Wolf Golf Game: Official Rules (+How to Win!)

The Wolf golf game is designed for four players, and this guide assumes you are playing with a foursome. However, there are variations of Wolf for three players. Wolf is scored similarly to a fourball match, but since partners change on every hole, there are individual winners and losers at the end of the round.

If you’re playing Wolf, you have to settle a few things before the first tee shot is hit:

• Agree on a monetary value for each point.
• Settle on a permanent hitting rotation for teeing off. The hitting order will rotate each hole, so if the order is A-B-C-D on the first hole, it’ll be B-C-D-A on the second, C-D-A-B on the third, and so on. 
• Clarify each player's course handicap and determine on which holes each player gets a handicap stroke.

Once those details are settled, you’re ready to play. Here’s how it works.

• The Wolf is the first player to tee off on every hole, regardless of the traditional honors system. 
• After hitting their tee shot, the Wolf watches the second player tee off then must decide before the third player tees off whether or not to select the second player as their partner for the hole. This process continues until the Wolf has selected a partner.
• If the Wolf has not selected a partner by the time the fourth player tees off, after watching that tee shot they can choose to select the fourth player or play the hole as a Lone Wolf, taking on all three players. When there’s a Lone Wolf, points are doubled for that hole.
• After all four players have teed off and the teams are set for that hole, each player plays their own ball until it is holed.
• Each hole is worth one point per player and best-ball (four ball) scoring is used to determine the winning team on each hole. The team’s score for a hole is the lowest net score of either team member on the hole. Each team member on the winning side gets one point. 
• In the event of a tie, no points are awarded for the hole, and there are no carryovers in Wolf.

Once you get to the 17th hole, each person will have been the Wolf four times, and you can either let the person with the lowest point total be the Wolf on the 17th and 18th holes, or give the A and B one extra turn.

Just like in the wild, there are lone wolves in golf. After watching the group tee off, the Wolf can simply choose to take on all three players alone, with points doubling in this situation. 

To make things even more interesting, the Wolf can declare his or her intention to play as a Lone Wolf prior to anybody teeing off, in which case points are tripled. This helps explain all that hootin’ and hollerin’ three fairways away.

The point-allocation in Wolf is as follows:

• 2-vs-2: 1 point per player for the winning team
• 1-vs-3 (points doubled): Six points if the solo player wins, or two each if the threesome wins
• 1-vs-3 Lone Wolf (points tripled): Nine points if the Lone Wolf wins or three points per player if the threesome wins

Throughout your round, keep track of how many points each player earns on each hole. When you’re finished, add up each player’s total and collect (or pay) the difference.

Like any game, you can employ some tactical maneuvers to stack the odds in your favor. Here are some strategies for the Wolf golf game that you might want to consider.

Taking on three other players by yourself inherently comes with some risk, but by choosing your spots strategically, you can take advantage of the double or triple points that accompany that risk.

If one or more of your playing partners finds trouble off the tee, be it a penalty area, out of bounds, or just a tricky spot that will require a recovery shot to get back into play, it may be a green light to go it alone. After all, you’ll essentially only be fighting a 1-on-2 battle from there, which is much more manageable.

Even riskier than choosing to play alone after the rest of your group hits is electing to be a Lone Wolf before anyone (including yourself!) tees off. This risk, however, comes with the potential for nine points to come your way (triple points X three players). 

Obviously, you only want to do this when you have confidence going into a hole, but also consider any trouble on the hole, or the potential reward for a great tee shot. If there’s out-of-bounds or a penalty area on the hole, one or more of your partners may find the trouble and be out of the hole almost immediately. On a par 3, you’ll only need to hit one great shot to have a good chance at stealing the hole.

As mentioned above, the winning team in Wolf is the team with the lowest net four ball score on a hole, and full handicap allocations are in play. 

Always be aware of who in your group gets a stroke on each holes. If a player getting a stroke stripes their tee shot down the middle of the fairway, it’s a good idea to secure that advantage for your team.