when somebody howls, and the player with the most points at the end wins.

It is a game of judgment as much as golf. Pick the safe drive in the fairway and the bomber you passed over might make the birdie against you. Howl on a hole you fancy and you either take two from the table or hand two to each of the other three. The Wolf rotates in order for sixteen holes, and on the last two the player with the fewest points is the Wolf, so nobody is ever out of it.

Players	Four. Five works too, with the rotation running through five.
The Wolf	Rotates every hole in the order of the draw. On the last two holes the player with the fewest points is the Wolf.
The pick	After all the tee shots, the Wolf picks a partner or howls and goes alone.
Scoring	Best net ball on each side. One point a hole, two when the Wolf or a howler goes alone. Hi Lo is the other option: both balls count, two points a hole.
Turning the Wolf down	The player picked can say no, and then becomes the howler for that hole, alone against all three for double.
Scored by	The Big Fairways app, free, on any phone, and it tells you whose turn it is.

How do you play Wolf?

You play a normal round with a rotating Wolf and a decision on every tee. Here is the whole game in seven steps.

1. Draw the order before the round. Number one is the Wolf on the first hole, number two on the second, and so on around the group.
2. The Wolf tees off first, then watches the other three tee shots.
3. The Wolf picks a partner, or howls and takes on all three alone. Howling doubles the hole.
4. A player the Wolf picks can turn it down. If they do, they become the howler for that hole, alone against everybody, and the hole is doubled.
5. Play the hole. Best net ball on each side decides it.
6. Win as a pair and each of you takes a point. Win alone and you take two. Lose alone and each of the other three takes two. A tie is a tie, nothing moves.
7. On the last two holes the player with the fewest points is the Wolf. Most points at the end wins.

Why does the Wolf pick after the tee shots?

Because the decision is the game. If the Wolf picked before anybody hit, it would be a draw. Watching three drives and then choosing is where all the talk comes from: the safe one in the fairway, the bomb in the rough, the one you passed on that turns into a birdie. Some groups make the Wolf choose each player before the next one hits. Big Fairways plays the version where the Wolf sees every tee shot first, which is the one most groups already play, and it puts the pick on the tee box in the app so nobody forgets.

Why does howling only double the hole?

Because doubling is enough. Alone against three you are the underdog, and two points from each of them when you win is a fair prize for a fair risk. Some groups pay three or four times for a lone Wolf, and that turns the game into howling every hole and hoping. In Big Fairways howling doubles the hole and never more than that, whether the Wolf called it or a player turned the Wolf down and took it on. A player who howls and loses hands two points to each of the other three, which is plenty.

What is an example of Wolf scoring?

Four players, best ball net. On a par four the Wolf watches the drives and picks the partner with the best one. That pair's best net ball is a par, the other pair's best is a bogey, so the Wolf and partner take a point each. On the next hole the new Wolf howls. Their net birdie beats the best of the other three, so the howler takes two points. On the hole after that a player turns the Wolf down, becomes the howler, and makes a double bogey against a pack par, so each of the other three takes two. Over eighteen holes the points add up, and every pair settles the difference between them at the end.

What is the difference between best ball and Hi Lo Wolf?

Best ball is the classic: only the low net ball on each side counts, one point a hole, two when somebody howls. Hi Lo counts both balls. The low ball on the Wolf's side plays the low ball of the field for a point, and the high ball plays the high ball for another, so a hole is worth two and a pair can split it one each. A howl doubles that, and the Wolf wins ties on the bump. Big Fairways offers both flavours at setup and a switch to make everybody howl at least once.

What is the best Wolf strategy?

Wolf is won on the tee box, not the green. A few things win Wolf more often than good golf does.

• Pick the drive, not the friend. The best tee shot on the hole is your partner. Sentiment costs points.
• Howl on the holes you own. A short par four you always par, or a par three you like, is where going alone pays. Howling on the hardest hole on the course is how you hand six points to the table.
• Know who gets a stroke. Best ball is net, so the high handicap with a stroke on a hard hole is a better partner than the drive suggests. The app shows the strokes on every hole.
• Watch the last two holes. The player with the fewest points is the Wolf on seventeen and eighteen. If that is you, those are your holes to howl. If it is not, it is someone desperate, and desperate Wolves howl.
• Turn the Wolf down with care. Saying no makes you the howler, alone for double. Do it when your tee shot is the best on the hole and the Wolf's is not, and not because you fancy it.

What are the wrinkles in Wolf?

• Howling only ever doubles. Whether the Wolf howls or a player turns the Wolf down, the hole is worth two, never three or four.
• Turning the Wolf down makes you the howler. You do not just decline, you take on all three alone. The app does that switch for you the moment you say no.
• The last two holes go to the player who is behind. Sixteen holes in rotation, then the fewest points is the Wolf on seventeen and eighteen. Ties on points go to whoever has been the Wolf fewer times.
• A tie is a tie. Best balls level, nothing moves, even on a howled hole.
• Must howl once. A setup switch makes everybody go alone at least once in the round, which stops anyone playing safe all day. It is off by default.
• Five players. The rotation runs through five, the Wolf picks one partner from four, and the pack is three.

How does Wolf compare with other golf side games?

Wolf is a partner game: the sides change every hole and the Wolf chooses them. 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
Wolf	4	The Wolf picks a partner after the tee shots or goes alone for double.
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.
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.
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.

What do the Wolf words mean?

The Wolf

The player whose turn it is. Tees off first, watches the other tee shots, then picks a partner or howls.

Howl

To go alone against the other three. Howling doubles the hole.

The howler

The player who is alone on the hole, either the Wolf who howled or the player who turned the Wolf down.

The pack

Everybody who is not on the Wolf's side on that hole.

Best ball

The low net score on a side is that side's score for the hole.

Hi Lo

Both balls count. Low against low for a point, high against high for another.

The draw

The order the Wolf rotates in. Number one is the Wolf on the first hole.

What should a group agree on before playing Wolf?

• Best ball or Hi Lo.
• What a point is worth.
• Whether everybody has to howl at least once.
• The draw, so everybody knows which holes are theirs. The app does the draw and shows it.

The rule that matters most is when the Wolf picks. Big Fairways plays it after all the tee shots, which is the version most groups know. Settle it on the first tee and the app holds you to it.

Why do golfers love Wolf?

Wolf is the only side game where the best shot of the group can be the worst thing that happens to you. Pick too safe and you miss the bomb down the middle. Howl on the wrong hole and you pay three people. Every tee box is a conversation, every pick gets second guessed in the cart, and the player who is last with two to play is suddenly the most dangerous person on the course.

How does Big Fairways score Wolf for you?

Pick Wolf when you set up the round, choose best ball or Hi Lo, and start playing. The app draws the order, tells you who the Wolf is on every tee, takes the pick or the howl right there, and handles a player turning the Wolf down. After every hole it shows who took what and why, and on the last two holes it hands the Wolf to whoever is behind. Nobody argues about whose turn it is.

Run other side games at the same time and the totals never get tangled. At the end every pair settles the difference between their points, 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.

Common questions

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