Golf Games to Play: 11 Games on TheGrint

The best golf games to play with friends are Medal, Stableford, Match Best Ball, Skins, High & Low and Niners, plus Wolf, Vegas, Animals, Marks and Hot Potato for groups that want more variety. TheGrint has all 11 built in and works out every game's result as you enter scores, so nobody has to do the math.

This guide explains how each game scores, which games are Free and which come with a Pro Membership on TheGrint, how to set a game up in the app and how to choose one for your group. TheGrint games are points-based.

Six of the 11 games are included for every member of TheGrint; the golf games app page covers the full feature.

What golf games can you play on TheGrint?

TheGrint has 11 core games: six included for every member and five more with Pro. Several Free games also have variants that come with Pro, such as Medal by Putts, Birdie or Better Skins and Twelves; the Free and Pro variants table below lists them all.

Free members run one game at a time. Pro members can run several at once with Multi-Games and add presses during a match.

How do you play Medal?

Medal is stroke play: every stroke counts, penalty strokes included, and the player or team with the lowest total wins. It is the most common way to compete in golf.

• Strokes: the lowest total score wins.
• Putts (Pro): the fewest total putts wins.
• Front 9, back 9 and 18: each can carry its own point value.

How does Stableford work on TheGrint?

Stableford gives you points on each hole based on your score against par, and the player with the most points wins. The scoring rewards aggressive play, and a bad hole bottoms out instead of piling up strokes.

TheGrint has two scales. Stableford Classic never goes below zero; 36 points over 18 holes is an average of 2 points, the value of a par, per hole. Stableford Modified swings harder, with minus points for bogeys and worse.

For worked examples, see how the Stableford scoring system works.

How do you play Match Best Ball?

In Match Best Ball, each hole is worth 1 point and the lowest score on the hole takes it. Ties do not carry over; a tied hole simply awards no point. The player or team with the most points at the end wins.

• Pairs: each team's best ball, its lower score on the hole, is the one that counts.
• Pro variants: 2nd Ball Tiebreaker, and Longest Yard, where each hole is worth its yardage in points.
• Why groups like it: a 9 on one hole costs you only that hole, so most matches stay close to the finish.

How do Skins work?

Skins works like Match Best Ball, except that tied holes carry over. If the best score on a hole is tied, nobody wins the point and it moves to the next hole, so a run of ties makes one hole worth several points.

• Classic (Free): the best score wins the hole.
• Birdie or Better (Pro): a skin is awarded only when the winning score on the hole is a birdie or better; a hole won with a par still carries over.
• Longest Yard (Pro): each hole is worth its yardage in points, so a 571-yard par 5 is worth 571 points instead of 1 skin.
• Pairs: each team's best ball counts.

For a hole-by-hole example with carryovers, see how a skins game works.

How do you play High & Low?

High & Low is a four-player game played in two pairs, with 2 points on every hole. Both partners' scores count, so it suits foursomes with big gaps in ability.

• Low point: the two teams' lower scores on the hole compete, and the better one wins the point.
• High point: the two teams' higher scores compete for the second point.
• Ties: a tied point does not carry over; the team with the most points wins.
• Longest Yard (Pro): like Classic, but each hole is worth its yardage in points.

How do you play Niners?

Niners is a three-player game with 9 points shared out on every hole according to how the three scores rank. After the round, the player with the most points wins. Twelves, a Pro variant of Niners, applies the same idea to four players, with 12 points per hole (6, 4, 2 and 0 when nobody ties).

What games come with a Pro Membership on TheGrint?

Pro adds five games, Animals, Marks, Hot Potato, Vegas and Wolf, plus Multi-Games and Presses. It also unlocks the Pro variants of several Free games.

• Wolf (3 or 4 players): the Wolf tees off first and, after each tee shot, decides whether to take that player as a partner or play alone. Calling "Lone Wolf" before anyone else tees off doubles the points, and hole values rise as the round goes on.
• Vegas (4 players, two pairs): partners' scores form one number, lower score first, so a 5 and a 7 make 57. Against a 46, the lower team earns the 11-point difference. If a player makes 10 or more, the higher score goes first.
• Animals (side game): you take an animal by doing its action, such as the Snake for a 3-putt or the Bird for a birdie, until someone else does the same. Mistakes score minus points, good shots plus points; the highest total wins.
• Marks (side game): players earn marks for highlight shots, such as a Greeny (green in regulation) worth 1 point, a Chip-in worth 2 or a Dunk worth 5. Each player wins or loses the difference between the points they are owed and the points they owe.
• Hot Potato (side game): the group picks a trigger, such as 3-putts, double bogeys, out of bounds or water. Whoever does it last holds the potato, and its value doubles every time it changes hands, from 1 point to 2, 4 and so on.

Full rules and examples for all five are in how to play Wolf, Vegas, Animals, Marks and Hot Potato.

Which game variants are Free and which are Pro?

