Pub golf or bar golf is a recreational

drinking game Drinking games are games which involve the consumption of alcoholic beverages and often enduring the subsequent intoxication resulting from them. Evidence of the existence of drinking games dates back to antiquity. Drinking games have been banned ...

involving a selection of either nine or eighteen pubs (

Public House A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and wa ...

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

), creating a "course" to be played by two or more people. It is essentially a

pub crawl A pub crawl (sometimes called a bar tour, bar crawl or bar-hopping) is the act of visiting multiple pubs or bars in a single session. Background Many European cities have public pub crawls that serve as social gatherings for local expatriates a ...

made into a game. Unlike the actual game of

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

, pub golf involves no ball or fairway.

Rules

Like the game of

, pub golf has the standard 9 or 18 different "holes", wherein each bar is considered a "hole". The bars to be visited during the game are predetermined and numbered. These numbers determine the order in which each bar will be visited. Prior to playing the game, a par number (ranging from 1 to 5) also needs to be determined for each bar. E.g. Hole "5" (at Pub #5)- Par 4= One

pint The pint (, ; symbol pt, sometimes abbreviated as ''p'') is a unit of volume or capacity in both the imperial and United States customary measurement systems. In both of those systems it is traditionally one eighth of a gallon. The British impe ...

beer Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...

. The par number represents how many

drinks A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies a ...

/ sips/ gulps it should take to complete the drink assigned. Therefore, in the example given, at hole 5, if the pint of beer is completed in 4 drinks, the person drinking that pint is awarded a par. However many drinks it takes to complete the assigned drink should be recorded on a scorecard. (Thus, 5 drinks @ Hole 5= +1 to your score). The drinks assigned to the different "holes" (pubs) should vary, and should be reasonable when taking into account the par number (number of gulps it takes to finish). A simple

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 f ...

, for example, should suffice for a par one. A time limit for each hole must also be determined before the game is played. Thirty minutes is generally sufficient, but it can vary depending on your party size and focus. There are many different variations of pub golf played, and some games add

hazards A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would allow them, even just theoretically, to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probabi ...

to the course. E.g. Certain holes can be assigned as having a water hazard. This means that the restroom cannot be used while playing that hole, or else a

penalty stroke In field hockey, a penalty stroke, sometimes known as a penalty flick, is the most severe penalty given. It is predominantly awarded when a foul has prevented a certain goal from being scored or for a deliberate infringement by a defender in the ...

is given.

Scoring

Scores are kept on individual score cards, and each person keeps track of how many drinks/sips/gulps taken to finish the assigned drink for that hole. If the number of drinks/sips/gulps is the same as the par number, then that participant receives a par for that hole. Assigned drinks can be finished with fewer or more drinks/sips/gulps than the par number assigned, and so a contestant will receive their hole score as such. The goal is similar to golf in that it is to end the game with the lowest score. Prizes are often awarded in the end as an incentive to strive for a lower score. In the event of a tie, the winner shall be determined by an arm wrestle to be conducted on the footpath outside the final pub. Often the individual who comes last in pub golf is expected to do a forfeit. This makes the game more intense as it creates drama. Participants obviously don't want to forfeit as it is often embarrassing. One of the most popular forfeits is the person that finishes in last place has to go in their pub golf costume to a public place, such as universities or a place of work.

References

{{Reflist Pub crawls Pub games Drinking games

Rules

Scoring

See also

References