How to Play the Municipals Side Bet
Say your group is playing the No. 2 hole at Anytown Municipal Golf Course. And, whoops, your slice just sent your ball scuttling onto the adjacent hole, the No. 8 fairway. So you trudge over to that wrong fairway and play back toward the No. 2 green.
Now, let's say you hit a great recovery shot, chip close to the pin, and sink the par putt. You just won the Municipals wager. If your group attaches a value of one buck to this bet, then you just won a dollar from each of your playing companions.
That's it: Hit the ball into the wrong fairway but make par anyway, and you win. The Municipals wager pays out each time that happens during a round. But that doesn't happen very often! So this is one of those wagers that probably isn't going to pay out much (unless your group includes only high-handicappers and you play a lot of golf together).
Still, if your group has a large repertoire of side games that you play (perhaps under the title of Dots, Junk, Trash or Garbage, catch-all games that combine many different wagers), Municipals is another one to consider. (The actor Leslie Nielsen wrote a comedic book titled Stupid Little Golf Book (affiliate link) in which he described a funny possibility called Whoopsies: It pays off to the golfer whose ball is closest to the center of the wrong fairway.)
Why is it called Municipals? Holes on muncipal golf courses (and particularly older ones) tend to be very close together, especially compared to the larger footprints of private and resort courses. That makes it easier to knock a ball into the wrong fairway.
More golf games:
- Do you know what Barkies are (and how to bet them)?
- The Oozles and Foozles game explained
- How to play the Arnies bet
(Book titles are affiliate links; commissions earned)
Bohn, Michael K. Money Golf: 600 Years of Bettin' on Birdies, Potomac Books Inc., 2007.
Nielsen, Leslie, and Beard, Henry. Stupid Little Golf Book, Doubleday, 1995.