Track Every Bingo, Bango, and Bongo Automatically
Settle Up Golf tracks every bet, calculates every payout, and tells you exactly who owes what — so you can focus on your game.
Three points, three ways to win on every hole — a format that rewards different skills and keeps everyone competing all the way to the cup.
Bingo Bango Bongo is one of golf's most entertaining side games — and one of the few formats where a 20-handicapper can legitimately beat a scratch player on any given hole. The premise is beautifully simple: there are three points available on every hole, and each point is awarded for a completely different achievement. Hit the green first, land closest to the pin, or hole out before your playing partners. Win the most points over 18 holes, and you win the money.
What makes Bingo Bango Bongo so compelling is that no single skill dominates. A big hitter might earn Bingos all day with short approach shots, but if their putting is shaky, they'll hand away Bongos left and right. It's a great equalizer — and a lot of fun when you're playing with a mixed group of handicaps.
Each hole has exactly three points on the line. Here's what earns each one:
A single player can sweep all three points on one hole — hit the green first, end up closest to the pin, and drain the first putt. But a sweep is satisfying precisely because it's rare.
Here's a wrinkle that trips up first-time players: Bingo Bango Bongo requires strict adherence to the farthest from the hole plays first rule. That's technically the correct rule of golf anyway, but in casual rounds it's often ignored. In this game, it absolutely cannot be.
The reason is integrity. If the player with the best approach shot could run up and tap in before the others had hit, they'd steal Bongo every time. By enforcing the order — farthest always plays first — the game stays fair. A player already on the green must wait until everyone else has hit their approach before putting, since until then the Bango contest isn't settled.
This also creates its own layer of strategy. Once you're on the green, you sit on your hands and watch everyone else play up. Your Bingo is already earned. Now you're calculating: am I going to hold the Bango, or will someone get closer? And when it's finally time to putt — is there any reason to rush for Bongo, or should I be deliberate and take the birdie?
Bingo Bango Bongo is a points-based game, so tracking the score is easy. Each player earns points throughout the round — one per Bingo, Bango, or Bongo claimed. At the end of 18 holes, tally everyone's totals. There are 54 points available in a round (3 per hole × 18 holes).
For betting purposes, most groups agree on a dollar value per point before teeing off. Common amounts range from $0.25 to $2 per point. You can settle a few ways:
Most groups go with the per-point value approach — it's clean, scales naturally with the scoring, and doesn't require mental math until the 18th hole.
You have two main options for handicaps, and which you choose depends a lot on your group.
Gross (no handicaps): Most casual groups play Bingo Bango Bongo gross. The game already has enough built-in parity because of how the three points are structured — a high handicapper can absolutely win Bingo and Bongo without being a better ball-striker. Pure gross keeps the rules simpler and the arguments to a minimum.
Net scoring: If you want to incorporate handicaps formally, the most common approach is to award an extra point opportunity on designated stroke holes. On a hole where a player receives a handicap stroke, they effectively get a head start in certain point contests. Work out the specifics with your group before the round — the key is consistency so everyone understands the rules on the first tee.
Bingo Bango Bongo looks simple, but there's genuine strategy once you start thinking about when to be aggressive and when to play it safe.
This is probably Bingo Bango Bongo's greatest virtue: it genuinely levels the playing field without relying on handicap calculations. A 30-handicapper can't compete with a scratch player in a stroke play format — the gap is just too large. But in Bingo Bango Bongo? The high handicapper might not hit the green first very often, but they can absolutely drain the first putt. And they can certainly be closest to the pin on a chip-heavy hole where the scratch player blows their approach long.
The format doesn't reward any single dimension of the game disproportionately. Ball-striking earns Bingos. Iron precision earns Bangos. Short game and putting earn Bongos. A well-rounded player will collect points in all three categories, but a specialist can thrive too. It's one of the most democratic formats in recreational golf.
Bingo Bango Bongo works beautifully as a standalone game, but it also pairs well as a side bet running alongside a bigger format. Two combinations that work especially well:
Like most golf side games, Bingo Bango Bongo has spawned a handful of popular local variations. Here are a few you might encounter:
To avoid any disputes mid-round, nail down these details with your group before you start:
Once everyone is on the same page, the game runs itself. Just keep track of who earned what on each hole, tally at the end, and settle up. Settle Up Golf can help you track the action and calculate exactly who owes what — so there's no debate at the 19th hole.
Settle Up Golf tracks every bet, calculates every payout, and tells you exactly who owes what — so you can focus on your game.