4–6 players
🐺Wolf golf game: rules, lone wolf, and a points calculator
One golfer is the wolf on each hole, and the job rotates. The wolf watches the drives, then picks a partner or takes on everybody alone. Every hole is a new deal, which is why wolf is the best game in golf for talking on the tee.
Wolf calculator ↓The rules
Set a tee order on the 1st. That order is the wolf rotation: the first golfer is the wolf on the 1st, the second on the 2nd, and so on around the group. In a foursome the first two golfers get the 17th and 18th, so they are the wolf five times and the other two four times.
The wolf watches each drive and decides on the spot: take that golfer as a partner, or wait for the next one. Once the next golfer hits, the last one is off the table.
Pass on everybody and you are the lone wolf, your ball against the best ball of the rest. Call blind wolf before anyone tees off and the hole pays even more.
- Partner hole: the wolf and a partner against the rest, best ball on each side.
- Lone wolf: the wolf’s ball against the best ball of everyone else.
- Blind wolf: lone, called before a single drive.
- A tie halves the hole. Nothing carries.
Dots
Swilkin plays wolf for dots unless you choose cash. Win a partner hole and each winner gets 1 dot. Win as a lone wolf and you get 2. Catch a lone wolf and each hunter gets 2. Blind is worth 3 either way.
You can set lone anywhere from 2× to 4× and blind from 3× to 6×.
At the end, every pair of golfers settles the difference in dots at the dot’s price. You finish with 5 dots and I finish with 2: at $1 a dot, I pay you $3.
| The hole | Dots |
|---|---|
| Wolf and partner win | 1 to each of them |
| Hunters win a partner hole | 1 to each hunter |
| Lone wolf wins | 2 to the wolf |
| Lone wolf caught | 2 to each hunter |
| Blind wolf wins | 3 to the wolf |
| Blind wolf caught | 3 to each hunter |
| Tie | None |
Cash on every hole
Some groups pay each hole as it is played. The hole is worth one stake from each hunter, times the lone or blind multiple. On a partner hole in a foursome, each loser pays the stake and each winner collects it.
A lone wolf at 2× who wins collects twice the stake from each of the three hunters. Caught, the wolf pays each hunter twice the stake.
Five or six golfers
Wolf works with five or six. A partner hole is 2 against 3, or 2 against 4, and a lone wolf takes on the whole field. The rotation wraps every five or six holes.
On a cash hole the hunters each risk one stake, and the wolf and partner split the same total between them.
Pick-ups
Pick up and your ball can’t win the hole. Your partner’s ball still counts for your side, so a partner can carry a wolf who picked up.
A worked round
Ana, Ben, Cal and Dee tee off in that order and play for $1 a dot.
| Hole | Wolf | Took | Scores | Dots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ana | Ben | Ana 4, Ben 5 v Cal 5, Dee 5 | Ana +1, Ben +1 |
| 2 | Ben | Lone | Ben 3 v Ana 4, Cal 4, Dee 5 | Ben +2 |
| 3 | Cal | Lone | Cal 5 v Ana 4, Ben 5, Dee 5 | +2 to each hunter |
| 4 | Dee | Ana | Dee 4, Ana 4 v Ben 4, Cal 5 | Halved |
After four holes Ana has 3 dots, Ben 5, Cal 0, and Dee 2. Each pair settles the gap: Ben takes $10, Ana takes $2, Dee puts in $2, and Cal puts in $10.
Play the same holes for $2 a hole in cash and Ben takes $18, Ana takes $2, Dee puts in $2, and Cal puts in $18.
Wolf calculator
Set your terms, enter the card, and it settles as you type. A blank on a hole somebody else finished counts as a pick-up.
Swilkin keeps the score and settles it while you play, and puts every bet on the receipt.
Start a round on SwilkinHow Swilkin runs it
Swilkin runs the rotation from your tee order, and after each hole you tap who the wolf took, or Lone, or Blind, right on the scoring screen. Dots count up as you play, every hole is on the receipt, and the settle-up is worked out for you. Set the dot’s price and what lone and blind are worth to match your group.
Questions golfers ask
How many points is a lone wolf worth?
Two dots in Swilkin unless your group sets it higher, up to four. A blind wolf is three, up to six.
Who is the wolf on the 17th and 18th?
The rotation keeps going. In a foursome the first two golfers in the tee order are the wolf again on the 17th and 18th.
Can you play wolf with three golfers?
Swilkin plays wolf with four to six golfers.
What happens on a tie?
The hole is halved. No dots, no money, and nothing carries to the next hole.
Should we play dots or cash?
Dots keep the running count simple and settle once at the end. Cash pays every hole as you go.