How to play '11': A game that involves plenty of strategy

Golf Games Explained is exactly what it sounds like. You want to mix it up and try something new for once? Well, someone has to do the thankless work of playing different golf formats and telling you if it's worth it. You can thank me later.

I recently was introduced to 11—a game I had not even heard of let alone played in my 50-plus years playing golf. The good news: I picked up on the nuance quickly. Better news: I broke even, not bad for a first-timer.

Here’s how to play.

Number of players required: Four players is ideal but it can be played with three or even two.

Best for: Low- to middle=handicappers. Higher handicaps might struggle. People who like strategy outside of how they play shots. Folks who prefer cost certainty in their golf gambling.

How to play: Each player picks their best 11 holes, net. However, you must declare after you play each hole whether you’re taking the score or not. Low score wins and gets paid from the worst score. If playing in a foursome, second place gets paid from third place half the amount the winner gets. We played $20 for the winner and $10 for second place. Adjust the number as you see fit or are comfortable with.

The strategy is the fun part. What’s a good target score? I figured five or six under was a winner and was pretty spot on. So how to get there? First, know your stroke holes and ow you typically perform on them. If you get a shot on 16 and play it well, you might hold out for a late birdie. Or maybe you want to post four under early and make the others chase. Do you take that net par on the first or kick it to the curb? How many holes do I want to “bank” early?

My strategy was to get as many net pars or better as I could early. My target was two under net after nine holes with seven holes used. I got the two under but only five holes used. In our foursome we had a player at six under (finished) and two at five under and one at even playing 17. Myself and the other five under made net pars on 17. With 18 being a difficult par 3 and noon-stroke hole we both decided to take the hole and the ensuing push rather than try for a winning birdie.

Variations: Not many but a couple. You can make the last hole a “must-take” allowing for disaster to strike. You can also play it with multiple groups adjusting the pay lines as you see fit or simply having a buy-in and paying out multiple spots.

If you have any golf games or variations of golf games we haven't covered and you'd like to explain, feel free to reach out to me on Twitter/X @Cpowers14.