Two bogeys at high speed

A keen observer may have already noticed that the word “racecar” is spelled the same way forwards and backwards.  Hence the inspiration for the remarkably little-known Racecar wagering game.  This is a great one to spring on your regular foursome when you don’t feel like playing best ball or nassau for the third time in a week, and you want every shot from every player to count.

It really only works with four golfers – two on each team.   Let’s say Ty and Judge are a team, and Danny and Carl are another team.  The first hole is a par 4, and Ty makes a four while Judge makes a five.  Since Ty made a par, this team can put the lower score first (the 4) and the higher score second (the 5) and their final score is 45.  Danny, however, makes a bogey five while Carl hacks it up for a double bogey six.  Because neither of them made a par (or better), they have to put their higher score first (the 6) and the lower score second (the 5) and their final score is 65.  Ty and Judge are up twenty points after the first hole (65 – 45 = 20).  A point can be worth whatever you want it to be – 5 cents, a quarter, a dollar, etc..  But before you set the stakes too high you may want to consider that when one team makes a birdie (and the other team doesn’t), the point differential is doubled for purposes of scoring that particular hole.  For example, if Ty had made a birdie three, they would have scored 60 points on the hole (65 – 35 = 30 x 2 = 60).  I like playing for a nickel a point.  This would yield a $3 gain in this particular birdie scenario, which seems reasonable.

As you can see, there’s a bit of math involved but Racecar manages to always keep it interesting and provide for the occasional wild point swing.  At the end of the round, tally up points on both sides, net it out, and always be sure to pay your bets promptly.