Golf games
Parful runs thisCustom bet
Also called Custom challenge, Side bet, Generic challenge.
A custom bet is any golf wager the players define themselves and settle themselves. Parful records that the bet exists, who is in and the agreed stake, and does not score it. It is the one game that works on every format, including a scramble, because it reads nothing from the scorecard.
- Players
- 1 or more, anyone in the outing, any group
- Scoring
- None. Parful does not compute a result
- Records
- The bet, who is in, and the stake if one is set
- Formats
- Every format, including scramble and alternate shot
- Settlement
- By the players, away from the app
- Use it for
- Any wager that is not one of the built-in games
What a custom bet is
Most side bets on a golf course are not one of the named games. A dollar for the first birdie, lunch on the lowest team score in a scramble, a beer for anyone who hits the green on the island hole, a wager between two players on who finishes higher in the competition. They have terms, a stake and a group of people who are in, and the group settles them at the bar. A custom bet is Parful's record of exactly that: the terms as the group wrote them, the names, and the stake.
Parful does not score a custom bet. It does not read the scorecard, it does not decide a winner, and it does not put anything in the settlement ledger. The value is in having the bet written down where everyone in the group can see it before the round starts, so that nobody is arguing on the eighteenth green about what was agreed on the first tee.
Because it reads nothing from the card, a custom bet is available on every format Parful runs. Every other game needs an individual hole score, an individual putt count or an individual tee shot, and none of those exist in a scramble, foursomes, greensomes or chapman. A custom bet is the only game the scorecard offers on those formats.
Writing the terms
A custom bet is only as good as its wording. Agree the terms before anyone tees off and write them so a stranger could settle the bet from the scorecard and the facts of the round.
- What wins: a score, a shot, an event, a position in the competition.
- Who is in: every player who is bound by the bet, whether or not they can win it.
- The stake: per player, per unit or as a pot, and what happens on a tie.
- When it ends: the last hole, the end of the competition, or a single hole.
Try it
Can we play Custom bet in our format?
Derived from the same compatibility rules the scorecard uses, so it cannot drift from the product.
Own ball, individual
Available
Four-ball, best ball, counted scores
Available
Shamble, bramble, cha cha cha
Available
Scramble, foursomes, greensomes, chapman
Available
When to use a built-in game instead
If the bet is a named game, use the named game: Parful scores skins, a Nassau, Wolf, Vegas, Aces and Deuces, Banker, Rabbit, Snake, Dots, presses and a casual match from the hole scores with no extra effort. A custom bet is for everything else, and for any bet at all on a team-ball format. It is also the right choice when the group wants a rule Parful does not score, such as skins with validation or a Vegas flip; record the bet, play the house rule, and settle it yourselves.
What Parful does
A member starts a custom bet from the group scorecard, writes the terms as the bet's name, and invites anyone in the outing, in any group. One player is enough, since a bet can be made against the field or against the course. The bet is listed on the scorecard for everyone named on it, alongside any scored games, for the rest of the round.
A stake can be recorded on the bet in units or as a currency reference, so the amount agreed is visible to everyone who is in. Parful shows no standings for a custom bet and adds nothing to the settlement ledger, because it has no result to settle. The players decide the winner and pay each other. Parful never moves money on any game.
Worked example
A worked example: a bet on a scramble day
A club plays a four-person scramble. Four players from two different teams agree a bet on the island-green par 3, the seventh: 5 each, and the player whose tee shot finishes closest to the pin takes the pot. Parful records the bet; the group measures and settles.
| Player | Team | In | Stake | Tee shot on the seventh | Settled by the players |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ana | Team 1 | Accepted | 5 | 11 feet | Pays 5 |
| Ben | Team 1 | Accepted | 5 | In the water | Pays 5 |
| Cal | Team 2 | Accepted | 5 | 4 feet | Collects 15 |
| Dee | Team 2 | Accepted | 5 | 23 feet | Pays 5 |
- The scramble scorecard has one score per team on the seventh and no record of where each tee shot finished, which is why no scored game could settle this bet.
- Had the group written "closest to the pin in regulation" without saying what happens to a ball in the water, Ben might have argued for a refund. The terms in the bet's name settle it: every player is in for 5.
- A tie is not covered by the wording above. The group should agree beforehand whether tied players split the pot or the bet carries to another hole.
Common variants
- Against the course
- One player bets on their own result: breaking 90, no double bogeys, every par 3 on the green. Parful records a custom bet with a single player in it; the player settles with whoever took the other side.
- Team versus team on a scramble
- Lowest team score wins, or first team to make a birdie. Parful records who is in from each team and does not score it; the team scorecard supplies the numbers.
- House-rule versions of a built-in game
- Skins with validation, a Vegas flip, a Nassau with automatic presses. Play the rule the group knows, record the bet, and settle from the card by hand.
- Season-long bets
- A wager on who finishes higher in the club standings. Parful records the bet on the outing where it was made; the standings page supplies the answer at the end of the season.