What is Ladder Golf

    If you like outdoors games such as horseshoes, corn hole or bocce ball, you will have no trouble getting into ladder golf. Ladder golf is a game of skill and technique in which you try to toss bolas - two golf balls connected with a cord - around the three rungs of ladder-like target. There are many versions of ladder golf offered on the internet. If you are interested in purchasing the trademarked version, you can purchase it at LadderGolf.com.

How to Play Ladder Golf

   The goal of ladder golf is to wrap the bolas around the rungs of the ladder golf target. The amount of points your earn depends on which rung you entangle ("Ladder Golf Official Rules and Instructions"). The higher the rung, the more points you will receive. Also, you can knock off an opponent's bolas with your tosses, negating any points they would have earned from their bolas.
    To play ladder golf you need two or more players or two or more teams. As for equipment, you need three bolas for each player or team and one ladder golf target. You can use two ladder golf targets for team play if you prefer not having to retrieve the bolas each round. You then need to establish a toss line about 15 feet or five paces from the ladder golf target ("Ladder Golf Official Rules and Instruction"). Then decide who will go first. To prevent disputes, play rock-paper-scissors or flip a coin. Once that is decided, you can finally start playing. Ladder golf is played in rounds, where one person throws all three of his or her bolas, and then the next player goes ("Ladder Golf Official Rules and Instruction"). As for throwing technique, anything goes as long as you don't cross the designated toss line and throw one bola at a time. You can even bounce your bolas off the ground.  

Ladder Golf Scoring

    The game of ladder golf rewards accuracy by giving more points for entangling specific rungs. There are three rungs on a ladder golf target, the top rung is worth three points, the middle rung two points and the bottom rung one point ("Ladder Golf Official Rules and Instruction"). You can also receive a bonus of one point by getting all three bolas around one rung or one bola around each of the three rungs during a round. If you want, you can refuse the bonus point.
    The winner is the first to reach exactly 21 points. If a player goes over 21 points, they receive no points for that round. Points are always calculated at the end of each round, after both players have tossed all their bolas, by awarding points for the bolas left hanging on the target. Bolas that were knocked off the target during play are not counted. In the case of a tie, where two players finish the same round with 21 points, play will continue until a round is completed with one player having two more points than another ("Ladder Golf Official Rules and Instruction").

Ladder Golf Variations

   There are several games that are similar to ladder golf, such as blongoball and bolotoss. The equipment is relatively the same, but the rules and game play are slightly different. For example, blongoball rewards points for how the bolas entangle the target rather than which rung you hit. A bola wrapped around a rung scores less points than a bola only hanging on a rung ("BlongoBall Rules and Strategies"). So, regardless of the brand name on the equipment, you can play alternate games with whatever type of ladder golf equipment you have.

Where to Get Ladder Golf

    Ladder golf is continuing to grow in popularity, and the game is becoming available in more locations. However, currently, the best place to look is online. You can compare prices and equipment from several different companies. You can also find detailed instructions about how to build your own set. The pre-made sets cost about $50 to $70. To make a set yourself, you just need the raw material, usually pvc pipe, golf balls and cord, and the time necessary to put it all together.

    For some fun at your next party, give ladder golf a toss. Ladder golf is inexpensive, easy to set up, simple to store and will provide many hours of backyard entertainment. Your friends will be envious of your new ladder golf set, and they'll all want to know how you learned about the latest outdoor game.

To learn how to make ladder golf, read our articles How to Build Ladder Golf and Ladder Golf Plans.