Start with three questions
Before you choose a format, answer three things. How many players are you — two, three or four? How big is the handicap spread in the group? And do you want a relaxed social round or a hard-fought contest hole by hole?
The number of players matters most. Some formats need an exact number: match play is built for two, Wolf and Split Sixes for three, the team formats for four. Others, such as Stableford and skins, work for anything between two and four. The spread in standard decides whether you need handicaps or can play off gross. If the spread is wide, the choice leans towards points formats that level things out via stroke index.
Find your situation
Look up the row that fits your group. Each one points to between one and three formats, with a link to the full rules.
| Situation | Best suited |
|---|---|
| Two players, evenly matched | Match play for the hole-by-hole duel, or Nassau, which splits the round into three bets with the option to press. |
| Mixed standards, wide handicap spread | Stableford or Quota. Both work off handicap so a 9 and a 28 can meet fairly. |
| Three players | Wolf with its rotating choice of partner, Split Sixes sharing six points per hole, or Bingo Bango Bongo, which rewards good play rather than a low handicap. |
| Four players in teams | Scramble for the simplest and most sociable, Four-Ball where everyone plays their own, or Vegas when you want bigger swings. |
| Want it quick and simple | Skins with one pot per hole, or stroke play where the lowest total takes the lot. Nothing extra to keep track of. |
| Want a side bet on top of the main game | Birdie pot, snake for three-putts, sandie for bunker saves or closest to the pin on chosen par 3s. |
Think about the spread in standard
If you are close in handicap you can play anything, gross included. Match play, skins and stroke play all suit, where every stroke and every hole counts exactly as it lies.
If standards vary, points formats are safest. Stableford and Quota allocate strokes to the hardest holes according to the course's stroke index, so net score decides. A player off 28 gets their extra strokes where they are needed and can take on a single-figure player on the same hole. If you still want a match or skins in a mixed group, play off handicap and it evens out the same way.
Stacking formats
You do not have to choose just one. A common setup is a main game plus one or two side bets. Match play or Nassau as the backbone, with a birdie pot and a snake running in the background all round.
Side bets are small items that do not disturb the main game. The birdie pot rewards whoever dares to go at the flag, the snake punishes three-putts, the sandie pays whoever saves par out of the bunker and closest to the pin puts a pot on every par 3. Keep the side bet stakes low so they stay seasoning rather than the main course.
Just make sure the main game matches the number of players. Three of you? Then Wolf or Split Sixes is the backbone, not match play. Four? Choose a team format if you want to play together, otherwise stack several per-player formats such as skins and Stableford.
Quick picks if you cannot agree
- Two friends, same standard, want some edge: match play with a stake on the whole round.
- Mixed company, just here to enjoy it: Stableford, so nobody has to write down a nine.
- Three out on a Saturday: Wolf, where it is everyone against everyone and it changes each hole.
- Four who want to play together: a scramble, one ball and one result per team.
- Short of time: skins, one pot per hole and nothing else to track.
Let the app suggest and count
If you are unsure, Wager Golf can suggest a format based on the number of players and their standards, and will happily stack a side bet on top. Once you are playing, the app works the format out hole by hole with the correct WHS strokes, keeps the standing live and shows who owes whom when you walk off. That leaves you free of the arithmetic on the course, so you can pick whichever format makes the round most fun.