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USGA
Policy on Gambling According to
The Rules of Golf
The
USGA does not object to informal
wagering among individual golfers
or teams of golfers when the
players in general know each
other, participation in the
wagering is optional and limited
to the players, the sole source
of the money won by the players
is advanced by the players on
themselves and their own teams,
and the amount of money involved
is such that the primary purpose
is the playing of the game for
enjoyment.
As printed in The Rules of
Golf, as approved by the United
States Golf Association and the
Royal and Ancient Golf Club of
St. Andrews,
Scotland.
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Las
Vegas
True to its name,
Las Vegas is a game for high rollers, as
money can switch hands in large quantities
and in fast fashion. Las Vegas matches two
twosomes, and the team score is a
combination, not total, of each player's
score. On each hole, the low ball of the
team is joined with the high ball. If
player A makes a four and his or her
partner (player B) makes a six, the team
score is 46. If the opposing team makes a
pair of fives on the hole, their score is
55, and they would lose the hole by nine.
Las Vegas is usually played for a dollar a
point so that's $9 changing hands on a
single hole. And it can get much, much
worse. What if everybody made six except
for player A, who managed to scramble and
make that four? Now the payout is 46 to
66, and it's a $20 hit.
Adding to the pain
is "flipping the bird." In this variation,
a team making a birdie flips the other
team's scores. So, on a par 3, if team A
makes a birdie for two and a bogey for
four, making a score of "24," and team B
makes par and bogey, instead of a "34,"
team B's score is reversed to a "43," and
a $10 payout is nearly doubled to
$19.
Some mercy does
exist in Las Vegas, and that occurs when a
player makes a 10 or worse. Then the
higher score gets to go up front. The
easiest way to remember Las Vegas scoring
is to always make the lowest possible
number with the two scores. So, if your
partner makes 6 and you cough up a 10, the
team total is a 106 and not
610&emdash;both are pricey losses, but one
borders on bankruptcy.
For that reason,
novice golfers and anything less than a
good golfer should stay away from shaking
hands on a Las Vegas bet. Even playing
with full handicaps, the money can get out
of hand in a hurry if you or a partner is
having an off day. And good players may
want to avoid this bet if they have a
tendency to get loose and make a big
number once in a while. A player making
nothing but yawn-inducing fours and fives
has a better chance than the player
carding all fives and occasional threes
but then tosses in an eight or
nine.
You'll be able to
tell a group in front of you playing Las
Vegas because you'll see great outbursts
of emotion, both joyful and despondent.
Also, long waits will be the norm as
players hole out everything and grind over
putts of a foot or less. With so much at
stake, every swing can mean $10 or more,
and thus the pace of play tends to
drag.
To play Las Vegas, a
golfer needs not only the game for it but
also the wallet and the stomach. In the
event you have neither, go ahead and try
the game, playing for a penny or dime a
point. You don't necessarily have to be a
Rockefeller or Vanderbilt to play Las
Vegas, though it's generally a high
roller's game.
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"From
Chi Chi's Golf Games You Gotta
Play by Chi Chi Rodriguez and
John Anderson. Copyright 2003 by
Human Kinetics Publishers, Inc.
Excerpted by permission of Human
Kinetics, Champaign, IL.
Available in bookstores or by
calling 1-800-747-4457 or
visiting www.HumanKinetics.com.
$17.95 plus
shipping/handling."
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