Let’s be honest — going to the range and hitting hundreds of balls isn’t always fun. Sometimes you just want to go out, play some holes and enjoy the game. To a lot of golfers, having fun and working at getting better don’t go hand-in-hand. They think that if you’re not out giving yourself blisters, you’re not going to get any better and this simply isn’t true.
So, next time you just don’t feel like going to the range, get a few friends together and play some of the games described below. They’re fun, engaging and if you play them correctly, you’ll be a better golfer at the end of your round.
Captains – You can play this game with any number of golfers but it works best with a foursome. Every hole, someone takes turn being the captain. The role of the captain is to watch everyone hit their tee shots and then pick a partner they want to play with on that hole. Ideally, you want to choose the guy who’s going to get the lowest score on the hole but since you can’t predict that with one-hundred percent accuracy, you take the guy with the best drive. You can play any format you want but at the end of the hole, the team that wins gets one point.
If you hit a good drive and you’re feeling really confident, you can play the hole solo. You’re chances of winning are tough because you’re playing three vs. one but if you do win, you get two points.
The game might seem complicated but it’s really not and when you take into account the handicaps of all the players, it requires a great deal of strategy. If you’ve got a lot on the line, this game can put a lot of pressure on your physical game but it’s even more helpful for the mental side of golf. Play it a lot and you’ll get hooked.
Worst Ball – Greg Norman was notorious for playing this game and it’s a good one. You can play it by yourself or with other people and it’s very simple.
Everyone starts off by hitting two balls off the tee. Instead of going to your best drive, go to your worst one and hit two approach shots from there. If you stick one 6 feet from the pin and put the other one in the bunker, play the one from the bunker. To put it quite simply, always play the worse of your two shots.
Play a whole round like this and see how good of a score you can shoot. Obviously you’re not going to put up a real low number but if you play consistently, you can put up something that’s worth talking about. This game is great for learning how to scramble and get out of trouble. It puts a lot of pressure on your short game and you’ll be surprised just how fun it really is. TIP: Playing this game in a foursome could turn into a very, very long round. Play it by yourself or with one partner.
Match Play (with a twist) – Match play is great for working on the strategic part of the game but putting a little twist on it can make it much more entertaining.
Find one other golfer to play with and play each hole as a separate match. The winner of each hole gets to go into his opponents back and take out any club (except the putter). The loser can’t use that club until they win a hole in which case they are allowed to go into the other players bag and take back their club or take out something else.
If you lose a few holes in a row, you might be in some trouble but if it’s a relatively even match, it can get very interesting. This game is great for working on your imagination. If you’re 120 yards away and you don’t have the club you normally hit because you lost it on a previous hole, you’re just going to have to hit something else. Play this game a lot and you’ll learn how to get around the course with different clubs and unorthodox shots.