Bros before Boges

The Cup

Tournament rules

Formats, scoring and how the Cup gets decided. Tap any round to open it.

Universal rules

House rules

  • Straight up: no handicap strokes in any match. Handicaps are only used to draft even teams.
  • The desert is a penalty area: drop outside it, within two club-lengths of where your ball crossed in, no closer to the hole, and add one stroke. A ball lost in the desert is the same one stroke.
  • Water is played the same way: drop within two club-lengths of where it crossed in, no closer to the hole, one stroke.
  • Lost ball or out of bounds (anywhere else): drop within two club-lengths of where it was lost or went out, no closer to the hole, and add two strokes. No walking back to the tee.

The “inside the leather” gimme

Any ball within the leather of your putter is a gimme: add one stroke to your score, no putt required.

Warning: if you decide to putt it anyway and miss, that stroke counts and the gimme is gone. Take the gimme or putt it. You can’t do both.

Thursday is a practice round. Talking Stick doesn’t count for the Cup. The Cup is three rounds: Round 1 Friday morning at We-Ko-Pa Cholla, Round 2 Friday afternoon at Saguaro, and Round 3 Saturday at Camelback Ambiente. The 2027 formats will be posted once the captains are picked. Until then, these are the 2026 formats from Horseshoe Bay, in round order.

1

The Grind Team points · two-man teams

Format: Team points.

Two-man teams, each playing their own ball. Both players’ scores on every hole count toward the team total.

Points come off your actual score on the hole, with no handicap strokes.

Scoring (per player)

  • Eagle or better: 5 pts
  • Birdie: 3 pts
  • Par: 2 pts
  • Bogey: 1 pt
  • Double or worse: 0 pts

Match points

The team with the most points after 18 holes wins the match.

Win: 1 pointTie: ½ point
Strict rule: Pick up once you can’t make bogey (it’s 0 points either way). No mulligans.
2

The Split Decision Front 9 scramble · back 9 alternate shot

Format: An 18-hole match split into two 9-hole formats. Each team posts one score per hole.

Each nine is its own stroke-play contest: add up the team’s strokes for the nine, and the lower total wins it.

Safety net: Triple-bogey max on every hole, both nines. If you haven’t holed out by triple, pick up and take the triple.

Match points

Each nine is worth 1 point, so each match is worth 2.

Win a nine: 1 point Tied nine: ½ point each

Front 9: two-man scramble

Captain’s choice. Both players tee off, pick the best ball, and both play from that spot until the ball is holed.

  • Scoring: Stroke play (total strokes for the nine).
  • Winner: Lowest total on the front 9 wins 1 point.

Back 9: modified alternate shot

Greensomes. Both players tee off on every hole and the team picks the best drive.

  • The rotation: The player whose drive was not used hits the second shot, then the players alternate until the ball is holed.
  • Winner: Lowest total on the back 9 wins 1 point.
Tee ball requirement: Each player must have at least 4 of their drives used over the nine.
3

Championship Singles Head-to-head match play

Format: Individual head-to-head match play. 8 matches total, Team Blue vs. Team Red.

Scoring: Traditional match play, straight up. The lower score wins the hole, with no handicap strokes. Holes are won, lost or halved.

Points

Match win: 1 point Halved: ½ point Loss: 0 points
Path to the Cup
Total points available (16 players, three Cup rounds)
4 + 8 + 8 = 20
Round 1 The Grind · Round 2 The Split Decision · Round 3 Singles
10½ points wins the Cup

The Playoff Tournament tie-breaker

If team points are tied after all three Cup rounds, this decides the champion.

Team putting contest

Each captain picks 3 players. Most made putts from 20 feet wins.

Sudden death

If nobody holes a putt after 6 attempts, flip a tee to decide who starts sudden death. Players then alternate putts, and the first one to hole out wins the tournament.