Golf Side Games: The Complete Guide
Almost every foursome plays for something — a dollar a skin, a press on the back nine, lunch for the loser. These are the side games golfers actually play, how each one works, and which fits your group.
What is a golf side game?
A side game is a bet that runs alongside your normal round. You still play your own ball and post your own score — but every hole also pays into a game: a skin for the low score, points for hitting the green, a pot that doubles when someone throws the hammer. Side games give every hole stakes, even when the round itself is going sideways.
Most groups play for small money — a quarter a point, a dollar a skin — because the fun isn't the amount. It's the carryovers, the presses, and the trash talk.
The classic money games
Skins
Low score on the hole wins the skin. Ties carry over, so pots stack — three skins can ride on one swing. The most-played betting game in golf. Full Skins rules →
Wolf
Each hole one player is the Wolf: watch the tee shots, pick a partner — or go Lone Wolf and play one against everyone for double the money. Full Wolf rules →
Banker (a.k.a. Vegas)
The hole winner becomes the Banker. Everyone bets against them individually, and anyone can press to double their bet before the tee shot. One bad Banker hole swings the round.
Hammer
Team best-ball where either side can "throw the hammer" after any shot, doubling the pot. Opponents fold and pay, or match and play on. Pots escalate fast.
Points games (great for mixed skill levels)
Bingo Bango Bongo
Three points per hole: first on the green (bingo), closest once everyone's on (bango), first to hole out (bongo). Long hitters get no edge — order of play levels everything.
DOTS
Earn a dot for fairways, greens in regulation, one-putts, sand saves, birdies and more. The fairest game for groups with mixed handicaps — you compete against the course, then settle dot-for-dot.
Nines
Nine points per hole, split 5–3–1 by score. The cleanest math in golf and the best game ever invented for three players.
Landmines
Acey-deucey scoring (low wins, high pays) plus penalty points for hazards — water, sand, three-putts. Every mistake costs you. Not for the faint of heart.
Par-3 and bonus games
Greenies (hit the green off the tee on a par 3 and make par), Sandies (up-and-down from a bunker), and Closest to the Pin are bolt-on games — most groups run one or two of these alongside a main game for extra action on the short holes.
How to pick the right game for your group
Four players, similar skill: Skins or Wolf. Mixed handicaps: DOTS or Bingo Bango Bongo — they reward good shots, not just low scores. Exactly three: Nines, no contest. Your group likes chaos: Hammer or Landmines. And most groups don't pick just one — running Skins alongside a points game keeps everyone in it for 18 holes.
Settling up without the argument
Every side game ends the same way: someone doing carryover math on a crumpled scorecard in the parking lot. That's the part we built an app for. SideAction Saloon tracks every game in this guide simultaneously — one score entry covers all of them — and ends the round with a settlement screen that says exactly who owes who.
SideAction Saloon — The Side Game AppEvery game in this guide, tracked live. We do the math, you handle the trash talk.