Golf games
Parful runs thisClosest to the pin
Also called Closest to pin, CTP, Nearest the pin, KP.
Closest to the pin is a one-hole skill contest, played on a par 3, where the tee shot that finishes nearest the hole wins. The distance is measured in feet and inches from the ball to the hole, the nearest measurement leads, and the leader at the end of the day takes the prize.
- Hole
- One fixed par 3, chosen before the outing goes live
- Measured
- Feet and inches from the ball to the hole; lowest wins
- Variants
- Men's and women's contests, either one switched off once in settings
- Recorded by
- The group, on that hole, from its own scorecard
- Ties
- An exact tie shows both players as tied for the organizer to settle
- Feeds
- Greenies and Dots
How closest to the pin works
The club names one par 3 as the contest hole. Every player hits their tee shot as normal and, if the ball finishes on the green, the group measures from the ball to the hole. The shortest measurement of the day wins. Nothing else on the hole matters: a player who is closest and then three-putts still wins closest to the pin.
Almost every club adds that the ball must be on the putting surface to count, and some add that only the tee shot counts, so a chipped-in second shot is irrelevant. Parful records the measurement the group enters and leaves the on-the-green condition to the club.
Men's and women's contests
A closest-to-the-pin contest is usually run twice, once for the men and once for the women, because the tee shots come from different tees. Parful seeds both on every new outing from the club's contest library; a club that runs only one switches the other off once in settings rather than on every outing.
A men's contest only accepts male players and a women's contest only female players; a player whose gender is not recorded is allowed rather than locked out. A club can also restrict a contest to one division or flight, and its guest policy decides whether a guest can hold a skill prize at all.
Measuring and ties
Measurements are recorded in feet and inches. A new entry replaces the leader only if it is nearer; a longer measurement is kept in the history and changes nothing. An entry with no measurement can lead only while nobody has been measured at all, which lets a group note a name before the tape comes out.
An exact tie, two balls both measured at 6 feet 2 inches, does not crown the first name entered. Parful shows both players as tied and leaves the split, the playoff or the countback to the organizer, who records the final winner.
How Parful runs it
- 1The club keeps a contest library in its settings. Closest to the pin is on by default, with men's and women's variants a club can switch off.
- 2Every new outing seeds the enabled contests. A closest-to-the-pin contest must be pinned to one par 3 before the outing goes live, or switched off for that day.
- 3On the contest hole the group scorecard shows the contest with the current leader. The group records the nearest player and the measurement; 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 at any point.
The recorded winner is what a Greenies pool tallies and what the greenie component of a Dots game reads. A club can also run closest to the pin as a standalone competition with divisions of any, men, women, senior and junior and units of feet and inches, yards or meters.
Worked example
A worked example: the 12th, 165 yards, eight groups
The men's contest is on the 12th. Groups come through in order and record the nearest ball in the group. This is how the leader changes across the day.
| Group | Player | Measurement | Beats the leader? | Leader after this group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cal | 14' 6" | Yes, first measured entry | Cal 14' 6" |
| 2 | Nobody on the green | Not recorded | No entry | Cal 14' 6" |
| 3 | Ben | 6' 2" | Yes, 6' 2" is nearer than 14' 6" | Ben 6' 2" |
| 4 | Ed | 11' 0" | No | Ben 6' 2" |
| 5 | Ana | 6' 2" | Exact tie | Ben and Ana tied at 6' 2" |
| 6 | Ravi | 9' 4" | No | Ben and Ana tied at 6' 2" |
| 7 | Dee | 4' 9" | Yes, 4' 9" is nearer than 6' 2" | Dee 4' 9" |
| 8 | Sam | 4' 11" | No, 2 inches longer | Dee 4' 9" |
- Group 2 recorded nothing because nobody hit the green; an unmeasured entry cannot displace a measured leader.
- Sam's 4' 11" is 59 inches against Dee's 57 inches. Parful compares total inches, so 4' 11" never beats 4' 9".
Common variants
- Must be on the green
- The standard club condition. A ball on the fringe does not count however close it is. Parful records what the group enters and leaves the condition to the club.
- Closest to the pin on every par 3
- One contest per par 3 rather than one for the day. On Parful each hole is its own contest, and a Greenies pool tallies the wins.
- Closest to the pin in two
- The same contest on a par 4 or 5 measured after the second shot. Parful runs it as a separate contest type, closest in two.
- Per-hole pot
- Everyone puts a dollar in on each par 3 and the nearest ball takes the hole's pot. Parful does not score per-hole pots; use a Greenies pool for a single pot split by wins.