There’s something different about a golf trip.
You can play your home course every Saturday with the same group, but throw the clubs in the car, catch a flight, rent a house somewhere and suddenly an ordinary round of golf feels like a major championship.
Maybe it’s the new courses. Maybe it’s having nothing on the schedule except golf, food and figuring out who gets stuck sleeping on the pull-out couch.
Or maybe it’s simply knowing that whatever happens over the next few days is probably going to be talked about for years.
So if you’re already going through the trouble of planning a golf trip, why stop at making tee times?
Turn the trip into your own tournament.
You don't need 100 players, sponsors, matching shirts or somebody standing on the first tee with a microphone to run a golf tournament.
Sometimes the best tournament is eight buddies, two tee times and one day of golf.
Or maybe your group is heading somewhere for three days and playing three different courses. Now you've got the perfect setup for your own mini tour.
Give it a name. Make a trophy. Create some ridiculous traditions.
The important part is giving everyone something to play for.
Instead of everyone playing 18 holes and comparing scores in the parking lot afterward, you can make every hole—and every round—matter.
Let's say you've got eight golfers heading out for a Saturday round.
Instead of making two tee times and calling it good, create a one-day tournament.
You could play:
Different handicaps? No problem. Use NET scoring so the 6-handicap isn't automatically collecting everyone's money before the first beer cart arrives.
Split a larger group into flights. Add Closest-to-the-Pin contests. Throw in Skins.
Suddenly your normal Saturday round has a leaderboard and a little pressure attached to that five-footer on 18.
And that's when things get fun.
This is where the possibilities really open up.
Imagine eight friends heading out for a three-day golf weekend.
Friday — Opening Round
Individual Stableford. Everyone gets points and establishes the early leaderboard.
Saturday — Team Day
Split into two teams and play Best Ball or a Ryder Cup-style competition.
Sunday — The Championship
Individual NET Stroke Play with groups arranged based on the standings.
Now you aren't just playing three rounds of golf.
You're playing the inaugural Whatever-You-Want-to-Call-It Invitational.
And yes, the name should probably be slightly inappropriate.
The tournament might determine who gets the trophy, but every golf group knows the side games usually determine who gets reminded about a terrible three-putt for the next six months.
That's why Buddies on the Green lets you run side games alongside your regular rounds.
You can play games including:
And you don't have to pick just one.
Run multiple games during the same round and let the app keep track of the standings and results.
Because nobody wants to spend dinner arguing over whether the Wolf game was worth $12 or $16.
One of the problems with golf trips involving multiple foursomes is that you usually have no idea what's happening with the group ahead of you.
You're standing on the 14th tee wondering:
“Are we winning?”
Instead of texting the other cart every three holes, live scoring gives the entire group a running leaderboard.
Scores update as they're entered, and spectators can follow rounds too.
That means the guys already sitting in the clubhouse can watch the final group coming down 18—and know exactly what's riding on that last putt.
Travel golf usually means playing courses you've never seen before.
Which also means plenty of:
“How far is that bunker?”
“Is there water behind the green?”
“Wait…we're playing the blue tees, right?”
Buddies on the Green keeps your round tools together, including course information, scorecards, handicap calculations and GPS yardages with satellite hole views where course data is available.
You can also save courses you're planning to play so they're easy to find when the trip arrives.
Less time managing the golf. More time actually playing it.
Here's the part that makes this really fun.
If your group travels together every year, keep the tournament going.
Create a trophy.
Keep track of past champions.
Have a Ryder Cup weekend every summer.
Create a jacket nobody actually wants to wear.
Give the last-place golfer something considerably worse.
The destination can change every year while the tournament stays the same.
Year one might be Colorado. Next year Arizona. Then Myrtle Beach, Pinehurst, Vegas, Wisconsin or wherever your group decides to go next.
The golf trip becomes more than a vacation.
It becomes an event everyone looks forward to.
This was one of the ideas behind Buddies on the Green from the beginning.
Golf software shouldn't only be built for clubs running massive tournaments.
There are millions of golfers organizing foursomes, weekend groups, leagues, buddy trips and small competitions every week.
Those golfers deserve the fun parts of tournament golf too:
Without needing a spreadsheet and a laptop sitting on the clubhouse bar.
If the group chat has already started talking about next year's golf trip, don't just start looking for tee times.
Start planning the tournament.
Pick the courses.
Pick the format.
Choose the teams.
Add a few side games.
Find something ridiculous to use as a trophy.
Then let Buddies on the Green handle the scoring while you handle the important stuff—like reminding your buddy that his “easy par” on 17 is still worth a skin.
Your buddies. Your golf trip. Your tournament.
Now go make it one you'll actually remember.
Chad Comstock is a passionate golfer and contributor to Buddies on the Green, sharing insights and experiences to help fellow golfers improve their game.
Your Golf Tour is bringing serious competition to YouTube golf. We recap YGT Stop 1 at Pursell Farms, preview Stop 2 at Rams Hill, and look at how live scoring platforms like Golf GameBook and Buddies on the Green are changing how golfers compete.
A whole generation found golf through YouTube, not Sunday coverage. Here's how creators rebuilt the game around personality, stakes, and having fun.
The Open returns to Royal Birkdale this week. A fun field guide to the dunes, the legends, and what golf's oldest major can teach your weekend foursome.
