Golf Trip Games: What to Play on a Group Weekend or Bachelor Party

Updated Nov 12, 2026

Booking a golf trip is the easy part: pick a place, find tee times, split the cost. The harder part is deciding what the group plays across a whole weekend, when one player picked up the game this year and another plays to a low handicap. This page covers formats that hold up over several rounds, how to keep things fair when skill levels vary, challenge ideas for a bachelor party or a buddies trip, and how to run it all from your phones.

Fore! Golf Challenges doesn't plan the trip. It handles the on-course part: the games, the custom challenges, and a live leaderboard for the group.

What goes wrong on a group golf trip

Three things show up on almost every trip. The best players win everything by the second day, so half the group stops caring about the standings. Rules get argued on the tee because nobody agreed on them beforehand. And by the last round nobody can say who's actually ahead, because the scores are spread across several cards and a group chat. Every format below is a fix for at least one of those.

Formats that work for a weekend

Most groups mix two or three of these across the trip instead of picking one.

Format	How it works	Why it works on a trip
Cumulative points	Award points for each round, keep a running total, and give the winner a trophy, a belt, or some other prize that gets handed over at the end.	Gives three days of golf one storyline instead of three separate rounds.
Net stroke play	Each player subtracts their handicap from their gross score. Lowest net score wins.	Works when everyone has a real handicap that the group agrees on before the first tee.
Scramble	Everyone hits, the group picks the best shot, and everyone plays from there.	The lowest-pressure format. Beginners contribute and nobody holds the group up.
Best ball (tag team)	Players are paired up, and each hole counts the better score of the two. Pair a stronger player with a weaker one.	Spreads skill evenly across teams and keeps a final day close.
Skins	Each hole is worth a skin. You win it by taking the hole outright; ties carry the skin to the next hole.	Every hole matters. In a mixed group it favors the best players unless strokes are given.
Challenge round	Each hole has a twist the player has to complete, and completing it takes strokes off their score.	Gives weaker players a way to catch up without handicap math, and changes how the round feels.
Last-place prize	A small award for whoever finishes at the bottom: a gag trophy, or picking the next dinner.	Keeps the bottom of the standings as interesting as the top.

Keeping it fair when skill levels vary

Four habits help, and they stack.

Use handicaps if the group has them. Agree on whose number you're using before the first tee, and who decides if one looks off.
Mix teams on purpose. In scrambles and best ball, pair high with low instead of letting everyone pick their friends.
Write challenges anyone can complete. A challenge that rewards distance rewards the best player. One that asks for an off-hand putt or a club picked by the group is open to everybody.
Change the format each day. Someone with no shot at winning Friday's stroke play can win Saturday's challenge round.

Challenge ideas for a golf trip

These suit any age and any skill level, and they work in a group of any size.

One-club hole: play every shot on the hole, putts included, with a single club the group picks for you.
Group picks your club: for your approach shot, the group chooses which club you hit.
Off-hand putts: putt with your off hand on the next green.
Least-used club off the tee: tee off with the club you hit least often.
Up and down or bust: from within 30 yards of the green, get up and down in two shots.
No three-putts: finish the hole with two putts or fewer.

For more, see the challenge ideas page, or read how custom challenges compare with preset games like skins and Nassau.

Bachelor party golf

A bachelor party round is usually a mixed-skill group where most people care more about the laughs than the score. A few things that tend to work:

Open with a scramble or a challenge round so nobody feels buried by a bad start.
Let the groom write the challenges for the group, and let the group write one for him. The rules end up personal, which is the point.
Use one shared leaderboard so nobody has to carry the scorecard or argue about the tally.
Keep the pace up. A group that's having fun still needs to keep moving for the groups behind it.

Run it from your phones with Fore!

You write the challenges, start a live leaderboard, and everyone plays from their own phone.

Build a deck of challenges. Use the ideas above or write your own. You can create and share up to 3 decks for free.

Share the deck with the group. Anyone with the link can use it, so you can send it before the trip.

Start a Shared Round for each round you play. It gives the group a live leaderboard. It's free, and players can join from a link without making an account.

On each hole, complete a challenge to take strokes off your total. For a multi-day trip, a Fore!+ subscriber can create a Group and link each round to it, so finished rounds save to the group's standings automatically.

What Fore! doesn't do

Fore! doesn't book tee times or lodging, split costs, or calculate handicaps, and it doesn't handle wagering or money. Use whatever you like for trip logistics and for any team scoring, and use Fore! for the challenges and the live leaderboard.

Set up the weekend before you tee off

Fore! is free to download. Create and share up to 3 challenge decks and run a live Shared Round at no cost.

Download on theApp Store

FAQ

What are the best golf games for a group with mixed skill levels?

Formats that spread skill around work best: scrambles, best ball (tag team) with a strong player paired with a weaker one, net stroke play using handicaps, and challenge rounds where each hole has a twist anyone can complete. Changing the format each day keeps weaker players in contention.

What golf games work for a bachelor party?

A scramble or a challenge round makes a good opener, because nobody is buried by a bad start. Let the groom write challenges for the group and the group write one for him, keep one shared leaderboard so nobody has to carry the scorecard, and keep the pace up for the groups behind you.

What is a good format for a three-day golf trip?

A common setup is cumulative points: award points for each round, keep a running total, and give the winner a trophy or belt at the end. Using a different format each day, such as a scramble, a handicap round, and a best ball finale, gives the weekend a storyline and keeps the standings close.

Can Fore! keep a leaderboard across a multi-day golf trip?

Each round can run as a Shared Round with its own live leaderboard, which is free and lets players join from a link without an account. A Fore!+ subscriber can also create a Group and link each Shared Round to it, so finished rounds save to the group's standings automatically. Without Fore!+, you would keep the running total across rounds yourselves.

Does Fore! book golf trips or tee times?

No. Fore! Golf Challenges covers the on-course part of the trip: custom challenges, a live leaderboard, and comparing results with your group. It doesn't book tee times or lodging, split costs, or handle wagering or money.

Does Fore! calculate handicaps?

No. If your group plays net stroke play, agree on each player's handicap before the first tee and apply it yourselves. In Fore!, completing a challenge takes strokes off your total, so a deck of challenges that anyone can complete is another way to level the field.