Golf Games Explained is exactly what it sounds like. You want to mix it up and try something new for once? Well, someone has to do the thankless work of playing different golf formats and telling you if it's worth it. You can thank me later.
It's one of the most famous clips in the history of "The Office." Well, at least among golf fans, who all simultaneously point at the television screen like Rick Dalton in "Once Upon A Time In Hollywood" any time any sort of golf moment occurs in their favorite TV shows.
In the clip, Kevin, played by the great Brian Baumgartner, is asked by another character before a round of golf if he'd like to play for "10 bucks a hole?" Kevin's response, particularly the delivery, is perfect. "What are we talking? Skins? Acey Doucey? Bingo Bango Bongo? Sandies? Barkies? Arnies? Wolf? What?"
To the golf novice, these might sound like completely made-up things in a comedy show. Bingo Bango Bongo? What the ...?
Turns out, Bingo Bango Bongo is very real, and it is spectacular. Here's how to play.
Numbers of players required: Two or more.
Best for: Groups of players with a variety of different skill sets. Accurate iron players and solid short-game players. People who like to have multiple opportunities to win a point on a hole.
How to play: Bingo Bango Bongo is a points-based game where every hole there are three points available to the players in the group. The Bingo point goes to the player who is the first player on the green, regardless of the number of shots it took to get there. The Bango point goes to the player who is the closest to the hole once all players in the group are on the green. The Bongo point goes to the first person to hole out. This is the most basic form of the game, and it requires no one playing out of turn and making sure whoever is "away" always plays the next shot - and making sure whoever makes the lowest score on each hole as honors on the next hole. This also means there are no tap-ins/gimmies, which could affect pace of play so make sure you're making that up elsewhere. As a group, you must decide before the round begins how much money each point is worth and divvy it up accordingly at the end of the round. Or, you could simply decide on a set amount before the round and the player who wins the most Bingo Bango Bongo points takes the pot.
Variations: There are a number of variations to Bingo Bango Bongo that are sometimes necessary for groups with good players, especially groups with a long hitter or two. Those folks are at a disadvantage when it comes to being "first" on the green since they are always hitting last. One variation is to make the Bingo point go to the player with the longest drive, though you could then argue that puts the shorter hitters at a disadvantage in the game. A good compromise here would be to give the Bingo point to the player with the longest drive in the fairway.
Another variation—rather than give the Bongo point to the player who holes out first, give it to the player who makes the lowest score on the hole. For highly-skilled players, you can also make the Bingo point go to the player who is on the green first in the fewest strokes possible.
Let's be honest—you can pretty much make Bingo Bango Bongo be whatever you want it to be. So long as there are three points available per hole and you define exactly what those points are for and make sure everybody plays in order, the way golf was meant to be played. "Ready golfers" might want to sit this one out.
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.
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