Golf Games Explained
How to play 'Umbrella': A guide to golf's ultimate 'side action' game
Kevin C. Cox
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.
Sometimes, for the true sickos out there, one game or one match just ain't enough. That's where side-action guy comes in and says "we want some side action?" If the response is anything but a resounding "YES" from the entire group, you are hanging out with the wrong people.
Allow us, then, to introduce you to the ultimate "side action" golf game: Umbrella.
Here's how to play.
Number of players required: Works best with four, two teams of two.
Best for: Golfers who love side bets. Players who want to be rewarded for their good holes. Folks who don't mind a lot of scorekeeping. Groups that want the back nine and the final few holes to seriously matter.
How to play: Like we stated earlier, "Umbrella" is a great side-action game but can certainly be played as the main game, too. It's ideally a 2v2 game where there are five specific accomplishments, with point allotments attached to them, on every single hole. The catch is that the point totals are awarded according to the hole number.
On the first hole, it would look a little something like this:
- 1 point for the low individual score of the group
- 1 point for your team having the low 2-ball total
- 1 point if you hit the green in regulation
- 1 point if your partner hits the green in regulation
- 1 point if a team member scores a birdie
On the fifth hole, it would look like this:
- 5 points for the low individual score of the group
- 5 points for your team having the low 2-ball total
- 5 points if you hit the green in regulation
- 5 points if your partner hits the green in regulation
- 5 points if a team member scores a birdie
And so on and so forth.
Now, should one team "sweep" all of the categories, the point total gets doubled, which is called an "umbrella," hence the game's name. On the first hole, if a team swept the categories and won all five points, it would double and they'd win 10. On the fifth hole, if one team swept all five categories for 25 points, they'd win 50 points.
To determine a winner, the group can decide at the very start if they'd like to assign a dollar amount to each point and pay out the difference at the end, or the group could agree to a set amount that everyone contributes to the pot and the team with the most Umbrella points at the end wins the pot.
Variations: You can play Umbrella with or without handicaps. With handicaps, a player who is getting a shot on a par 4 who makes a 4-for-3 would technically be making a "birdie," earning one of the points. As for whether you'd count that same player hitting the green in three shots as a "green in regulation," that's something you'd have to discuss with the group before teeing it up. You can also add in more specific accomplishments like longest drives, closest to the pin on par 3s or sand saves if you'd like, 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.
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