How to play without a Cali?

[tampora]

Assume random draw doubles with an odd number of players.

Instead of doing the typical Cali-style (where the odd-man is his own team and gets either 1 extra shot per hole, or, 2 shots from every lie, depending on your version), can you think of an easy way to make it so that no one plays alone?

If the total number of players is divisible by 3, then all doubles could become triples. But, not everyone would like playing on cards of 6 people.

This left me pondering a few alternatives.

My favorite so far: There could be one single group of 3 players (players A, B, and C) and everyone else plays doubles. However, in order to negate the advantage from a 3rd teammate, they would play alternating-out shot. This means, at the first teepad, player A would not throw and they would choose between the better of B's and C's drives. At the following lie, player B would not throw.. etc etc And the pattern repeats... The obvious drawback is having to split the pot 3 ways instead of only 2, and, people get to play less disc golf.

Do you guys think this would give any more or less of an advantage for the solo player compared to the typical cali rules? Or, do you think it is a fair compromise?

Can you guys think of any other solutions? Asking for volunteers for cali is not preferred, as it is not random.

 

[DavidSauls]

It's a very fair solution.

The drawback is that each of those players only throws two-thirds as much as he otherwise would. I'm not a fan of playing less.

That, and if you're paying out in cash, and this 3-man team cashes, they each get less than if a doubles team had won. (Of course, Cali has its own issues with payouts).

But it's a good idea. Whether it's the preferable to Cali might be a matter of taste.

 

[coupe]

3-man Wolf.

On each hole, Player 1 throws and decides whether he wants to play solo or have a partner. Must declare before Player 2 throws.

Player 2 throws and decide whether he wants to play solo: if yes, Players 3 teams with Player 1; if no, Player 3 plays solo.

Players tee in order on every hole, with Player 1 teeing first on holes 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16; Player 2 on 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, and Player 3 on 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18. That way Players 1 and 2 can't gang up on Player 3.

Each player's score is kept separately, e.g.:

hole 1, Player 1 plays solo and birdies, the team of players 2 and 3 pars: score recorded as Player 1 - 2, Player 2 - 3, Player 3 - 3;

hole 2, Player 1 and Player 3 team up and bogie; Player 2 plays solo and birdies: scores recorded as Player 1 - 4, Player 2 - 2, Player 3 - 4.

Aggregate scores after 2 holes: Player 1 - 6, Player 2 - 5, Player 3 - 7.

Etc. for remaining holes.

Payout as you would for Cali.

 

[tampora]

3-man Wolf.

I was thinking of when folks come expecting to play random doubles and wind up with an odd number of attendees. They'd never go for changing the game to something totally different. I just wanted to find another fair set of rules to cover that occurrence.

It also sounds like Wolf is mob-golf (a super-card of everyone)? Today we had almost two dozen players.. Having normal-sized groups is a must-or-bust.

 

[Steve West]

If the range of skill is wide enough that everyone knew who the 2 worst players were, you could pair them up as a single player. They would play best-of-three with a random partner.

For best throw, poor players have only a small impact on the score when paired up with a much better player.

Also, it might get some of those new players to come back without feeling like they are hurting anyone by showing up.

 

[coupe]

I was thinking of when folks come expecting to play random doubles and wind up with an odd number of attendees. They'd never go for changing the game to something totally different.

Only the three person card plays wolf; everyone else plays regular doubles.

The difference between this and cali is that all three players on the three person card end up playing some holes with a partner and some solo, so in effect, you have a card consisting of two teams: one team composed of two players, and one team composed of a single player. The twist is that the composition of the teams can change from one hole to the next.

There's a strategic element in deciding when to play solo or team up on a hole, since you're trying to beat the other teams, which can make for interesting scenarios, especially on deuce-or-die courses or courses with multiple par 4/5 holes.

 

[jclepa]

We've played a couple of 3-man best shot rounds, with the caveat that you could only use one shot per person per hole (i.e. if you use player A's drive, only Player B & C throw the second shot. If you then use Player B's upshot, only Player C would get to putt.) We did open it back up to all 3 players if the team was shooting 4.

 

[brutalbrutus]

If the range of skill is wide enough that everyone knew who the 2 worst players were, you could pair them up as a single player. They would play best-of-three with a random partner.

For best throw, poor players have only a small impact on the score when paired up with a much better player.

Also, it might get some of those new players to come back without feeling like they are hurting anyone by showing up.

This would be a great solution for A/B dubs when the extra person is a B.