How to Play Boccé Golf

Combining the ancient sport of Boccé with the recent creation of Frisbee Golf, Boccé Golf, provides an excellent alternative for your next lawn-sport outing. Like Frisbee Golf, Boccé Golf requires a relatively large area to play. Varied terrain and obstacles add welcomed variety to the game play, but are not essential. The game can provide hours of enjoyment wherever you are, whether that is a forest or city park.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• 1 Boccé set (four-player set includes eight balls)
• 18 Flags numbered from 1-18
• 1 Measuring tape (to end those arguments)

1. Before playing, you must create and set up all eighteen flags in a successive order. When placing the flags, consider the potential lie and roll of the Boccé balls. More difficult holes will include hills and impediments in close proximity. Play begins at the first and ends at the eighteenth.
2. You can play Boccé golf in teams or in singles. When in team play, often the closest ball is taken from the pair. Most Boccé sets come with eight balls, which enables four singles to have two throws each. The best Boccé balls to use are the heavier, clay variety.
3. Like golf, the best score in Boccé is the lowest. Each hole a person receives a score based upon how close they are to the pin of the flag. For example, if you are the farthest away in a team with four players, you receive a four. Make sure to assign someone to keep a running tally throughout the game. Also, the loser of the hole typically throws first on the next whole.
4. The two dominant techniques for throwing the Boccé balls are the roll or the lob. The most successful lob shots often incorporate back spin and high arcs. These will enable the ball to land close to the pin without rolling much further. Keep in mind the softness of the ground plays a big factor here.
5. Don’t be afraid to be aggressive. Like traditional Boccé, a big factor of Boccé Golf is the ability to knock other balls away from their landing spot. Since the winner of the previous hole usually throws last, he or she is at an advantage in this respect.
6. Pass on the fun to your friends.

Tips & Warnings

• Stay consistent. Overall victors might not win every hole, but they maintain consistently low scores.
• Use other previous throws to judge the lie of the hole. This will give you a critical advantage and will make your first throw much more accurate.
• If your first throw is strong, you can then use your second throw to clear others away.
• When setting up a course, get creative. Vary the distance of the holes so that players are forced to utilize different strategies.