5 Side Games to Spice Up Your Weekly Round
8 October 2026
Every regular group hits the same wall eventually: the same format, the same faces, the same result more often than not. You don't need to blow up your weekly game to fix that — a side game layered on top of your normal scoring changes the whole feel of a round without anyone needing to relearn how to play golf.
1. Nassau — three bets in one round
Split into two sides and you're playing three separate contests at once: front nine, back nine, and the overall. A bad front nine doesn't sink your whole day — there are still two more results in play, and an optional auto-press keeps a side that's fallen behind in the fight rather than out of it.
2. Vegas — where one bad hole from your partner really hurts
Pair up two-on-two. Each pair's net scores combine into a single two-digit number every hole — lowest score first — and the gap between the two teams' numbers is your running margin. It rewards steady play from both partners more than any other side game on this list, and it's genuinely tense on the tee when your partner's already had a rough one.
3. Bingo Bango Bongo — no handicap maths, ever
Three points every hole: first ball on the green, closest to the pin once everyone's on, first ball holed. No net scores, no allowances — which makes it the easiest side game to explain to someone playing with your group for the first time, and a genuine leveller for a mixed-ability four-ball.
4. Joker Hole — double or nothing on one hole
Nominate a single hole where Stableford points are worth double. It's a small twist, but it changes how that one hole gets played — suddenly worth being a little more aggressive off the tee than you would on any other hole in the round.
5. The Snake — the one nobody wants to be holding
Whoever three-putts most recently holds the snake for the rest of the round. It costs nothing to set up, needs no scoring beyond noticing a three-putt, and somehow generates more heckling per minute than any other game on this list.
Turning one on
Nassau, Vegas and Bingo Bango Bongo all run as an optional bonus game on top of whatever your group's main format already is — no separate event, no new scoring habit to learn. Joker Hole and The Snake are a single toggle in the same Games section. Try one next week and see which sticks.