How to Play the C.O.D. Golf Game

C.O.D. (or COD) is the name of a golf game format for a group of four golfers who enjoy riding in golf carts. In an 18-hole round, each member of the quartet in a C.O.D. partners for six holes with each other member of the foursome.

If you prefer walking to riding, then you'd probably call this format Sixes or Round Robin — in most (but not all) cases, C.O.D. is the same as those formats.

How does C.O.D. work? The answer begins with what those initials stand for: cart, opposite, driver. Here's how the rotation goes:

• C (Cart): On holes 1-6, you partner with the golfer with whom you are sharing the cart.
• O (Opposites): On holes 7-12, the driver of one cart partners the passenger in the other, and vice-versa.
• D (Drivers): On holes 13-18, the drivers of the two carts partner one another, and the passengers in each cart partner one another.

Obviously, all four golfers will be maintaining their spots in the carts throughout. What about scoring? Use any scoring format you want. The C.O.D. game only sets the rotation for six-hole partnerships.

The Slugger White Version of C.O.D.

We note above that in most but not all cases C.O.D. means the same thing as Sixes or Round Robin. Here's an alternate version of C.O.D., which we call the Slugger White version because the former PGA Tour player turned longtime PGA Tour rules official Slugger White touted it in his Q&A in the July 2019 issue of Golf Digest.

White called COD "a great team game" and said, "Try it, it beats the heck out of a boring old nassau."

White explained the version he and three of his friends play at his home course:

"The first five holes it's cart against cart. The next five, the driver of one partners with the passenger in the other. The next five, the two drivers team up. The last three holes — the deciders for who gets the cash — it's back to cart against cart."

Obviously, the big difference in this version of COD is that the partnerships are unequal. Instead of all four golfers playing six holes with each of the others, in this version the cartmates play eight holes with each other, but only fives holes with each of the two golfers in the other cart.

If you prefer to play this version, it's best to play it with four golfers of similar skill levels, or for all four golfers to use their handicaps.