A "Closest to the Pin" contest is an accuracy competition played among a group of golfers of any size, from two people in a group to an entire tournament field. Closest to the Pin competitions are played on the par 3 holes on a golf course during the normal flow of a round of golf. Most 18 hole golf courses have 4 par 3 holes. In general, the contest participant whose tee shot lands closest to each par 3 wins that hole. If playing for money, the prize pool is equally divided by the number of par 3 holes and that amount awarded to the winner of each hole.
Two important rules apply to Closest to the Pin contests. To win a hole in a Closest to the Pin competition, a tee shot only counts as closest to the pin if it lands on the green/putting surface. For example, even if a tee shot were to land only 3 feet from a hole on the collar while another shot is 20 feet away but on the green, the shot on the green would be considered closest. The other important rule is that a player must make par or better (ace, birdie or par) in order for their tee shot to count as closest to the pin. There are procedures for marking balls on the green (detailed below) to ensure that the closest ball is correctly determined.
Each participant in a group playing Closest to the Pin will hit their tee shot as normal. Among those that land on the green, the one that is closest to the hole/pin will be marked (using a ball marker, tee or something else that doesn't destroy the green). The player that hit the tee shot that landed closest will then putt as normal. If that player makes par or better, that player wins the hole among the group. If not, no one wins that hole.
If there are multiple groups in an outing or tournament playing Closest to the Pin, if someone in the first group off the tee wins a given hole, that person will mark the location of their tee shot in a way that is visible to the groups behind them. This can be done in many ways but typically involves leaving a slip of paper on which the name or initials of the hole winner are written and securing that slip of paper to the green with a tee. The outing coorinator for an outing where this format is used will usually provide the means to mark the holes that are won.
When the competition is played among multiple groups, each group that comes to a par 3 tee will play the game in nearly the same way. However, a participant in a group must not only get closest to the hole among the participants in their group, they must get closer than the hole winnng participant in the previous group (if any). If no one in a given group hits their tee shot closer to the hole than the winner of a previous group, the mark left by the winner from previous group is left in place. If a player in a group does hit their ball closer than the winner in a previous group, that player needs to mark their ball and putt as normal. If that player makes par or better, the player becomes the new hole winner. The mark left for subsequent groups (e.g. slip of paper) is moved to the location of the closer shot and changed to note the new winner.
The last group in a competition among multiple groups will follow this same procedure. After the last group has completed each par 3, someone in that group will pick up the winning shot markers and turn them in to the outing coordinator at the end of the round. The outing coordinator will use them to determine and announce winners. If the game is being played for money, the outing coordinator will divide the prize pool by the number of winners and award that amount to each hole winner.
In an outing of 12 people (3 groups/foursomes), 8 people decide to play Closest to the Pin. Don, Kay and Bob from the first group decide to participate, Joe and Ava participate from the second group and Jim, Amy and Tua from the third decide to play. Don is acting as outing coordinator. Don collects $10 each from the 8 participants for a total prize pool of $80. They play on a golf course with the typical four par 3 holes. On this course, the par 3s are the 4th, 8th, 12th, and 16th.
The first group play their tee shots on the 4th. Only Kay's lands on the green. She marks her ball with a ball marker, then makes two putts for par. She writes her name on a slip of paper and secures it to the ground with a tee, placing the tee where her tee shot landed based on the mark she made. She is the current winner of the 4th hole.
The second group play their tee shots on the 4th. Joe and Ava both land on the green, but only Ava's shot lands closer than Kay's. Ava's ball is marked. However, she makes 3 putts for bogey. She picks up her marker and goes on to the next hole. Kay's slip of paper is left where it is. Kay remains the current winner of the 4th hole.
The third group tee off on the 4th. Only Tua's ball lands on the green and it is farther from the hole than Kay's marker. After finishing up the hole, Amy collects Kay's marker to turn into Don at the end of the round. Kay wins the 4th hole.
The first group hit their tee shots on the 8th hole. Kay is once again the only player to hit the green in the group. However, this time she takes 3 putts. The group moves on to the next hole without leaving any marker for a subsequent group.
The second group play their tee shots on the 8th. Only Ava hits the green. She lands just two feet away and makes the putt for birdie. She secures a slip of paper with her name on it with a tee in the spot where her tee shot landed.
The third group have all 3 members land their tee shots on the 8th green, but none of them are closer to the pin than Ava's shot. Amy collects Ava's marker to turn in to Don. Ava wins the 8th hole.
The first group tee off on the 12th hole and all 3 players land on the green. Bob lands closest and makes his par putt. He secures a slip of paper with his name on it where his tee shot landed.
In the second group from the 12th, Ava lands on the green closer to Bob's marker. She also makes her par putt. Ava takes the paper that Bob left, replaces his name with hers and places it where her tee shot landed.
From the 12th tee, Jim and Tua land on the green. Jim's tee shot lands closer than Ava's mark. Jim makes his par putt. Jim takes Ava's mark, replaces Ava's name with his and gives it to Amy to turn in to Don at the end of the round. Jim wins the 12th hole.
On the 16th, only Don hits the green in the first group but takes 3 putts to hole out. In the second group, Joe lands on the green but also requires 3 putts. In the last group, none of the participants land their tee shot on the green. No one wins the 16th hole.
At the end of the round, Amy gives Don the 3 slips of paper. Since only 3 holes were won, Don divides the $80 prize pool by 3, yielding a prize of $26.67 for each hole winner. Don announces the results and gives $26.67 each to Kay, Ava and Jim.