How many players do you need for Wolf?

Exactly four, all in the same group. The rotation and the two-versus-two best ball only work with four.

Who is the Wolf on each hole?

The player who tees off last on that hole. The tee order rotates, so each player is Wolf every fourth hole. Over eighteen holes two players get five turns and two get four.

When does the Wolf have to decide?

Immediately after the drive of the player being chosen. Once the next player has hit, that drive can no longer be claimed. If the Wolf passes on all three drives, the Wolf plays Lone Wolf.

What does Lone Wolf pay?

By default the Wolf scores 3 points for winning the hole alone, and each of the three opponents scores 1 if the Wolf loses. Parful lets the game creator set the Lone Wolf value between 2 and 6.

Is Wolf played gross or net?

Almost always net, using each player's strokes on the hole. Parful scores Wolf net from the group card.

Can we play Wolf in a scramble?

No. Wolf needs each player's own tee shot and own ball. It is available on individual and four-ball style rounds, not on a scramble, shamble or alternate-shot format.

Golf games

Parful runs this

Wolf

Also called Wolf golf game, Lone Wolf.

Wolf is a four-player betting game where the tee order rotates and the player teeing off last on each hole, the Wolf, watches the other three drives and then chooses a partner or goes alone. Sides play best ball for the hole.

Players: Exactly 4, in one group
Scoring basis: Net (own ball, best ball per side)
Decisions: One per hole, made by the Wolf after the other three drives
Points: Partner win 1 each, Lone Wolf win 3, beating a Lone Wolf 1 each
Ties: Nothing scored, nothing carried
Needs: Everyone playing their own ball from the tee

How Wolf works

Before the round the four players agree a tee order. On the first hole the fourth player in that order is the Wolf, on the second hole the third player, and so on; after four holes the rotation starts again. The Wolf always tees off last.

The Wolf watches each of the other three tee shots in turn. After any one of them the Wolf can claim that player as a partner for the hole, and the choice is locked the moment it is made: once the next player has hit, the previous drive is gone. If the Wolf passes on all three, the Wolf plays the hole alone against the other three, which is Lone Wolf.

Each side then plays the hole as best ball. A two-versus-two hole compares the better net score on each side; a Lone Wolf hole compares the Wolf's own net score against the best net score of the three.

How the points work

Parful scores every hole independently. There is no carryover and a tied hole is simply worth nothing.

Wolf and partner win the hole: each of the two scores 1 point.
The other pair wins: each of them scores 1 point.
Lone Wolf wins the hole: the Wolf scores 3 points (the club can set this to anything from 2 to 6 when the game is created).
Lone Wolf loses the hole: each of the three opponents scores 1 point.
Halved hole: no points to anyone.

Try it

Can we play Wolf 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
Needs each player's own tee shot and ball
Scramble, foursomes, greensomes, chapman
Needs each player's own tee shot and ball

Where the game is won

The decision is the whole game. A Wolf who takes the first decent drive as a partner plays safe and rarely loses much; a Wolf who waits for the best drive risks having to go alone if the third player also misses. Lone Wolf is where the points swing, which is why most groups let the Wolf declare Lone Wolf before anyone hits for a higher payout in the common variants below.

Because the order rotates in fours and the round has eighteen holes, two players are Wolf five times and two only four. Groups either accept that or give the extra holes to the players who are behind, which is one of the variants.

How Parful scores it

When a member starts Wolf from the group scorecard, the app takes the tee order and works out who the Wolf is on every hole. After the drives, the Wolf records the pick on the card: a partner, or Lone Wolf. That single decision is the only extra input; the hole scores are the ones the group is already keeping.

The result is recomputed on every score and every pick, so the standings on the scorecard are live. A pick made by anyone other than that hole's Wolf, a pick that names a player outside the group, or a hole where a side has no score is left undecided and scores nothing. Parful never guesses a pick. Correcting a score later reruns the whole game from hole one.

Wolf needs each player's own tee shot to mean something, so it is available on own-ball rounds and four-ball style outings but not on a shamble, scramble or other shared-ball format.

Worked example

A worked example: six holes

Tee order is Ana, Ben, Cal, Dee, so Dee is Wolf on hole 1, Cal on 2, Ben on 3, Ana on 4, then Dee again on 5. Net scores are shown. Lone Wolf pays 3.

Hole	Wolf	Pick	Ana	Ben	Cal	Dee	Result	Points
1	Dee	Partner: Ben	5	4	5	5	Ben and Dee 4 beat Ana and Cal 5	Ben 1, Dee 1
2	Cal	Lone Wolf	4	5	3	4	Cal 3 beats best of three, 4	Cal 3
3	Ben	Partner: Dee	3	4	4	4	Ana and Cal 3 beat Ben and Dee 4	Ana 1, Cal 1
4	Ana	Lone Wolf	5	4	6	4	Best of three 4 beats Ana 5	Ben 1, Cal 1, Dee 1
5	Dee	Partner: Ana	4	4	5	4	Both sides 4, halved	None
6	Cal	Partner: Ana	4	5	5	6	Ana and Cal 4 beat Ben and Dee 5	Ana 1, Cal 1

After six holes: Cal 6, Ana 3, Ben 3, Dee 3. Cal's Lone Wolf on hole 2 is the difference.

On hole 4 Ana went alone and lost, which pays each of the other three, so a failed Lone Wolf costs the Wolf three points relative to the field.
Hole 5 was halved: no points, and nothing carries to hole 6.

Common variants

Blind Lone Wolf: The Wolf declares Lone Wolf before anyone tees off, usually for double the Lone Wolf points. Parful scores the standard game where the pick comes after the drives; a group playing blind can still record the pick as Lone Wolf and settle the multiplier between themselves.
Pig, or Wolf goes last: On holes 17 and 18 the player with the fewest points is the Wolf, so the trailing player gets the chance to swing the game. Parful uses the fixed rotation for all eighteen holes.
Wolf tees off first: Some groups have the Wolf hit first and pick from the three later drives. The scoring is identical; only the order of play changes.
Money per point: Groups attach a stake per point. Parful can carry the stake as a wager on the game, shows who owes whom at the end and never moves money.