Remember 5-3-1? The perfect golf betting game for when your fourth inevitably bails? Well, fear not, because that was far from the only game you can play as a trio. “Heads-Tails”, like 5-3-1 before it, is designed for groups that just can’t seem to find a fourth but still like to play for a little something on the course anyway.
Here’s how to play.
Number of players required: Exactly three.
Best for: Sorry to be repetitive, but it’s best for groups of three. Those who can never find a fourth or have the most unreliable friends imaginable. People who carry change. Trios who like to team up sometimes but also don’t mind going alone as well.
How to play: Step 1 of the game is for all three players to break out a coin on the first tee. Everybody tosses their coin and the results of the flip determine if that hole will be a 2 vs 1 match or a 1 vs 1 vs 1 match.
If all three coins land on either heads or tails, it’s 1 vs 1 vs 1. If two coins land on heads and one on tails, or vice versa, then the two players who had heads play against the player who had tails in a 2 vs 1 match. This process repeats on every tee so that each hole is a separate match.
Now, as for scoring, it’s a points-based system. And, as always, playing with handicaps is encouraged. Let’s say in a 2 vs 1 heads vs tails match on the first hole, the player who had tails achieves the lowest score. That player would receive a point for each player he beat (two points on the hole). If the team of two has the lowest score, they each get a point (one and one). In the 1 vs 1 vs 1 scenario, if any of the players have the outright lowest score, they get a point from each of the other two (two points on the hole). If any of the two players tie in the 1 vs 1 vs 1 scenario, there is “no blood” and zero points are awarded to anyone. There are no carryovers like there would be in skins since the team scenario is changing on each hole.
As for the stakes, those are completely up to the group. It could be a set amount from each player, say $20 on the first tee, and it could be winner-take-all or it could be divvied up between the first and second-place finishers. Or you could put a certain dollar amount on each point and pay out the difference at the end of the round. Variations of the game are completely up to the group, too.
If you have any golf games or variations of golf games we haven’t covered and you’d like to explain, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter/X @Cpowers14.
MORE GOLF GAMES EXPLAINED:
How to play ‘Wolf’: A simple guide to one of golf’s most fun strategic betting games
How to play ‘Vegas’: A basic guide to a golf betting game where every shot counts
How to play ‘Skins’: A basic guide to one of golf’s best money games
What is ‘Swat’? How to play one of golf’s most fun betting games
How to play ‘Snake’: A basic guide to golf’s most toxic putting game
How to play ‘Wad’: The golf gambling game that rewards making putts
How to play ‘5-3-1’: A guide to the perfect game for when your fourth inevitably bails
How to play ‘Umbrella’: A guide to golf’s ultimate ‘side-action’ game
How to play ‘Pinehurst’: The alternate-shot game that isn’t quite alternate shot
How to play ‘Chicago’: A fun twist on the Stableford format
How to play ‘Hammer’: The matchplay game where the money can add up quickly
