Although Wolf is a very popular golf game players may shy away from it because scoring a Wolf match can be complicated. For every hole you have to keep track of who is paired with who and assign different points depending on the result. Variations in the rules and payouts add to the confusion. This article takes you though automatically scoring a 4-Player Wolf match with Golf Crow, a nifty application for tracking and storing golf games.
Setting Up a Wolf Match
Every golf match has four key ingredients:
- Game
- Course/Tee
- Players
- Stakes
For our sample match:
1. Wolf is the Game
2. Rockland Country Club – Silver is the Course/Tee
With Game and Course/Tee established the next steps are picking the Players and setting the Stakes.
3. The Players are Al, Bob, Chip and Dave
This is also where you set the Wolf order (drag the 3-bar hamburger icons). Al starts out as Wolf on hole 1, Bob on hole 2, Chip on hole 3, Dave on hole 4 and the cycle repeats with Al as Wolf on hole 5.
Once everyone has an equal amount of turns as the Wolf (thru 16 holes in 4-Player), the player with the least points gets to be Wolf on the final 2 holes. Players can of course agree to choose otherwise.
Note the respective handicaps – 6, 9, 11, 14 so everyone strokes off of Al with Bob getting 3 strokes, Chip 5 and Dave 8.
4. The Stakes
Here’s where you pick how much you’re playing for and how points are earned for different outcomes along with whether a Wolf can go Blind (meaning declaring they’ll go it alone before anyone tees off on the hole for a higher payout if they win). There are also options to include Junk points and have a Birdie/Eagle multiplier which we’ll leave out for this particular match.
We’re going with 2s for the Stakes Value per Point ($2 in the U.S.), allowing a Blind Wolf and not including Junk points or a Birdie/Eagle multiplier.
The payouts selected are as follows:
1 point to each player if either the Wolf & Partner win or the Opponents win (2v2 play)
2 points to a Lone Wolf if they go it alone and win versus 1 point to each opponent if their side wins (1v3 play)
3 points to a Blind Wolf if they win versus 1 point to each opponent if their side wins (1v3 play)
Wolf Payout Grid
| 4-Players, $2/point | Points | Payout |
| Wolf/Partner vs | 1 | win $4 each or lose $4 each |
| Opponents (2) | 1 | win $4 each or lose $4 each |
| Lone Wolf vs | 2 | win $12 or lose $6 |
| Opponents (3) | 1 | win $2 each or lose $4 each |
| Blind Wolf vs | 3 | win $18 or lose $6 |
| Opponents (3) | 1 | win $2 each or lose $6 each |
Low net score wins the hole for either side regardless of the pairings and ties are not carried forward.
However, players have the option to double (2x) or re-double (4x) stakes on every hole if they want to increase the action and/or simulate a carryover.
Separately, players should decide whether a Wolf can be “stolen” should a player selected by the Wolf rather go at it alone instead of being teamed up, so they become the Wolf and the original Wolf now teams up with the others.
If you’re unfamiliar with Wolf or hazy on the details see How to Play Wolf in Golf for an in-depth guide that explains the game.
Keeping Score for a Wolf Match
Tapping Done on the Create Match screen brings up a scorecard with all the stroke holes (pink boxes) set for each player. Hole scores appear above the black ribbon and point totals below along with doubling if any plus each players Net Score vs Par.
Let the games begin!
Tap on the Hole number along the black ribbon to bring up the score entry screen then arrange the pairings (Wolf, Partner, Opponent, Blind Wolf) as needed.
Hole 1 – Lone Wolf loses hole
With no one stroking Al goes Lone Wolf but winds up losing the hole to Bob, Chip and Dave, making a bogey to Bob’s par. One point each for Bob, Chip and Dave, no points for Al. With points worth $2 Al is down $6 and the others up $2 each.
Hole 2 – Wolf & Partner Win Hole
Bob as Wolf picks Al for a partner and they win the hole versus Chip and Dave, earning one point each. Note that this translates to $4 for Bob and $4 for Al (Chip owes 1 point to Bob and 1 point to Al, 2 points total times $2/point equals $4 and the same deal for Dave, minus $4).
Hole 3 – Wolf & Partner Win Hole
Chip as Wolf picks Al for a partner and they win the hole versus Bob and Dave, earning one point each. Again $4 for each winner versus minus $4 for each loser.
Hole 4 – Wolf & Partner Lose Hole
Dave as Wolf picks Chip as a partner since they’re both stroking. Everyone makes bogey but Dave and Chip win with net par because of the stroke, earning one point each.
Hole 5 – Wolf & Partner Tie Hole
Al becomes Wolf for the 2nd time and picks Bob, who is stroking, versus Chip and Dave, who are also stroking. Everyone makes bogey again but the hole is tied since Bob’s net par matches Chip’s net par. No points are assigned.
Hole 6 – Blind Wolf Wins Hole
Bob becomes Wolf for the 2nd time and decides to go Blind Wolf, taking everyone else on before even teeing off, stroke in hand. Bob makes a par, matching Al but with the stroke wins with net birdie. Bob earns 3 points on the hole versus none for the others. At $2/point the win is worth $18 to Bob while the others lose $6 each.
Hole 7 – Wolf & Partner Lose Hole
Chip as Wolf picks Dave as partner, because Dave is stroking alone. They both blow up and lose the hole though so Al and Bob earn 1 point each.
Hole 8 – “Stolen” Wolf Wins Hole
Dave as Wolf decides to go alone on this short par 3 given his meager point total. After a rinsed tee shot though he picks Bob as partner who has hit it close to the pin. At this point, Bob sees no value in having Dave as a partner and takes on the Wolf role himself. Bob wins the hole with a par and earns 2 points versus none for the others. In dollar terms Bob wins $12, $4 from each of the others.
Hole 9 – Lone Wolf Wins Hole
Al as Wolf decides to go alone again and this time prevails, earning 2 points versus none for the others.
After 9 holes the respective point totals are Al with 5, Bob 8, Chip 3 Dave 2 and the card looks like this (ignoring hole 10 scores):
Calculating Gains/Losses in Wolf
If the match were to end after 9 holes, what would the damages (gains and losses) be? Ultimately everything sums to zero, whatever is won by someone is lost by someone else. With points, there are multiple ways to calculate it including just listing actual amounts right on each hole and adding everything up. Points though are easier to adjust than dollar amounts if there are changes and it certainly looks a lot cleaner on the card.
The preferred method uses everyone’s net point differential; paying the ones with more and collecting from those with less:
Bob, with 8 points, earns a net of +3 from Al, +5 from Chip and +6 from Dave, +14 in total times $2/point or $28
Al, with 5 points, nets -3 from Bob, +2 from Chip and +3 from Dave, +2 in total times $2/point or $4
Chip, with 3 points, nets -5 from Bob, -2 from Al and +1 from Dave, -6 in total times $2/point or -$12
Dave, with 2 points, nets -6 from Bob, -3 from Al and -1 from Dave, -10 in total times $2/point or -$20
In total +$32 to the winners and -$32 from the losers, netting of course to zero. As with any points-based game the top point earner makes out best while the low point earner pays out the most.
Hopefully this exercise was useful in understanding how Wolf is scored and as an added benefit, how easy it is to keep track of everything with Golf Crow.
Have fun, hit ‘em straight and not too often!