If the Wolf feels like taking on all other players alone, he/she is designated as the Lone Wolf. As with all bets, the more risk the more reward. Lone Wolf” and the bet lone wolf golf bet. Wolf goes by a couple other names, too, including Captain & Crew, and Boss. Wolf is typically played using full handicaps. In Wolf, players set a price value for each point, typically $1 per point, but feel free to raise the stakes. The winner of each hole is. If the player decides to play lone wolf before the tee shot, then the bets on that hole are quadrupled. If they go lone wolf after their drive, but before that.
Thus, if can win a Blind Wolf option two of three times for nine holes, or simply 3 times of 6 possible in an hole match, he will have gain a significant point advantage over the other two competitors, assuming they have not engaged in the same all-or-nothing strategy. Especially if playing a net game with accurate stroke allocations, the opportunity costs of NOT going Blind Wolf are pretty high.
Part of the beauty of our Three Man Wolf match was playing it later in the week within a larger team competition. By the time we engaged in the Wolf matches, we knew roughly that our three-team competition had become a two-team race. That kind of secondary motivation, the constant, fluid score-keeping calculus is the real joy, for me, of this Wolf game.
There was an added level of pressure created within the game because of what the results meant to the larger competition outcome. For example, had I been able to amass a small lead within our match, I could have chosen to play defense with partner selections.
Three Man Wolf also adds intrigue to whomever ends up being eliminated from winning first. Though that player might be out of the money for the overall competition or within the Wolf match, his play could very well determine the winner. As a group, we went through dozens of hypothetical situations that put players to uncomfortable decisions, where loyalties would have been questioned, integrity tested, and significant pressure applied to simply do the right thing.
Therein lies the beauty of the game, for me. Putting pressure on players not only to play and score well on each hole, but to make the correct structural decisions within the confines of the overall match, and perhaps even a larger competition. It will remain a mainstay of our trips for however as long as we continue to have a number of players that threesomes continue to make sense.
What we found, in practice, is that once someone attempts to go Blind Wolf, if they are successful, they basically force their competitors to try to keep up. The triple points are almost too much to make up through normal scoring means. Unfortunately, that takes a little bit of the strategy and drama out of the decision making, because the math is pretty simple: go big or go home.
Perhaps in future years, the Blind Wolf challenge will only be worth double points of a regular hole, making the risk-reward decision less in favor of making that election, but still giving the desperate player a chance to make up a deficit in short order. Either way, Three Man Wolf is a fun, new wrinkle on a classic golf side game that will likely be a part of our golf trips for years to come.
Thanks Brian. Good fun — we played it with 2 points i. Cheers, Bill. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Lone wolf golf bet Learn how your comment data is processed. Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive. Type your email…. The format of Wolf is a little tricky at first but you can get the hang of it pretty quickly.
We suggest using a golf app to make scoring easier — a good example is 18Birdies. Like any type of golf game, there is always a way to make it even more interesting. For example, a shamble is normally played with a four-person team but a Texas shamble is played with two partners. With Wolf, there are several variations as well; here are some of the most common.
The first is known as Blind Wolf. In this version of the game, the Wolf for the hole declares that he or she is going to go Lone Wolf before anyone tees off. This is very different from waiting for all players to hit their tee shots. A second variation is called Pig I know, a lot of animal names get thrown around.
With this style, a person who gets picked to be a partner the Pig can choose to let the Wolf play solo. In this instance, all bets double. A third variation is when the player in last place gets to become the Wolf on the final two holes. This gives the individual a chance to get some extra points and hopefully move up in rankings. The final variations can come in the form of scoring.
Some apps use different scoring for certain events like. A good player will go it alone as often as possible, especially on par 3s and par 5s. Do you have more questions about Wolf and other types of golf games. If so, keep scrolling through the frequently asked questions below.
But it is a newer game that a lot of people really enjoy playing as it is a great mix of team plus solo competition. Not to mention a ton of risk and reward during the round. No honors here. If Player A tees off on hole 1, they will tee off on holes 5, 9, and Likewise, if Player B tees off on hole 2, they will tee off on holes 6, 10, See the pattern here?
The Wolf always plays first then watches the other shots. Feeling lucky. In this fun betting game, declaring yourself a Lone Wolf before anyone tees off gives you the chance to win triple creating a 1-vs-3 match from the start. Tech-phobic golfers, please give the most responsible person in your foursome the good old-fashioned paper scorecard to track the bets.
The winner of each hole is determined via better ball. For example, if Player A and B are partners in a 2-vs-2 match and Player A makes a 5 and Player B makes a 4, their team score for the hole is a 4. So, no lay ups in Wolf, go for broke, ahem, well you know what we mean.