NOTES FROM THE CART PATH
Golf game rules and side-game guides.
Format breakdowns, settling etiquette, and the arguments your group keeps having — written by people who keep score for money on a Saturday.
TOPICS
Latest postsGame rules & how-toSide-game etiquetteHandicaps explainedTrip guides
23 posts12 posts5 posts5 posts1 post
Side-game etiquetteGimmes in golf: when “that’s good” starts an argumentTom says “that’s good” to Mike’s three-footer. Jess, who is in the skins, would like to see it go in. Both of them have a point.6 min read
Game rules & how-toGolf games for 9 holes: short round, full bragging rightsTee time 5:40, sunset 7:25, nine holes. A Nassau doesn’t shrink cleanly. Here is what does, and what the worst evening can cost.6 min read
Game rules & how-toBest ball vs. scramble: know the difference before picking teamsTwo team formats, both with “best” in the description, that play nothing alike. Whose ball you hit, whose score counts and who you want as a partner.7 min read
Handicaps explainedNo golf handicap? How to set up a fair game anywayJess took up golf this year and has no Handicap Index. “Give her 26” is a guess. Here is a better one, and what it can’t promise.6 min read
Handicaps explainedPlaying golf from different tees: fair match or free advantage?Dave has moved up to the forward tees. Mike says that’s free strokes. The handicap system has already answered the question, and it isn’t Mike’s answer.6 min read
Game rules & how-toGolf games for 3 players: when your fourth bailsThe fourth texts at 6:40 a.m. Wolf needs four. Here is what three players can play instead, and what it costs each of them.6 min read
Side-game etiquetteGolf side games for beginners: start with one bet, not fiveSomebody suggests a Nassau with presses, skins with carries and a birdie on top. Half the group has played six rounds. Start smaller.6 min read
Game rules & how-toBirdie bets in golf: what does a $5 birdie actually pay?Everyone agrees to five a birdie. Then two players birdie the 8th, somebody mentions net, and one number turns into four.6 min read
Game rules & how-toClosest to the pin rules: does it count if you three-putt?Tom’s tee shot finished four feet away. He walked off with a bogey. Whether he still gets paid depends on a rule nobody said out loud.6 min read
Game rules & how-toSkins vs. Nassau: which golf game fits your foursome?One game pays whoever wins a hole outright. The other runs three matches at once. Which one keeps all four of you interested until the 18th?6 min read
Game rules & how-toMatch play vs. stroke play: pick your argument before you tee offSam makes a 9 on the 7th and still wins the match. Chris shoots two lower and wins the round. Both of them added it up correctly.6 min read
Game rules & how-toGolf games for 2 players: make your usual match worth somethingSame partner, same Saturday tee time. Start with one small game, then decide whether you want the whole round or every hole to matter.5 min read
Handicaps explainedNet vs. gross golf scoring: which one should decide the money?Alex shoots 80. Jamie shoots 90. Either can win the same round — depending on the scoring basis they agreed before the first tee.6 min read
Side-game etiquetteGolf side-bet rules: settle these before somebody loses $40The five things to agree while everyone is still even — before a $5 game becomes a $40 argument.6 min read
Side-game etiquetteHow to track golf bets without becoming the group accountantYou volunteered to keep score. Somehow that came with three tallies, a disputed press, and a Tuesday collection round.5 min read
Side-game etiquettePressing in golf: when it’s fair game and when it’s just rudeThe automatic 2-down press, the 18th-tee press, and the one press that gets you left off next week’s text.6 min read
Handicaps explainedHandicap index vs. course handicap: what goes on the cardWhy a 12.4 becomes 14 strokes at one tee box and 11 at another — and how those strokes land hole by hole.5 min read
Handicaps explainedSandbagging: how to spot it without starting a fightThe patterns that give it away, the math that makes the case, and four fixes that get an honest game back without an accusation.6 min read
Trip guidesBandon on foot: what to play when the wind decides everythingMatch play, quota, and why net stroke play falls apart when it blows 30 out of the southwest.5 min read
Game rules & how-toThe $2 Nassau: three matches, presses and house rulesFront nine, back nine, total match — plus presses. The whole format in five minutes.5 min read
Game rules & how-toSkins carryovers: how a $5 skin becomes a $60 holeHow a $5 skin turns into a $60 hole, and the one setting that decides whether your group loves the format or bans it.6 min read
Game rules & how-toWolf, for foursomes that can’t agree on anythingPick a partner or go it alone, hole by hole. The rotation, the lone-wolf multiplier, and when the risk is actually worth it.6 min read
Game rules & how-toBingo Bango Bongo keeps the 22-handicap interestedThree points a hole, no strokes required. The fairest game in golf for a group with a 6 and a 22 in it.5 min read
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