BOUNTY · ALL 18 HOLES

Birdies

A standing price on every birdie. Card one and everybody who did not pays you. Eagles double it, and nobody has ever complained about paying.

Any group sizeAll 18 holesPer-birdie bountyEagles double

HOW IT WORKS

The only side game that pays you for playing well instead of for beating somebody.

Put a price on a birdie before the round. Every time somebody makes one, each of the other players hands over that amount — so a $5 birdie is worth $15 in a foursome. Eagles usually pay double, and because it sits on top of whatever else you are playing, most groups leave it running all season.

  1. Set the price

    $5 a birdie is standard. Much more and one hot nine becomes a real number.

  2. Gross or net

    Gross is simple. Net lets a 20 handicap into the game when par on a stroke hole counts. GoLo counts gross birdies only.

  3. Everybody else owes the maker

    Nothing builds up in the middle. Every other player owes the maker.

  4. Eagles double, aces clear the table

    The traditional multiplier, with optional bonuses for streaks or hard holes.

  5. GoLo tallies every bounty

    In GoLo it is a Skins setting: Birdie Skin, plus Eagle Skin for the double, both at your skin price. Each bounty posts automatically and nets against what you owe.

SETTLE THESE FIRST

Four questions, asked before the first birdie.

A bounty is simple until somebody makes five of them. Here is where most groups land.

Gross or net birdies?Whether a handicap stroke can turn par into birdieGROSS
What does an eagle pay?Flat rate, double, or a number of its ownDOUBLE
Who owes the maker?Every other player or only those who lost the holeEVERYBODY ELSE
Is there a cap?What happens when one player makes five (GoLo has no cap setting)SET A CAP

WATCH IT PLAY OUT

$5 a birdie, four players, and one eagle worth two of them.

Gross birdies, eagles double, no cap. Seven bounties changed hands over 18 holes and two players finished dead level.

  1. H4BIRDIEYou — 12-footerThree players owe $5 each+$15
  2. H9BIRDIEMike — drove the greenEverybody else owes, including you−$5
  3. H13EAGLETom — par 5 in twoDouble bounty, and the round turned here−$10
  4. H17BIRDIEYou — tap-inBack level with Tom with one to play+$15
You3 birdies+$20
Toma birdie and an eagle+$20
Mike2 birdies$0
Davenone, owed on all seven−$40
NET · YOU’RE OWED
Seven bounties, netted
+$20

BOUNTIES & VARIATIONS

A bounty does not have to stop at birdies.

Same mechanic every time: a fixed price on one specific thing happening. Four versions worth adding. GoLo scores the plain gross bounty and sandies; net and escalating bounties, barkies and Arnies are house rules it does not track.

  • Net birdies

    A par on a stroke hole counts, giving a high handicap a real chance.

  • Escalating bounty

    Every birdie raises the price of the next one.

  • Barkies, sandies, and Arnies

    Cheap bounties for recovery shots and rounds that never touch a fairway.

  • Team birdies

    Play as partners and let either ball count.

PLAY SMART

Birdies pay for the cheap risk, not every risk.

Attack the short par 5 and drivable par 4. Do not take on a tucked pin over water for the same bounty.

  • Hunt them on reachable holes

    Two par 5s and a short par 4 are where most bounties are made.

  • Do not let a bounty cost the main game

    A $15 birdie chase can lose a $50 Nassau hole. Check what else is riding.

  • Long par 3s are worth nothing

    Take the middle, take par, and let somebody else pay for the hero shot.

Deeper reading: how skins carryovers stack up →

TALK THE TALK

The bounties your group already argues about.

Birdie
One under par on a hole.
Eagle
Two under par, usually worth double the birdie bounty.
Bounty
A fixed amount paid whenever a specific event happens.
Net birdie
A par on a hole where your handicap gives you a stroke.
Cap
An agreed ceiling on one player’s round total.
Barkie
Par or better after hitting a tree.

BIRDIES, ANSWERED

Before you set the price.

Five dollars is the default: enough that a hot nine matters without paying the best player a salary.

Yes when the handicap spread is wide. A game nobody can win is not much of a game. GoLo counts gross birdies only, so net birdies are a house rule it does not track.

Almost always, and a hole-in-one commonly clears the table. Set it before the shot. GoLo counts an eagle double when Eagle Skin is on, and has no separate ace bonus.

Everybody else owes. That is what makes it a bounty rather than a match.

Use a cap so a great round stays a great story instead of an awkward bill. GoLo has no cap setting, so agree one before the round and settle the difference yourselves.

Yes. In GoLo it is part of the Skins game, so it runs beside a Nassau or Best Score, with or without the standard skin, and GoLo nets it all.

STACK IT WITH

Bounties are the seasoning, not the meal.

Birdies runs on top of whatever your group already plays. Pick the game underneath it.

Put a price on the best shot you hit all day.

Turn on Birdie Skin and Eagle Skin, set the price, and GoLo posts each one while you play.

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