How to Play the 'Big Fish' Golf Betting Game
First, your group has to rank the holes from 1 (hardest) to 18 (easiest). You can do this on your own if it is a golf course you all know well. But it's easiest just to follow the handicap line on the scorecard. That way, the No. 1 handicap hole becomes the most valuable, the No. 2 handicap hole worth the second-most, and so on.
How much is each hole worth? That's up to your group, of course, and depends on just how much money the members of your group are comfortable gambling. A common way to play it (for those who can afford the risk) is that the No. 1 handicap hole is worth $18, the No. 2 handicap hole $17, and so on, down to the No. 18 handicap hole being worth $1. If you add that up (18 + 17 + 16 + ...), there will be up to $171 at stake. So set the stakes at whatever level you are all comfortable with. Use increments of a quarter, use increments of a dime, or come up with increments completely your own.
Now go play the round. You can play it as four singles (each golfer playing his or her own ball throughout), or pair off for a 2-vs.-2 team showdown. Use handicaps if the four golfers in your group are of varying degrees of skill.
And each time one golfer (or one side) wins a hole, that golfer banks the value of that hole. Win the $5 hole? It goes into your bank. If you want the entire value of all 18 holes to be paid out at the end, then carry over any ties to the next hole. But one way you can play the $18 to $1 values is to stipulate that ties don't count. There will be many ties, after all, which will lower the amount of money owed at the end — but the potential for a big payoff (winning one of the tougher holes) will still be there.
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