Wolf
Choose your partner. Or go alone.
Pick your teammate on every tee. Or go Lone Wolf if you're feeling brave. The app tracks every combination and calculates payouts.
Wolf turns every tee box into a decision point. One player is the Wolf each hole and has to choose: team up with one of the other golfers for safety, or go Lone Wolf and play 1-against-the-rest for double points. The role rotates with every hole, so the pressure resets constantly.
It's the most strategic of the classic golf side bets — bluffing on tee-shot quality, reading opponents' lies, and timing your Lone Wolf calls. The 19th tracks the rotation, your partner picks, and the per-opponent payout math so you can focus on the call instead of the spreadsheet.
How to play Wolf
- 1
Set the bet amount and Wolf order
Pick a bet amount per point. Choose how the Wolf rotates — random, alphabetical, by lobby order, or a manual list.
- 2
Wolf chooses partner or Lone Wolf
The Wolf for the hole watches everyone tee off, then either picks one player as their partner or declares Lone Wolf to play alone for higher stakes.
- 3
Play the hole
Wolf + partner play as a team against the other players. Lone Wolf plays alone against everyone else.
- 4
Record the outcome
Host records win, loss, or tie. Optionally mark birdie if Birdie Double is enabled.
- 5
Settle pairwise at game end
Earnings = (your score − opponent's score) × bet amount, summed across every opponent. Zero-sum.
Rules at a glance
Wolf rotates each hole in a fixed order; everyone gets the role roughly the same number of times.
Team win: Wolf and Partner each earn 1 point.
Team loss: each opposing player earns 1 point.
Lone Wolf win: Wolf earns the configured Lone Wolf points (default 2).
Games subscription required
Lone Wolf loss: each opposing player earns 1 point.
Tied holes award nothing to anyone.
When Birdie Double is enabled, all points double on a winning birdie.
Games subscription required
Configurable variations
Lone Wolf payout
The Lone Wolf Win value (Games subscription) lets you tune how risky the solo call is. Default is 2 points; raising it to 3 or 4 makes Lone Wolf a more tempting and more high-variance call.
Birdie Double
Optional rule (Games subscription) that doubles all points on the hole when the winning side makes birdie. Turns Wolf into an even higher-stakes side bet.
Wolf rotation
Choose between random shuffle, alphabetical, lobby join order, or a manually specified rotation (Games subscription). Manual mode is useful when you want a particular player to start the day as Wolf.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a Lone Wolf in golf?
- A Lone Wolf is the rotating Wolf player who declines a partner and plays the hole 1-against-the-rest. If they win they earn the Lone Wolf points (default 2 — double a regular win); if they lose, every other player earns 1 point.
- How are Wolf payouts calculated?
- Wolf uses pairwise settlement. For each opponent, your earnings are (your point total − their point total) × bet amount. Summed across every opponent, the math is zero-sum — every dollar won was lost by someone else.
- Can Wolf run alongside other side games?
- Yes. With a Games-subscribed session, Wolf can run concurrently with Greenies and Animals so you can stack three side bets across the same round.
Related games
Skins
Win the hole, win the pot.
Hole-by-hole golf side game where each outright win earns a skin.
Read the rulesGreenies
Closest to the pin. Cash in hand.
Par-3-only golf side game where the player closest to the pin earns a greenie.
Read the rulesAnimals
Penalties that follow you home.
Six golf mishaps each tied to a payout — get stuck holding one at the end and you pay.
Read the rulesTrack Wolf automatically
Download The 19th and let the app handle the scoring, payouts, and settlement so your crew can focus on the round.
