Money Ball – Great Team Golf Format

This is an excerpt from my book “120 Timeless Golf Lessons”.

This game is most fun when you are playing in flights of three to four people in a small tournament, as money ball is a team versus team competition.

The premise of the game is that each team has a special ball, the money ball, it has to bring through all eighteen holes without losing it. The game is also sometimes called Lone Ranger, Pink Ball, Devil Ball and many names more.

On each hole one player of each team has to play with the money ball. You should use a ball that can be easily distinguished from the other balls, e.g. a coloured ball.

The player who has to play with the money ball has to change on every hole. Be sure to decide the order the money ball rotates before you start the round. In money ball two scores are added together for a team score.

One of those scores has to be the score of the player who played with the money ball.

So on each hole the team score will be the money ball score plus the lowest score of the rest of the team.

The player with the money ball will feel the extra pressure immediately, while his team encourages him and cheers him on.

It is always a tactical decision to make whether to play it safe with the money ball or to go for it. If you want to add an extra challenge, you can play with the rule that the money ball cannot be lost or your team is eliminated from competition.

This will make you sweat once the money ball starts sailing towards a water hazard or the five minutes to find it in the rough start ticking.

• Play in teams against each other in a small tournament.
• Each team gets a money ball.
• The player with the money ball changes every hole.
• On each hole a team score will be calculated by adding the money ball score plus to the lowest score of the rest of the team.