There’s something different about a golf trip.
You can play your home course every Saturday with the same group, but throw the clubs in the car, catch a flight, rent a house somewhere and suddenly an ordinary round of golf feels like a major championship.
Maybe it’s the new courses. Maybe it’s having nothing on the schedule except golf, food and figuring out who gets stuck sleeping on the pull-out couch.
Or maybe it’s simply knowing that whatever happens over the next few days is probably going to be talked about for years.
So if you’re already going through the trouble of planning a golf trip, why stop at making tee times?
Turn the trip into your own tournament.
You don't need 100 players, sponsors, matching shirts or somebody standing on the first tee with a microphone to run a golf tournament.
Sometimes the best tournament is eight buddies, two tee times and one day of golf.
Or maybe your group is heading somewhere for three days and playing three different courses. Now you've got the perfect setup for your own mini tour.
Give it a name. Make a trophy. Create some ridiculous traditions.
The important part is giving everyone something to play for.
Instead of everyone playing 18 holes and comparing scores in the parking lot afterward, you can make every hole—and every round—matter.
Let's say you've got eight golfers heading out for a Saturday round.
Instead of making two tee times and calling it good, create a one-day tournament.
You could play:
Different handicaps? No problem. Use NET scoring so the 6-handicap isn't automatically collecting everyone's money before the first beer cart arrives.
Split a larger group into flights. Add Closest-to-the-Pin contests. Throw in Skins.
Suddenly your normal Saturday round has a leaderboard and a little pressure attached to that five-footer on 18.
And that's when things get fun.
This is where the possibilities really open up.
Imagine eight friends heading out for a three-day golf weekend.
Friday — Opening Round
Individual Stableford. Everyone gets points and establishes the early leaderboard.
Saturday — Team Day
Split into two teams and play Best Ball or a Ryder Cup-style competition.
Sunday — The Championship
Individual NET Stroke Play with groups arranged based on the standings.
Now you aren't just playing three rounds of golf.
You're playing the inaugural Whatever-You-Want-to-Call-It Invitational.
And yes, the name should probably be slightly inappropriate.
The tournament might determine who gets the trophy, but every golf group knows the side games usually determine who gets reminded about a terrible three-putt for the next six months.
That's why Buddies on the Green lets you run side games alongside your regular rounds.
You can play games including:
And you don't have to pick just one.
Run multiple games during the same round and let the app keep track of the standings and results.
Because nobody wants to spend dinner arguing over whether the Wolf game was worth $12 or $16.
One of the problems with golf trips involving multiple foursomes is that you usually have no idea what's happening with the group ahead of you.
You're standing on the 14th tee wondering:
“Are we winning?”
Instead of texting the other cart every three holes, live scoring gives the entire group a running leaderboard.
Scores update as they're entered, and spectators can follow rounds too.
That means the guys already sitting in the clubhouse can watch the final group coming down 18—and know exactly what's riding on that last putt.
Travel golf usually means playing courses you've never seen before.
Which also means plenty of:
“How far is that bunker?”
“Is there water behind the green?”
“Wait…we're playing the blue tees, right?”
Buddies on the Green keeps your round tools together, including course information, scorecards, handicap calculations and GPS yardages with satellite hole views where course data is available.
You can also save courses you're planning to play so they're easy to find when the trip arrives.
Less time managing the golf. More time actually playing it.
Here's the part that makes this really fun.
If your group travels together every year, keep the tournament going.
Create a trophy.
Keep track of past champions.
Have a Ryder Cup weekend every summer.
Create a jacket nobody actually wants to wear.
Give the last-place golfer something considerably worse.
The destination can change every year while the tournament stays the same.
Year one might be Colorado. Next year Arizona. Then Myrtle Beach, Pinehurst, Vegas, Wisconsin or wherever your group decides to go next.
The golf trip becomes more than a vacation.
It becomes an event everyone looks forward to.
This was one of the ideas behind Buddies on the Green from the beginning.
Golf software shouldn't only be built for clubs running massive tournaments.
There are millions of golfers organizing foursomes, weekend groups, leagues, buddy trips and small competitions every week.
Those golfers deserve the fun parts of tournament golf too:
Without needing a spreadsheet and a laptop sitting on the clubhouse bar.
If the group chat has already started talking about next year's golf trip, don't just start looking for tee times.
Start planning the tournament.
Pick the courses.
Pick the format.
Choose the teams.
Add a few side games.
Find something ridiculous to use as a trophy.
Then let Buddies on the Green handle the scoring while you handle the important stuff—like reminding your buddy that his “easy par” on 17 is still worth a skin.
Your buddies. Your golf trip. Your tournament.
Now go make it one you'll actually remember.
Chad Comstock is a passionate golfer and contributor to Buddies on the Green, sharing insights and experiences to help fellow golfers improve their game.
Your Golf Tour is bringing serious competition to YouTube golf. We recap YGT Stop 1 at Pursell Farms, preview Stop 2 at Rams Hill, and look at how live scoring platforms like Golf GameBook and Buddies on the Green are changing how golfers compete.
A whole generation found golf through YouTube, not Sunday coverage. Here's how creators rebuilt the game around personality, stakes, and having fun.
The Open returns to Royal Birkdale this week. A fun field guide to the dunes, the legends, and what golf's oldest major can teach your weekend foursome.