Golf games
Parful runs thisClosest in two
Also called Closest to the pin in two, Closest in 2, Best approach, Closest second shot.
Closest in two is a one-hole skill contest, played on a par 4 or par 5, where the ball lying nearest the hole after each player's second shot wins. It is closest to the pin for the approach: the distance to the hole is measured in feet and inches after two strokes and the nearest wins.
- Hole
- One fixed par 4 or 5, chosen before the outing goes live
- Measured
- Feet and inches from the ball to the hole after the second stroke; lowest wins
- Counts
- The second stroke only, wherever the first one went
- Open contest
- One contest for everyone, no men's or women's split
- Default
- Off in the club's contest library until switched on
- Ties
- An exact tie shows both players as tied for the organizer to settle
How closest in two works
Closest to the pin rewards a tee shot on a par 3. Closest in two moves the same idea to a par 4 or a par 5: after every player has hit their second stroke, the ball nearest the hole is measured, and the nearest second shot of the day wins. On a par 4 it is a contest for the approach; on a reachable par 5 it is a contest for the big second shot, which is why clubs often put it on their shortest par 5.
The second stroke is what is measured, wherever the first one went. A player who drives into the trees and punches out to 40 feet is measured at 40 feet like anyone else. A player who takes a penalty drop is playing their third, not their second, and is out of the contest by the usual club reading.
Most clubs add that the ball must be on the green after two to count, so the contest is not won from the fringe. Parful records the measurement the group enters and leaves that condition to the club.
Measuring and ties
Measurements are recorded in feet and inches from the ball to the hole. A new entry replaces the leader only if it is nearer; a longer measurement is kept in the history and changes nothing. A holed second shot, an eagle on a par 4 or an albatross on a par 5, is recorded at 0 feet and can only be tied, never beaten.
An exact tie, two second shots both measured at 8 feet 3 inches, is shown as tied rather than awarded to the first name entered. The organizer settles it and records the winner.
Closest in two is an open contest on Parful, one contest for the whole field without a men's and women's split. A club can still restrict it to one division, and its guest policy decides whether a guest can win.
How Parful runs it
- 1Closest in two sits in the club's contest library switched off. A club that runs it turns it on once in settings and every later outing seeds it.
- 2The contest must be pinned to a par 4 or 5 before the outing goes live, or switched off for that day.
- 3On the contest hole the group scorecard shows the contest and its current leader. The group records the nearest second shot in the group and its measurement in feet and inches; the leader updates live and the outing feed announces the change.
- 4At close-out the leader is frozen into the results with the measurement. The organizer can assign or override the winner from the admin page.
Parful does not count strokes for the contest and does not check that the ball is on the green. Whether a shot was the player's second, and whether it must finish on the putting surface, are conditions the group applies before it records a measurement.
Worked example
A worked example: the 16th, a 495-yard par 5
Six groups come through the 16th. Each records the ball nearest the hole after two strokes, measured in feet and inches. Where the group's nearest second shot was off the green, the club's rule was not to record it.
| Group | Player | Second shot from | Measurement | Beats the leader? | Leader after this group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ana | 215 yds, on the green | 38' 2" | Yes, first measured entry | Ana 38' 2" |
| 2 | Ben | 190 yds, on the green | 12' 7" | Yes, 12' 7" is nearer than 38' 2" | Ben 12' 7" |
| 3 | Cal | 240 yds, laid up short | Not recorded | No entry | Ben 12' 7" |
| 4 | Dee | 205 yds, on the green | 12' 7" | Exact tie | Ben and Dee tied at 12' 7" |
| 5 | Sam | 225 yds, on the green | 19' 0" | No | Ben and Dee tied at 12' 7" |
| 6 | Maria | 180 yds, on the green | 6' 10" | Yes, 6' 10" is nearer than 12' 7" | Maria 6' 10" |
- Group 3 recorded nothing because Cal, the nearest in the group, laid up short of the green and the club's rule requires the ball to be on the putting surface.
- Parful compares total inches: 6' 10" is 82 inches against 151 inches for 12' 7".
Common variants
- Must be on the green in two
- The usual club condition: a second shot on the fringe does not count however close. Parful records what the group enters and leaves the condition to the club.
- Closest in three on a par 5
- The same contest measured after the third stroke on a par 5 nobody can reach. Parful runs it as a custom contest the club defines in its library.
- Closest to the pin with any shot
- The nearest ball to the hole from any full shot on the hole. Parful scores closest to the pin on a par 3 and closest in two on a par 4 or 5, not an any-shot version.
- Closest in two for the team
- In a scramble, the team's chosen second shot is measured. On Parful the contest records a player, so a scramble team records the player whose shot was chosen.