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In Rick Reilly’s book, “Who’s Your Caddy?” the Sports Illustrated back-page funny man devotes a chapter to Dewey Tomko, the former kindergarten teacher turned professional poker player. It’s titled “Just a Little Ol’ $50,000 Nassau.” That’s right, a $50,000 Nassau. That’s Dewey’s golf game. What’s yours? While the majority of us don’t have Tomko’s gambling skills, nerve or money, it can be fun to spice up the weekly golf game with a little wagering on the side. We asked some PGA professionals in Las Vegas about some of the games people play. If you’re new to golf gambling games or want to improve your strategy, read on. Because in this case, whether you’re playing for $5 or $50,000, what happens in Vegas isn’t staying there. 1. Wolf After setting a rotational order prior to your round, the lead golfer on each hole selects a partner based on the quality of his drive. The two then play a better-ball format against the other pair in their foursome. Confident golfers can play the hole alone for higher stakes. “On a par-3, if I’m picking and hit a pretty good tee shot, I might go solo, even if someone else hits a good shot after me,” said Jon Skaggs of Rhodes Ranch Golf Club. “Or if it’s a par-4 where I feel like I hit a good drive, and none of them hit good tee shots, I may not pick anyone.” 2.Vegas (or Nevada) Played in foursomes, team partners record their score as a two-digit number with the lower number in the “ones” column. For example, if Team One’s two players make a 5 and 4, their score is “45.” If their opponents card a 3 and a 6, their score is “36.” The second team wins by nine (45-36). Be careful when deciding upon dollar values, because the points can add up quickly. And if neither teammate makes par, the numbers must be flipped. Ouch. Ben Buck, tournament coordinator at Angel Park Golf Course, recommends maintaining a good team balance to limit losses. “If your partner hits it OB off the tee, you better make sure you make par or else you’ll be open to his higher number,” he said. “This game can really get out of control. Play for pennies and nickels, because I’ve lost $40 on one hole. It’s crazy.” 3. EIGHT Point Eight points are up for grabs on each hole, with two awarded for closest to the pin in regulation, birdie, low individual score and low team score. “If you get a blitz (when a player accomplishes all four on one hole), it doubles,” said Ryan Ott of Revere Golf Club. “Then it’s worth 16 points. It can get really ugly, really fast.” What’s Ott’s strategy? “Get yourself a good partner, play it safe, and hit greens,” he said. “Then you have a chance for at least a point.” 4. Bingo, Bango, Bongo Three points are up for grabs on each hole. The golfer who hits the green first with the fewest number of strokes gets a point. The person who makes the longest putt picks up the second point, and whoever hits the ball closest in regulation nabs the third. Corey Herlickson of TPC at the Canyons advises getting on the green first. “That means you probably got there in regulation,” he said. That could mean altering your tee shot, especially on par-4s. “If you’re a great long iron player, you might want to hit a short drive off the tee.” 5. Olympics Think Olympic medals are just gold, silver, and bronze? Think again. “We add iron,” said Kiyo Izutsu of Rio Secco Golf Club. After each golfer hits the green, their putt is assigned a medal. “Gold is the farthest away from the hole, silver is the second farthest away, and so on,” Izutsu said. If you make your putt you get from one to four points based on how far away you were. (Gold is four points, silver three, and so on.) “The strategy is not to hit a green. Instead, try to hit your shot as close to the green and see where everyone’s shot is,” Izutsu said. “Then hit your approach shot accordingly.” 6. Nassau This old classic divides the round of golf into three competitions: the front nine, back nine and total 18. “You want to try to win every hole,” said Thom Blinkinsop of Siena Golf Club. “But if you’re down going into the ninth hole, you’ve got to press.” Mark Yelenich, Primm Valley Golf Club’s director of golf, concurs. “You do a lot of pressing at the end,” he said. “That’s where you can really get yourself in some trouble.” 7. Skins The most popular game for large groups often involves buy-ins of $20 or more. Within a foursome, each hole is worth a dollar amount. If tied, the bet carries over to the next hole. “I try not to give away strokes on the wrong holes,” said Matt Tripp of Royal Links Golf Club. In larger groups, par-5s and short par-4s rarely yield any skins, so it often comes down to scoring well on harder holes. So being familiar with the layout can’t hurt. “I always try to get a little prior knowledge before I go to a new course,” Tripp said. 8. NINE point This game for threesomes involves nine points on each hole. The person with the lowest score receives five points, second lowest three points and the highest score gets a point. If two tie for high score they each get four points; if two tie for low score they each get two points. If everyone ties, they all receive three points. “Don’t have the worst score, because if you do, you fall behind quick,” Herlickson said. “At least have your B game. If you have your C game, you’re going to be in trouble.” 9. Mafia Every hole you win, you steal a club from your opponent’s bag. “It’s better to play Mafia on a par-3 course because the clubs you take away from your partner will be more significant,” Buck said. “When you’re missing one of four clubs off the tee you’re going to be hurting a lot more.” 10. Stroke Play Add up your score for 18 holes and the person with the lowest score wins. Sound familiar? “We don’t get very creative [with our game],” said Adam Owen of Bali Hai Golf Club. “A lot of times you’re doing more accounting than playing golf. You can get so convoluted that every time you hit a ball there’s a contest.” Owen said gambling often causes players to lose sight of the big picture. “If you’re playing a round of golf, not everything is focusing on how critical that drive is or how critical that putt is,” he said. “You can end up concentrating on too many isolated pieces of the game, rather than it as a whole.” n |
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