Pub Golf: Official Rules

Finish a drink at each of nine holes in as few sips as possible. Lowest score wins.

Plan a route of nine venues, within walking distance of each other, or nine stops at friends' houses. Each venue is a hole. For each hole, the organizer sets the drink and the par: the number of sips it should take to finish it. Every player gets a scorecard. Golf attire is required.

Hole	Example drink	Par
1	Pint of beer	4
2	Glass of wine	3
3	Shot	1
4	Cider	4
5	Mixed drink	3
6	Half pint	2
7	Shot	1
8	Bottle of beer	3
9	The organizer's choice	3

Rule 1. Playing a hole

Rule 1.1. At each hole, every player orders the hole's drink and finishes it.

Rule 1.2. A player's score for the hole is the number of sips it took. A sip ends when the glass leaves the lips.

Rule 1.3. Players may play the hole at their own pace. There is no time limit on a hole, only on the venue's patience.

Rule 2. Penalty strokes

Rule 2.1. Add one stroke for spilling, two for leaving the course for anything but the bathroom, and two for breaking the dress code.

Rule 2.2. A player may skip a hole. They score par plus three for it.

Rule 3. Winning

Rule 3.1. After nine holes, the player with the lowest total wins. Scores are compared to par, as in golf.

Rule 4. Etiquette

Rule 4.1. Pay at every hole. Tip at every hole. A course that is treated well is a course that can be played again.

• Hazards. At set holes, a hazard applies: no hands (drink through a straw), drink with the wrong hand, or no talking at the bar. Breaking a hazard is a stroke. Approved.
• A water hole, where the drink is a glass of water, par 2. Approved. The Commission recommends at least one.
• Fewer than par scores a birdie, and the player may give a stroke to another player. Approved.
• Eighteen holes. Commissioner's Discretion. See the Commissioner's Caution.
• Mulligans, one per round. Approved.

Does the bathroom count as leaving the course? No. Every course has facilities. Leaving the venue counts.

A player orders the wrong drink at a hole. What happens? They play it as ordered, and take a stroke.

• Penalty stroke. Signal: the Official holds up one finger, then mimes a short golf swing.
• Hole complete. Signal: the Official taps the scorecard twice.

Pub Golf is the only game in this book that is played outside, between venues, and the only one with a dress code. The Commission considers the dress code the most important rule. A course of nine players in matching argyle can be seen from across a city, which helps everyone stay together.

Set non-alcoholic drinks for every hole: sodas, mocktails, juices. The sips, scorecard and argyle work the same. The website has a free scorecard for any version.

Nine venues is a long night. Read the Commissioner's Caution at the start of Part 5. Plan to walk or book rides between holes before you tee off. Nobody drives.