What is Hillbilly Golf?

Hillbilly Golf is a yard game in which players take turns tossing bolas (two golf balls attached by a piece of rope) toward a short, three-rung ladder.  The object of the game is to land your bolas on the rungs of the ladder to score points, with each rung being worth a different point value.  The first team to 21 wins!

Hillbilly Golf is known by many different names including:

Arizona Golf Balls, Ball and Strings, Ball Dangle, Bola, Bolo, Bolo Ball, Bolo Golf, Bolo Polo, Bolo Toss, Chaski, Cowboy Golf, Dandy Golf, Dangling Balls, Drunken Golf, Flingy Ball, Gladiator, Golfball Horseshoes, Goofy Ball, Hillbilly Horseshoes, Horseballs, Hog Balls, Ladder Ball, Ladder Game, Ladder Golf, Ladder Toss, Monkey Bars Golf, Monkey balls, Montana Golf, Norwegian Golf, Pocca Bolo, Polish Golf, Poor Man's Golf, Rattlerail Toss, Redneck Golf, Rodeo Golf, Snakes & Ladders, Snake Toss, Swedish Golf, Top Toss, Tower Ball, Wrappyrounds, and Zing-Ball.

Hillbilly golf is a fun, portable game, sure to provide entertainment for any gathering, from picnics to tailgating, parties to barbeques. 

What materials are necessary for Hillbilly Golf?

All you need for Hillbilly Golf is a set of two ladders, each consisting of three rungs, and two sets of bolas, with three bolas to each set (for a total of six).  That’s it!  All these materials are available for purchase from this site.

How do you play Hillbilly Golf?

Because there is no official governing body for this game, the rules vary greatly. 

The two ladders should be placed approximately ten paces apart on a flat playing surface.  Play consists of one member of each team standing at each ladder and tossing their bolas toward the other ladder, so that you are throwing against your opponent.  Each round, the two players alternate throwing their bolas.

Tossing Rotation

The player (or team) who scored in the previous round tosses first.  If neither player scores, the player (or team) who pitched last in the previous toss pitches first.

Scoring – Points Values

Each rung on the ladder offers a different point value.  Points are tabulated at the end of each round, and points are awarded for the rungs on which the bolas rest at the end of the round.  The top rung on the ladder is worth two points, the middle rung is worth three points, and the bottom rung is worth one point.  It is unimportant how the bolas come to rest on the ladder – they may hit the ground and bounce up, they may fall from a higher rung, etc.  All that matters is where they are at the end of the round.

Cancellation Scoring

Only one team scores each round, due to the use of cancellation scoring.  This means that scores cancel each other out as you total up the points.  Each round, the lower team’s score is subtracted from the higher team’s score, and the difference between the scores is added to the higher team’s overall score for the game. 

For example, if team A has one bola on the 2-point rung and one bola on the 1-point rung, their total is three points.  If team B has one bola on the 2-point rung and two bolas on the three-point rung, their total is eight points.  Thus, team B wins this round, and we calculate their score by subtracting team A’s score from theirs, giving them five points for this round.  Thus, we would add five points to team B’s total score. 

Winning the Game

A player or team wins the match by being the first to reach or exceed 21 points at the end of a round.  The winning team does not need to win by two or more points. 

An alternative requirement for winning the game is that the team must score 21 points exactly without going over.  If the team exceeds 21 points, they must subtract the amount by which they exceeding 21 from their current score.  For example, if a team has 18 and then scores 5 (making their total 23), they must subtract 2 from their current score of 18, and they begin the next round at 16.  This makes the game last a bit longer, but it’s a fun twist!