The Golf Game Named 'Misery'

"Misery" the name of a golf game in which the points "earned" are actually penalties: Golfers are assessed points each time they make a mistake (such as 3-putting or hitting into water). So the object of Misery, just like the object of regular stroke play, is to have the lowest score at the end.

The most-commonly used point system for Misery is this:

• Hit a ball into water — 1 point
• Hit it out of bounds — 1 point
• Hit your ball into a bunker — 1 point
• Fail to get out of the bunker on your first attempt — 2 points (additional points for additional failure to get out of the sand)
• 3-putt — 1 point
• 4-putt — 2 points (additional points for each additional putt)

Commit too many of these errors and you will, indeed, be miserable — and probably owe your friends some money. Groups that like to play Misery often have their own, custom point systems, with additional or different outcomes resulting in points. You can add (or subtract) as much as your group wishes to the basic list above.

You can also compare Misery to the identical-in-spirit games named Trouble and Disaster. They have slightly different lists and point values.

Each golfer tracks her points "earned" throughout the round. At the end of the round, low points is the overall winner. You can each ante up a fixed amount at the beginning of the round and play winner-take-all. Or you can assign a monetary value to each point, and pay out the differences at the end.

More games:

• How to play the Legends game
• The Joker Stableford format explained
• How to play Dots (the Dot Game)

Sources:
Rodriguez, Chi Chi, and Anderson, John. Chi Chi's Golf Games You Gotta Play*, 2003, Human Kinetics
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