How to Play the Wolfman Golf Game

The golf game called Wolfman is a game for a group of three golfers. On each hole, two of the golfers pair up to play as a team against the third member of the group. The golfer playing solo is called the Wolfman; the two golfers who pair up are the Hunters. But which golfer plays solo on each hole is determined by the golfers' tee balls.

To play Wolfman, your threesome first has to identify the Wolfman and the Hunters. Here's how that is done:

• On par-4 and par-5 holes, compare the drives of all three golfers. The longest and shortest drives identify the Hunters. The Wolfman is the golfer whose drive is in the middle.
• On par-3 holes, it's closest-to-the-hole that identifies the roles. The golfer whose ball is second-closest to the hole is the Wolfman.

The game is played as stroke play throughout, so even after two of the golfers have paired off, all three golfers are playing their own golf balls into the hole throughout the round.

On each hole, the scores of the two Hunters are combined, while the Wolfman's score is doubled. And the lower of those results determines who wins the hole. But note that Wolfman is usually played with full handicaps. So if Hunter A scores a net 4 and Hunter B scores a net 5, while the Wolfman scores a net 4, then the Wolfman wins the hole, 8 to 9.

What is at stake? Each hole has a bet value that the three members playing the game agree on before the round starts. If the value of the bet is $1 and the Wolfman wins the hole, each Hunter owes the Wolfman $1. If the Hunters win the hole, the Wolfman owes each Hunter $1. (Halved holes can be discarded, or you can carry over the pot to the next hole, your choice.) So on each hole, the Hunters can win or lose one unit of the bet each, while the Wolfman wins or loses two units of the bet.

You can also just play Wolfman for points, then award a single sum at the end of the round to the high-points earner.

More golf games:

• How to play a Worst Ball Scramble
• Explaining the Selected Score golf format
• Explaining the Taft System golf format