SIDE BET · ONE MARKED HOLE

Longest Drive

Pick a hole, swing out of your shoes, and the longest ball that finishes in the fairway takes the pot. Short grass or nothing.

Any group sizeOne marked holeFairway onlySingle pot

HOW IT WORKS

One hole where you can stop playing golf and just hit it.

Mark a hole before the round — usually a wide par 5 with a fairway you can miss and survive. Everybody hits a tee shot, the longest ball that finishes in the fairway takes the pot, and the guy who bombed it into the trees gets nothing but the story.

  1. Mark the hole and the pot

    Pick it on the first tee, not on the tee box. A wide par 5 downwind is the classic choice.

  2. Tee shots only, one ball

    The ball you play from the tee is the ball that counts. Reload and you are out.

  3. It has to finish in the fairway

    A 320 in the rough loses to a 280 in the middle, every time.

  4. Mark it as you go

    Log the yardage in GoLo as you walk past your ball.

  5. GoLo settles the pot

    Longest in the fairway collects. Nobody in play and the pot carries.

SETTLE THESE FIRST

Four questions, asked before anybody tees off.

Longest drive falls apart on definitions. These are the four to nail down.

Does it have to be in the fairway?A bomb in rough against a shorter ball in the middleIN THE FAIRWAY
One hole, or every par 5?A marked hole or separate pot on each long oneONE MARKED HOLE
How do you measure it?Sprinkler heads, rangefinder, or GPSLOG IT IN THE APP
Nobody found the fairway — now what?The pot dies or rides to the next oneCARRY IT

WATCH IT PLAY OUT

One par 5, $10 a man, and a 318-yarder that finished six feet into the rough.

Four players, longest drive on the 12th, fairway only. Dave hit the longest ball anybody had seen all year and collected nothing for it.

  1. 318YDSDave — right roughSix feet off the fairway, and six feet is six feet−$10
  2. 296YDSYou — middle of the fairwayLongest ball in the short grass+$30
  3. 291YDSMike — fairway, right sideFive yards from a different afternoon−$10
  4. 274YDSTom — fairway, laid upHit 3-wood to stay in play−$10
Youlongest in play+$30
Davelongest overall, rough−$10
Mike291, fairway−$10
Tom274, fairway−$10
POT · YOU COLLECT
Longest ball in play
+$30

FORMATS & VARIATIONS

One hole is the tradition. It does not have to be the whole bet.

Same swing, four structures — ways groups stretch longest drive past a single tee box.

  • Every par 5

    A separate pot on each long hole gives four swings that matter.

  • Long and straight

    Pair longest in the fairway with closest approach into the green.

  • Last man standing

    The shortest ball in play drops out, and survivors hit again.

  • Distance handicap

    Give shorter hitters yards instead of strokes.

PLAY SMART

Nobody wins longest drive from the trees.

The fairway rule is the whole game. Your normal driver at a wider target beats chasing 15 yards you have never hit on command.

  • Tee it forward and higher

    Use the widest angle and launch the ball; carry with less spin is where free yards live.

  • Hit last if the order allows it

    Once you know the number, you know whether you need driver or a fairway-finding 3-wood.

  • Aim at the fat side

    Center-cut and 12 yards short beats hero-long and out of play.

TALK THE TALK

The words that settle the tee box.

Longest drive
The pot for the longest tee shot on a marked hole.
In play
Finished in the fairway — the usual price of admission.
Marker
The peg or plate left beside the current leading ball.
Tee shot only
The first ball from the tee. Reloads and mulligans are out.
Carry
Nobody found the fairway, so the pot rides to the next hole.
Distance handicap
Agreed yards given to shorter hitters.

LONGEST DRIVE, ANSWERED

Before you grip it any tighter.

In almost every group, yes. Fairway-only keeps it a golf shot.

A wide par 5 with helping wind is traditional. Avoid forced carries and fairways that run out.

Use sprinklers, a rangefinder, or GPS and log the number as you pass the ball.

The pot can die or carry. Carrying makes the next marked hole worth twice as much.

You can, but par 5s only is usually enough swings without slowing the round.

Give yards, not strokes. A 20- to 30-yard allowance can create a real contest.

STACK IT WITH

A tee-box bet needs a real game underneath it.

One pot on one hole is not a round. Put a game beneath it and let GoLo settle the whole thing.

Settle the tee box before the beer cart gets there.

Mark the hole, log the yardages, and let fairway-only decide it.

In testing with real groups · Free while we’re in beta · iPhone & Android