Nicole Bernier offers a refresher course on the real game of golf: side bets

The first time I played a round of golf for business, the deck wasn’t exactly stacked in my favor. I was playing three Arizona resort executives, and I’d been at the game for less than a year (including an unplayable New England winter). Nevertheless, I felt fairly confident. I had a decent sense of when to pull out an iron and when to haul off with a wood, and only rarely shanked my drives. I could talk a good game about famous courses (the best social benefit of being a travel writer who sometimes covers golf), which helped in a pinch to direct attention away from a pitiful putt.

But my confidence was about to get a case of the yips. As we approached the first hole, John—who played regularly at Ventana—stepped up to the tee box and said, “Let’s make it interesting.” With those four words, I learned how little I knew about the game of golf.

In my naïveté, I thought it was enough to hit the ball straight down the fairway. But as in any avidly pursued sport, there is an entire subculture for those who want to add a little spice to the standard 18. In the case of golf, the spice is the side bet. “Making it interesting” means adding a little game-within-a-game, which can be as simple as rewarding points for the longest tee shot on each hole, or as intricate as poker-like wagers on the green.

But all of it was Greek to me that day, so I just nodded politely while the three carried on about which game to play. Skins? Wolf? Vegas? Unfamiliar jargon flew like fescue behind a five-wood.

With golf growing in appeal for all kinds of players, enthusiasts are finding more means of tinkering with the subtleties of the game. There are literally hundreds of ways to vary a basic 18-hole round of golf. Some of these side games are more competitive than others, preying on weaknesses or levying insane fees for mistakes made. But the beauty is that the ante can be upped or eased, depending on how much money you’re willing to lay on the line. There are also opportunities to show mercy, which can be remembered fondly off the course.

First and foremost: It is important to have a solid repertoire of these side bets and to know which games are best played in which social situation. Some, quite frankly, are all about hitting your opponent below the belt (namely, in the wallet). So, the game you play with a longstanding client probably shouldn’t be trotted out with a new one, and the cutthroat version of Vegas you play with college friends might not be best dealt upon your in-laws.

Here are a few games that belong in the repertoire of any self-respecting golfer and can be played in a range of social situations. Keep in mind that the rules aren’t set in stone, and players in different parts of the country may have their own versions of the same side games. Methods of play should be negotiated up front whenever possible, or at least charitably along the way. Think Scrabble without a dictionary, and be flexible.

Bingo, Bango, Bongo

This one is good for people you’d like to treat gently. It’s about fun, not draining your opponent’s bank account. The game is played as a regular round, but with extra points for special achievement on each hole: For example, one point for best drive, one for first person to the green, and one for first in the hole. A point can be worth any amount of money (keep a running point tally throughout the game, and cash it into currency at the end). Remember that it’s more fun for players of varying skill if you keep the price low; you may also opt to vary the point value depending on the sort of shot that’s won (e.g., a dime for first putt in, a quarter for longest drive). The player with the most points at the end of the game wins (or at least wins the side game), collecting from each player the difference between his total and theirs.

Skins

Skins is one of the most popular permutations of the golf bet and another good one for a mixed round of low and high handicappers. Each hole equals a point, or a “skin,” worth a dollar amount determined before play begins (say, each hole is worth $4, at $1 per player). Win the hole, and you take the skin. If there’s a tie (say, two players each score four on the hole), there is no winner, and the “skin” carries over to the next hole, making it worth double. Each player tallies up his number of skins at the end, bearing in mind any skins worth double or triple value.

There is no scorekeeping, which helps level the playing field for lesser players; each hole is all about whether you win it, not how much you win or lose it by. The whole game can turn around with one hole. This makes it a good alternative to regular play with a Type A personality who lives or dies by his total score and becomes miserable to play with during the game.

Wolf

This is a predatory variation that’s best for the foursome that frequently plays together and knows the skills of the other players well. Thicker skin is required for this game than Skins, as players are chosen—or not chosen—to partner up based on their skill level.

Essentially, on each hole, players partner up selectively to earn points by mooching off each other’s strengths. Each player takes turns being wolf; the wolf for the hole chooses a partner after every player has hit his or her tee shot. The wolf and partner play the hole as a team against the other two individuals. If the wolf chooses well and his team wins, both he and his partner win the hole, and each scores a point on their side-scorecards. A dollar value is assigned to each point, and the player with the highest score wins the cash.

Best Ball (aka Captain’s Choice)

This egalitarian game is good for large groups—try it at family outings or corporate gatherings. Foursomes play against one another by comparing their team scores at the end of the round. You play with your teammates to win the “pot,” which the whole group antes up at the beginning of the day (say, $10 a head). On each team, all four players hit their tee shots. The team captain selects a spot where one of the balls has landed—usually the best shot—and each person then hits his ball from there. This continues on each shot until the hole is finished.

The strategy and judgment comes in most on the green, where the captain may choose to have everyone putt from a longer distance, rather than take the shorter putt that has a big break in it. The score of the first person in the hole becomes the score for the team. At the end of the round, the winning foursome splits the pot. The catch: Each player on the team must have his or her drive chosen by the captain at least four times. So, when the weakest team member hits a decent drive, it makes sense to take it, even if it isn’t best ball.

Vegas

Financially brutal, this is the game to play with golfers whose bank accounts are as big as their egos. The stakes get high, and it’s not a game to play with a hard-to-please boss or anyone else with whom you are trying to curry favor.

Four golfers split into pairs, and on each hole, their scores are combined from lowest to highest: If player A scores a four and his teammate B scores a five, that team’s score becomes 45 (low number always comes first). The other team scores 55. The difference in scores becomes the winning team’s points (the first team wins 10), and a point is usually worth $1. You don’t want to go higher than that; trust me on this. It adds up, and can get ugly. As the holes progress, the teams keep a running tally of which team is up and which is down by how many points. At the end of the round, the losing team pays the winning team the difference between their point values (in dollars).

Consider yourself forewarned: It is best not to play Vegas with acquaintances who don’t part with cash easily—or with a significant other who might bear a grudge back home.

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Nichole Bernier is a freelance writer in the Washington, D.C., area. Email Nichole at editor@executivetravelmag.com.