Golf games for 3 players

Three match-play bets in one: front nine, back nine and overall 18, with presses for double-or-nothing.

Each hole is worth a skin; outright low score wins it, ties carry the value forward.

Rotating Wolf watches drives, then picks a partner or goes it alone against everyone for bigger points.

Low score on the hole collects from everyone; high score pays everyone.

A rotating banker tees off last and plays a separate cash match against each other player.

Hole-by-hole match where either side can double the bet at any moment; accept or fold.

Win a hole outright to catch the rabbit; hold it at 9 and 18 to get paid.

Three-player rotation where one defender takes on the other two's better ball each hole.

Teams bid the combined score they will make on the hole; opponents accept, double, or underbid.

Three players flip coins on every tee to decide 2v1 or everyone for themselves.

Three points a hole: first on the green, closest to the pin, first in the hole.

Threesome game splitting 9 points a hole: 5 for low, 3 for middle, 1 for high.

Score points per hole against net par; highest total wins.

Stableford-style points chased against a personal quota of 39 minus your handicap.

Beat your personal point quota (36 minus handicap) by the widest margin.

Threesome points game splitting 6 a hole: 4 for low, 2 for middle, 0 for high.

Stableford with negative points for bogeys, rewarding aggressive play.

Collect penalty points for every mishap; fewest points wins.

Only your best 11 net holes count, but you must commit each hole right after playing it.

Earn points per hole and choose to bank them or let them ride for double next hole.

Earn a point for every opponent you beat on the hole, with a Roll Call that doubles the hole.

Everyone hits, team picks the best shot, everyone plays from there until holed.

Pick the best drive, then everyone plays their own ball into the hole.

Scramble where whoever hit the chosen shot sits out the next stroke.

An imaginary scratch partner who pars every hole turns three players into a 2v2 match.

Scramble where a set number of each player's tee shots must be used.

Australian scramble played with a formula team handicap.

Scramble where the player whose drive is chosen sits out until the green.

One player plays their own ball against two opponents sharing one ball in alternate shot.

Umbrella game that bundles many achievement bets into points ('dots') settled at the end.

Hit the green in regulation (usually closest on a par 3) and keep it with a two-putt.

Make par or better on a hole where you were in a bunker.

Make par on a par 4 or par 5 without ever touching the fairway.

Hit a tree during the hole and still make par or better.

Every three-putt passes the snake; whoever holds it after 18 pays the pot.

Every birdie earns a dot; eagles earn double.

Hole a shot from off the green.

Score a point for every fairway and green hit in regulation; play it solo as a stat tracker.

Ferret: hole out from off the green with a non-putter; Golden Ferret: hole out from a bunker.

Reward for hitting the fairway and the green in regulation on the same hole.

Call your up-and-down before you chip; make it and collect, miss and pay.

Longest drive on the hole, but it must be in the fairway.

Hole a putt longer than the flagstick (or stick an approach inside flagstick length).

Penalty game: each bad shot earns an animal you hold until someone else commits it.

Get paid for following a bad hole with a par or better.

Three bets on birdies: first birdie, longest birdie putt, most birdies.

Earn playing cards for on-course feats and show the best five-card hand at the end.

Penalty animal for going out of bounds; passes to the next offender.

Penalty bet: leave your ball in the bunker after a swing and you owe a mole.

Par-3 bet: closest to the pin wins an oozle, but a three-putt costs a foozle.

Only the par 3s count; lowest total on them wins.

After a terrible drive, bet you'll still make par.

Make par without ever being in the fairway (an Arnie by another name).

Hit into water and still make par or better.

Made putts longer than a flagstick feed a pot that the last qualifying putt of the round wins.

Named for Tom Watson: commonly a holed chip from off the green (partially verified).

Pick three clubs (putter usually free) and play the whole round with them.

Handicap strokes you spend wherever you like, declared before teeing off on the hole.

Your handicap becomes a supply of mulligans to spend anywhere in the round.

Each player gets par plus handicap strokes; plant your flag where your last stroke ends.

Pick the three holes you hate before the round and take an automatic par on them.

Match play where the loser of each hole removes a club from the winner's bag.

Move your ball by hand as far as your piece of string allows, cutting off what you use.

Play made-up holes from one tee to a different hole's green across the property.

Each player gets one or two gotchas to yell during an opponent's backswing.

Drop your three worst holes and compare 15-hole totals.

Win holes, not strokes; the match ends when the lead exceeds holes remaining.

Count every stroke; lowest 18-hole total wins.

The course is your match-play opponent and it makes par (or bogey) on every hole.

Over many rounds, keep your best score on each hole to build one dream round.

Everyone plays net against the club pro's gross score; beat it by the most to win.

Hit two balls from every spot, play the better one, and find out how low you can go.

Hit two balls, always play the worse one, and learn to hit good shots twice in a row.

Let a coin, a die or your last score decide which tees you play from.

Draw every shot on two holes, fade every shot on the next two, all round long.

Run the course with a few clubs; your score is strokes plus minutes.