Welcome back for part 2, let’s dive right into it. Another heart pumping and gut wrenching game is called Las Vegas. Winnings and losings can add up quickly in Las Vegas, which is often played for $1 per point, so it’s a game preferred by better (or at least wealthier) golfers. A team’s two scores are not added together, they are put together or paired. What does that mean? Let’s say Golfer A and Golfer B form one team. On the first hole, A scores 5 and B scores 6. We “pair” them to form a number. Put “5” and “6” together and you get 56. Fifty-six is the score for Team A/B on Hole 1. In Las Vegas, the smaller of the two scores goes first when forming the overall number. In my example above, if A had gotten the 6 and B had scored the 5, the team score on that hole would still be 56, because the smaller number (5) goes first. Now lets say on the first hole the other team comprising of Golfers C & D get a 4 and 4. Their total score is obviously 44. So that means the second team is up by 12 points because that is the difference between 56 and 44. Remember each point is $1 so they are up $11 as a team. There is only exception to putting the smaller number first. If one of the golfers makes a 10 or higher, the higher number goes first. This is good thing! If A scores 5 and B makes a 10, the team score is 105 rather than 510. You may need some lady luck to not go bust in this high stakes game.The last game I will be explaining to you is called Hammer. Hammer has fast become one of the most popular betting games between PGA pros home games or practice rounds to the weekend golfer. You may have seen Justin Thomas and Jordan Speith playing on Netflix’s Full Swing documentary. Hammer is a golf betting game for two golfers playing 1-vs.-1, or a group of four golfers playing 2-vs.-2. Golfer A and Golfer B agree on an initial, per-hole bet. Let’s say $1 per hole. Next, at any point at the beginning of the match one of the two golfers can “hammer” the other, which doubles the bet. You’re playing for low score on the hole, worth $1. But say Golfer B’s drive finds deep rough, putting Golfer A in a great position to the win the hole. Golfer A “hammers” Golfer B, doubling the bet. The first hole is now worth $2. Once the hammer has been used for the first time, it rotates from player to player. In our example, Golfer A used the first hammer. So now the option to hammer passes to Golfer B. Now let’s say that Golfer B hits a remarkable shot out of the rough to six feet from the cup. Golfer B decides he’s now the one in position to win the hole, so he hammers back at Golfer A. The bet on the hole is now worth $4, because every hammer doubles the bet. Or maybe Golfer B’s shot from the rough was awful, and he doesn’t have an opportunity to use the hammer on the first hole. In that case, he keeps it until he does have an opportunity. Once Golfer B uses the hammer, it passes back to Golfer A. No golfer who has the hammer is required to use it—if the hammer isn’t used on a hole, that hole remains worth the original bet amount ($1 in our example). But many groups wind up hammering, and hammering back, and hammering again, and re-hammering, and the initial bet amount skyrockets. That’s why I cautioned at the top that Hammer can get expensive fast so don’t wind up being the nail!
Hope this helps, have fun out there and good luck!
2 OFF THE TEE 