SIDE GAME · ONE MARKED HOLE

Longest Drive

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

Any group sizeOne marked holeFairway onlyWinner takes it

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 it, and the guy who bombed it into the trees gets nothing but the story.

  1. Mark the hole and the amount

    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. Settle it at the ball

    Compare drives as you walk past them, not from the tee. The ball in the fairway that is furthest along wins.

  5. GoLo settles the hole

    Record the winner and GoLo nets it into the settle-up. If nobody finds the fairway, your house rule decides whether it 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 a separate one on each long holeONE MARKED HOLE
How do you measure it?Sprinkler heads, rangefinder, or GPSRANGEFINDER
Nobody found the fairway — now what?The hole 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 won 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
NET · YOU’RE OWED
Longest ball in play
+$30

FORMATS & VARIATIONS

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

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

  • Every par 5

    A separate one 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 side game 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 it 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.

Sprinkler heads, a rangefinder or a GPS watch, compared as you pass the balls. Agree which on the tee.

It 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 side game needs a real game underneath it.

One swing 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, let fairway-only decide it, and let GoLo net it into the settle-up.

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