Wolf

Quick answer. Wolf is played with 3 to 6 golfers, and four is the usual. On each hole one golfer is the Wolf, and the job comes round in a set order. The Wolf makes a call: Partner (pick one other golfer to play with), Lone Wolf (play alone against the rest) or Blind Wolf (play alone before anyone sees a tee shot). The side that wins the hole scores points, and a lone call is worth more. Golfers enter their normal strokes. Back9Ops works out the points.

Who can do this: an Admin or an Organizer sets up the Wolf rules. Any golfer in the rotation can tap the call on their own scorecard. Everyone with the link can read the standings.

Before you start

Make the event with Wolf as the format and add exactly as many golfers as you want playing. Set up your event in four steps covers that. Decide whether the points are on gross or net, because the Handicap setting on Event settings decides it. Golfers can also play Wolf with friends on their own, outside an event. That is a separate thing and this article does not cover it.

The steps

1. Open the Wolf rules. On the event page, press Edit in the Event Details box to open Event settings. Find the box called Wolf Rules. It says "Choose 3 to 6-player Wolf setup".
2. Say how many are playing. Under Wolf Player Count, choose 4-player Wolf (default), 3-player Wolf, 5-player Wolf or 6-player Wolf. If the field has fewer golfers than that, the box says "Wolf requires exactly 4 active players in the field. Add players before assigning slots." Fix the field first.
3. Put the golfers in the order. Each slot is a golfer. A slot is named for the holes it is the Wolf, such as Slot 1 (Wolf on holes 1, 5, 9, 13, 17). Choose a golfer for every slot from the list that starts at — Select player —.
4. Read the line about the closing holes. With four golfers the Wolf rotates by itself for holes 1 to 16. Eighteen does not divide by four, so you choose the Wolf for holes 17 and 18. The page says "The Wolf rotates automatically for holes 1-16. You choose the Wolf for holes 17, 18." With three or six golfers it rotates every hole. With five you choose the last three.
5. Pick gross or net. The line Scoring basis shows Gross, or Net with the allowance. It follows the Handicap setting further down the same page, and Scratch means gross. Each hole is decided by the best ball on each side, counted net when handicaps are on.
6. Save. Press Save Changes. Just below the rules is a box called Wolf Hole Decisions. It says "Wolf decisions not complete yet." until every slot has a golfer. After that it lists each hole with the Wolf, the Mode (Partner, Lone Wolf or Blind Wolf) and the Partner. You can fill it in yourself if you are keeping the calls for the group. Only the rows you change are saved, so change a row, then press Save Changes.
7. Golfers tap the call. Each golfer opens their scorecard from My Event. The big scorecard button there reads Continue Scorecard once scoring has begun. The call is made on the Card view, not the Enter view, so they press Card. A box called Wolf for this hole shows who the Wolf is. It says "Make the call for this hole:". The buttons are Blind Wolf ("before tee shots · 5 pts"), Lone Wolf ("go it alone · 3 pts") and, under Partner with, one button for each other golfer. After a tap it says "This hole: … · tap to change". Any golfer in the rotation can tap the call for any hole while scoring is open, so the Wolf does not have to hold the phone.
8. Score as usual. Golfers enter their strokes hole by hole, as in How scoring works on game day. The scorecard says "Enter your normal golf score. Back9Ops handles the Wolf points."
9. Read the standings. On the event page the Wolf Standings box lists Player totals and a Hole-by-hole results table. View Leaderboard shows the same points as a ranked list headed Wolf Standings.

What you should see

Here is a practice event with Dave Prentiss, Rick Delgado, Bob Hendricks and Susan Tillman, on gross. Points are counted like this.

• Partner. If the Wolf and the partner win the hole, each gets 1 point. If they lose, each of the other golfers gets 1 point. On hole 1 Dave was the Wolf and his side lost, so Rick and Susan got a point each. On hole 6 Rick was the Wolf and picked Bob, they won, and each got a point.
• Lone Wolf. Rick went alone on hole 2 and won, so he got 3 points. When a Lone Wolf loses, each of the other golfers gets 1 point.
• Blind Wolf. Bob went alone before the tee shots on hole 3 and won, so he got 5 points. A Blind Wolf who loses gives each of the other golfers 1 point.
• A tied hole is a push. Nobody gets points, and the table says "No points (push)".

Dave was the Wolf on hole 5, went alone and won, so he got 3 points. Hole 4 never had a call, so it shows Incomplete hole. After six holes the standings read Bob 6, Rick 5, Dave 3 and Susan 1, with "Total points awarded: 15". With three golfers the rule for a lost partner call changes: the one golfer left alone gets 2 points, and the box says so.

A hole with no call, or with a score still missing, shows Incomplete hole and "No points (incomplete)". It will fill in once the call is tapped and every score is in. Holes not yet played show the same words.

If it goes wrong

• The Wolf Rules box says it needs more golfers. The Wolf Player Count is higher than the field. Add golfers in the field, or change the count to match the golfers you have.
• The box says "Wolf decisions not complete yet." A slot is empty. Open Wolf Rules, choose a golfer for every slot, and press Save Changes.
• The standings say "Wolf standings appear after Wolf setup, Wolf decisions, and event-only readiness checks pass." Finish the rules above and save. If a golfer was withdrawn, the box says "A player in the Wolf rotation is no longer active in the field." Choose a different golfer for that slot.
• A golfer cannot see the Wolf box. They are on the Enter view. Press Card. They also need to be one of the golfers in the rotation.
• Every hole shows Incomplete hole. Nobody has tapped a call yet, or scores are missing. Check Wolf Hole Decisions and tap the calls on the Card view. A partner that merely shows in the Wolf Hole Decisions table is not saved until you change that row and press Save Changes.
• Holes in play says 18 and the game is only a few holes old. That number counts every hole, played or not. Read the Hole-by-hole results table for what has actually been scored.
• The points look wrong. Look at the Mode and the Result for that hole. Then look at Handicap: on net, a golfer who gets a stroke on that hole can win it with a worse raw score. Tied holes award nothing.
• You cannot change the format. The Format list is locked once scores are in. The page says "Locked — scores have been entered. Changing the format would re-score the leaderboard."

Director's tip

Read the Wolf order out at the first tee and ask whoever is the Wolf to tap their call before the group leaves the green. Calls made after the round are the ones people argue about.

Related

• How scoring works on game day
• Stroke play: gross and net
• Skins
• Set up your event in four steps

Still stuck?

Email support@back9ops.com and tell us the event's name, the Wolf Player Count, and the hole where the points are not what you expected.