Choosing Golf Tournament Formats

Stroke play and match play are the two most common formats for golf tournaments and the ones you probably most associate with the word golf. Maybe you never realized that there are any more formats than just these two. However, there are a lot of creative ways to make your golf tournament different from the norm in order to entice a variety of competitors. Some of the most popular of these alternative golf tournament formats include games with fascinating titles such as the Bingo Bango Bongo, the Lone Ranger, and the Scramble.

Many league tournaments go with the Bingo Bango Bongo format. This type of tournament is very popular, because it provides a lot of opportunities for players to receive rewards. For example, the first team with a player on the green gets rewarded as does the first team to have all members on or near the green and the first player to put his ball in the hole. This lively type of play rewards even the very poorest players by giving them rewards based on the performance of their entire team.

Another favorite team tournament game is known as the Lone Ranger (aka Money Ball, Yellow Ball, or Pink Ball). This type of format operates with 4-member teams. Each member of the team takes a turn being the person responsible for making a hole for the team, the so-called Lone Ranger. The scores for all of the holes are totaled, and the team with the lowest score at the end of the round is the winner.

The Scramble is probably the most widely-used golf tournament format when teams are involved. Team sizes in a scramble can vary from 2 to 4 players. After each shot, players select the best stroke shot, and then all players on the team hit their next stroke from that location. This type of a tournament is popular because it takes some of the pressure off of the less-skilled golfers. There are many variations of this type of tournament designed to level the playing field. These variations include the Texas Scramble, the Florida Scramble, and the Ambrose Competition.

There are many other types of tournament formats that you can find browsing the Internet. No matter what type of tournament you are planning and the skills of those playing, you'll be able to find a format that will make your tournament a huge success.