Commissioner Guides

Golf Bachelor Party Games and Formats That Actually Work

3 min read · by theStick

A golf bachelor party has two jobs: give the groom a great day, and keep eight to sixteen guys of very different abilities having fun for five hours. The formats that work are the ones where the 25-handicapper matters as much as the scratch player, and nobody spends dinner arguing about money. Here is how to set one up.

Start With the Group You Actually Have

Before you pick a format, count the golfers. A typical bachelor party has two or three good players, a big middle and a few people who play once a year. Formats that pit individuals against each other gross will be over by the third hole.

Three things keep everyone in it:

Team formats, so a weak player is carried on his bad holes and a hero on his good ones.

Handicap strokes or team allowances, so the scratch player's team doesn't win every bet.

Side games that reward moments, like a birdie, a chip-in or a long drive, not 18-hole scores.

Day One: A Scramble to Warm Up

If the trip has more than one round, open with a scramble. Everyone hits, the team picks the best shot and everyone plays from there. It is fast, it keeps the occasional golfer involved and it produces good scores, which puts everyone in a good mood.

With two or more foursomes, each foursome can play its own match, or the whole party can play one event where every team's score goes on a single leaderboard. Put the groom's team off first and give them a small allowance if they need it.

The Main Event: Groom's Team vs. Best Man's Team

The format that makes a bachelor party feel like an event is a Ryder Cup. The groom and the best man each captain a team, draft their sides the night before, and the teams play a series of matches over the weekend for points.

A simple two-day structure:

Day 1 morning, four-ball: two against two, each player plays his own ball, best score on the hole counts.

Day 1 afternoon, foursomes: two against two, alternate shot. This is the format that produces the stories.

Day 2, singles: every player plays one match against someone from the other team.

Each match is usually worth one point and a halved match half. theStick runs Ryder Cup as a tournament format: you set the two teams and the sessions, and the Cup tab keeps the team standings.

Team Danny vs. Team Tanner: the Cup tab keeps the score across every session.

Side Games for Everyone

Side games give the whole group something to play for on every hole, whatever their score:

Snake: the last player to three-putt holds the snake and pays everyone at the end. Everybody understands it, and it makes every putt matter.

Dots (junk): points for birdies, sandies, chip-ins and closest to the pin. The 20-handicapper who holes a bunker shot gets paid.

Skins: win a hole outright and you win the skin. Play it net so every handicap has a chance.

Long Drive and Closest to the Pin: one contest each on a par 5 and a par 3, for the whole party.

Keep the Stakes Friendly

The aim is a good weekend, not anyone losing their flight money. A few rules help:

Keep bets small and the same for everyone. A $5 Nassau and a $1 dot is plenty.

Agree on every game and rule before the first tee, not on the 14th green.

Settle up once, at the end of the trip, not after every round.

Make sure the groom's side games are worth winning, not losing.

Keep Score in One Place

The fastest way to spoil the 19th hole is three people with three different totals. Put every round, team and side game in one app and the scores, points and money are always the same for everyone.

theStick handles one foursome or several groups playing the same event. Each match, skin and dot is tracked hole by hole. People who aren't playing, like the friends who couldn't make it, can follow the live leaderboard from a link. At the end of the weekend, everyone sees exactly who owes whom.

Game rules mentioned in this guide

Scramble Four Ball Foursomes Skins Snake Dots

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Leagues, Tournaments, Simple Events and Groups: Which One Do You Need?The Organizer Playbook: Running Your League or Tournament in theStick Tournament Formats: Stroke Play, Bracket, Ryder Cup and Round Robin How to Run a Golf League: The Complete Commissioner's Guide

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