The main version of most games is Free, and their variants come with Pro. Vegas, Wolf, Animals, Marks and Hot Potato are Pro games in full. See what Free and Pro include for the full comparison.

• Birdie or Better (Skins): a skin is awarded only when the winning score on the hole is a birdie or better.
• Longest Yard (Skins, Match Best Ball, High & Low): like the classic game, but each hole is worth its yardage in points. A 571-yard par 5 is worth 571 points.
• Hot Potato variants: the potato can be 3-putts, double bogeys, out of bounds or water (penalty areas).

How do you set up a game in TheGrint?

You add a game during round setup, and TheGrint updates the result as scores are entered.

1. Open TheGrint and tap Play.
2. Set up the round. Select the course through Edit Round/Setup.
3. Open Games and select the game you want to play.
4. Configure the game. Choose the mode, Gross or Net scoring and the point values. The options depend on the game you picked.
5. Track your scores. Enter scores hole by hole as usual; TheGrint calculates the game for you.

Players in the same game need to be on the same scorecard, using Linked Scorecards where appropriate.

Game modes and net scoring

The mode controls how points are counted:

• Pairs: Team A is players 1 and 2; Team B is players 3 and 4.
• Pot: all points go into one pool, and the player with the most points wins.
• War: each player competes against every other player individually.

Gross games use raw scores. Net games use each player's Course Handicap^™ for that round, and the app handles the strokes. Your handicap on TheGrint feeds the numbers, and you choose one of two formats:

• USGA^® Format (the default): the best player plays off 0, and everyone else gets the difference between their Course Handicap and the best player's. Course Handicap values of 3, 7, 12 and 15 become 0, 4, 9 and 12.
• Modified Format: everyone gets their full Course Handicap, whoever they play against.

Which golf games should your group play?

The right game depends on group size and how close your abilities are:

• Three players: Niners.
• A foursome with big handicap gaps: High & Low, played net, so the higher-handicap partner's score matters on every hole.
• Mixed abilities in any size group: Stableford Classic, where a bad hole scores zero, never less.
• A close finish: Match Best Ball, where a blow-up hole costs one point.
• Pressure on every putt: Skins, or Birdie or Better Skins (Pro) for stronger groups.
• Best round wins: Medal, gross for similar abilities or net for everyone else.
• Strategy (Pro): Wolf, with partner choices on every tee.
• Extra action (Pro): add Marks, Animals or Hot Potato to a main game with Multi-Games.

How do games work for bigger groups?

For more than one foursome, a Leaderboard puts everyone in one live competition, and each foursome can still run its own game at the same time. Live Leaderboards are included for Free and Pro members on iOS and Android.

• Create one from Play: tap Join/Create a Leaderboard, choose Create, pick Individual, Teams or Teams Cup, name it and set a join password.
• One scorer per group: each foursome needs at least one Grinter entering scores; golfers who are not on TheGrint can still be added to the scorecard.
• Formats: standings can show Net, Gross, Medal, Stableford or Skins, depending on the setup.

For the full walkthrough, see how to set up a Leaderboard on TheGrint.

Frequently Asked Questions

What games can you play on TheGrint?

TheGrint has 11 core golf games. Every member gets Medal, Stableford, Match Best Ball, Skins, High & Low and Niners. A Pro Membership adds Animals, Marks, Hot Potato, Vegas and Wolf, plus Multi-Games and Presses. The app calculates each game's result automatically as scores are entered.

Are the games on TheGrint free?

Yes, six of them. Medal, Stableford, Match Best Ball, Skins, High & Low and Niners are included for Free members, who can run one game at a time. A Pro Membership on TheGrint adds the other five games, Pro variants such as Medal by Putts, Birdie or Better Skins, Longest Yard and Twelves, and the ability to run several games at once and add presses.

What is a good golf game for three players?

Niners is built for three players. Each hole has 9 points to share: 5, 3 and 1 when there are no ties, with set splits when players tie. Every hole hands out all 9 points, so matches stay close. Stableford, Skins and Wolf (Pro) also work with three players, and TheGrint scores all of them for you.

Can golfers with different handicaps play the same game?

Yes. Choose Net scoring when you set up the game and TheGrint applies strokes from each player's Course Handicap for the round, so the game stays fair across a mixed group. Stableford and High & Low also help, because one bad hole or one weaker partner does less damage than in stroke play.

Can you play more than one golf game at the same time?

Yes, with a Pro Membership on TheGrint. Multi-Games lets you run several games in the same round, for example Skins with Marks and Hot Potato alongside, and each game is scored independently. Free members can play one game at a time, and any foursome can run its own game while taking part in a Leaderboard.

Set up your next golf game with TheGrint

Pick a game, add your group and enter scores as you play; TheGrint keeps the points for everyone. TheGrint is free on iPhone and Android, with six games included. For more advanced features, try TheGrint Pro free for 7 days. Get started with TheGrint.

Course Handicap™ is a trademark owned or licensed by the United States Golf Association® (USGA®) and/or The R&A. All rights reserved.