The Fairways & Greens Golf Game
First, let's get the terms straight. Hitting the fairway means, on a par-4 or par-5 hole, your golf ball winds up in the fairway after your drive. Hitting the green (aka getting a green in regulation) means your ball is on the green after your first stroke on a par-3 hole, after your second stroke on a par-4 hole, or after your third stroke on a par-5 holes.
Also note that Fairways and Greens is often abbreviated as "F&G."
Most Common Version of Fairways and Greens
Most commonly, F&G is played as a points game, with one payout at the end of the round to the high points-earner. Every fairway hit in regulation and green hit in regulation is worth one point. Each golfer in the group simply keeps track of his or her points earned throughout the round.At the end of the round, count up the points. If you are all low-handicappers, you can pay out the differences in points. If you are mid-handicappers or higher, this version of Fairways & Greens is probably best played for one, overall bet amount. Say you all put $1 into the pot, so the high points-earner at the end wins $4.
You can also put $1 (or any amount you wish) into the pot for fairways, and the same amount into a pot for greens, and pay out two different winners at the end.
This points version of the game is also tailor-made for inclusion in those catch-all points games that go by names such as Dots, Trash, Junk or Garbage. It's very easy to play F&G in conjunction with other games.
Another Version of F&G
In this version of Fairways & Greens, each fairway and each green on the golf course is a separate bet, worth an agreed-upon amount. But to win that amount, you not only have to hit a fairway, or hit a green, but be the only person in your group to do so.If on Hole 1, for example, you hit the fairway but so do two other golfers in your group, nobody wins that bet. But if you then hit the green, and are the only member of your foursome to do so, you do win that bet. If each fairway is worth a dollar and each green a dollar, then you won a dollar on Hole 1 by being the only one in your group to hit the green in regulation.
In the case of ties — and if you are playing in a foursome and you are all decent golfers, there will be lots of ties — you can either disregard that bet, or carry it over to the next hole. In the example above, two golfers hit the first fairway. That's a tie, or a push: nobody won the fairway bet on Hole 1. Your group's option is to either leave that Hole 1 fairway money unawarded, or add it to the fairway pot for Hole 2. If you carry it forward, then, in our example the fairway on Hole 2 is now worth $2.
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