How to Play the Golf Game Named Hogan, Hogies or Hogans

What is the golf game named "Hogan"? It's a points game the rewards accuracy: hitting fairways, hitting greens, getting it close to the hole. And yes, of course, the Hogan game is named after Ben Hogan, who was a precise shotmaker tee-to-green.

The Hogan game is also called Hogans (plural) or Hogies. Hogies is also a synonym for another game called Perfecto, which is very similar to, but not exactly the same, as the Hogan game.

In Hogan, golfers earn a point each time they accomplish one of these things:

• Hitting the fairway off the tee.
• Recording a green in regulation (GIR: on the green in one stroke on a par-3, two strokes on a par-4 or three strokes on a par-5).
• Being closest to the pin after a GIR.

It's that simple. Each time you notch one of those things, put a dot on your scorecard on that hole. Each dot represents one point. At the end of the round, the golfers in your group count up their points and pay out the differences. (You remembered to agree before the round started on how much each point was worth, right?) Another option is for golfers in the group to pay into a pot at the start of the round, with either the winner taking all, or the first- and second-place finishers getting payouts from that pot.

Hogan is a great game for practicing the things that it awards point for. Hitting fairways and greens has always been a goal for golfers. And playing Hogan is essentially a fun way to track your stats in those categories.

2-Person Hogan Game Variation

Groups of two, three or four golfers can play Hogans. But there's also a variation for two-person games of Hogan. In a twosome, you can, if you wish, carry over the points for fairways and greens if both players hit them. So it works like this:

• If both golfers hit the fairway off the tee, that point carries over. So the GIR is now worth 2 points.
• If both golfers then also record greens in regulation, it carries over again. So the closest-to-the-pin is now worth 3 points.