The String It Out Golf Game

"String It Out" is the name of a golf game that can be played as a tournament format or a betting game among a group of friends. String It Out is best played with partial handicaps because it includes a twist that offers a small boost to higher-handicappers.

In String It Out — sometimes called simply "String" — all players have issued a length of string prior to the round's start. The string can be used at any time during the round by a player who wants to improve his lie by allowing players to pick up and move their ball in any direction as long as it is no further than the length of that string.

The catch is that each time you use your string, you must cut off the amount of string corresponding to the distance your ball was moved. Move your ball 15 inches to get out of a bunker, cut 15 inches off your string. A note though: a ball can be moved out of any hazard other than a water hazard.

How String It Out Works

One such example of using the string would be if a player's ball is sitting down in heavy rough, but could be moved just one foot to the right and have a great lie, that player could take out the length of string, string it out in the direction he or she wanted to move it, and move the ball any distance within that length, then cut the string that length.

There are a couple options for the length of the string including a game where all players are issued the same length — usually a yard — and in that case, use full handicaps.

On the other hand, a single player could be issued a length corresponding to his handicap, where a person with a 15 handicap would get 15 feet of string while a 2 handicapper would get two feet; in that case, players would use partial — usually three-fourths — handicaps.

Strategies for String It Out

Golfers who are consistent in their drives and short games need not worry about the pitfalls of falling into bunkers and might be best served by taking only a short amount of rope in exchange for a lower handicap, where they will only need to use the string to move the ball from rough patches of grass and into better lies.

On the other hand, golfers who often find themselves in bunkers and far in the rough would be better served by taking longer portions of rope so they can move their ball fully back to the Green a number of times.

For more competitive friendly play, the golfers should know which holes they have more difficulty on and save their strings for when they reach — or make it past — those difficult points during the game. This way, they will be able to correct even if something goes horribly wrong.