Playing the 'Best At Something' Golf Game

"Best At Something" is the name of a points-based game for a group of golfers in which all the golfers are playing their own golf balls throughout. (It can't be played with, say, alternate shot.) The game awards points to golfers for positive achievements, and subtracts points for negative achievements.

In that sense, Best At Something is like multiple other golf betting games that use the same, basic approach: points for good outcomes, subtractions for bad outcomes.

In Best At Something, positive points are usually awarded this way:

• One point to any golfer who hits the fairway with his or her tee shot.
• One point to any golfer who gets a green in regulation (GIR).
• One point to any golfer who one-putts.

And negative points are given out this way:

• Any golfer who 3-putts or worse subtracts one point.
• Any golfer who hits into a penalty area or bunker (what used to be called hazards) subtracts one point.
• Any golfer who hits a shot out of bounds subtracts one point.
• Any golfer who loses a ball subtracts one point.

At the end of the round, all golfers tally up their total points earned, and the differences are paid out based on what you agreed each point to be worth.

Some groups also create a bonus pool. In that version of Best At Something, in addition to setting the value of each point, before the round starts the golfers all pay into the bonus pool. At the end of the round, the golfers who led each of the positive-point categories split that bonus money. If one golfer sweeps all three (fairway hits, GIR, one-putts), he gets all the bonus money.

Also, you don't have to use the exact categories we named above. Those are the standards for Best At Something, but you can mix-and-match other categories, if you wish, to create more positive categories or negative categories.

More golf games to play:

• The 'Nasties' game and side bet
• How to play the C.O.D. golf game
• Explaining the 'Mulligan/Recall' golf game