Bingo Bango Bongo is the Golf Game for You and Me

You get to the golf course and joke around with your buddies in the parking lot as each of you puts on your golf shoes and checks to see if your bag has enough balls.  This is only your third round of the year and it is anybody’s guess on how the day will turn out.  Your true goal is to make it to the back nine without stopping into the pro shop to reload with  more golf balls at outrageous prices.

Of course, one of your buddies bring up the idea of “making the round interesting.”  Stroke play is right out the window and asking for 40 strokes seems excessive.  What can you play to make it fun and some what fair?  Three words for you: Bingo Bango Bongo.

I first heard of the game, Bingo Bango Bongo, when I was caddying at Tavistock Country Club.  A father and son(adult son) were preparing tee off and deciding on which games to play to determine who would buy post rounds beverages.  “You ever hear of Bingo Bango Bongo?” the son asked me.  I shook my head.  “Easy game.  I’ll teach you as we play.”

Rules of Bingo Bango Bongo

The rules and scoring are very simple.  Each hole has three possible points.  Each player has equal chance to earn each.

• Bingo – First player to land on the green.  On the fringe, does not count.
• Bango – Once all players are on the green, the player closest to the hole wins the Bango point.
• Bongo – First player to hole out wins this point.

Simple and fair.  Bingo Bango Bongo does not care how you get there and the real points don’t arrive until everyone is one the green.

Sample Bingo Bango Bongo Scorecard

Here is what a scorecard would look like for 9 holes with four players.  I used tick marks to denote how many points each players scored.

Making Bingo Bango Bongo Go Smoothly

In this age of “Ready Golf”, let me add a few additional clarification points to help the game go smoothly and avoid arguments.

• If the Bango point is not clear, pace each ball to name a winner.
• If a player, taps in their put before everyone else is done, they forfeit the Bongo point.

What games do your and your golfing buddies play?  Share with us and maybe we can write it up for the page.