Beer Tax is a golf drinking game where every stroke over par costs you one sip. Bogey is one. Double is two. Triple is three. That is just about the whole format.
No teams, no point system, no scorekeeper running math on the cart path. You play your round, and your hole scores determine your tax bill.
Best of all, it rides on top of whatever you already have going, a Nassau, a Skins game, or a plain stroke-play round. Beer Tax just tags along and settles up in sips.
OTHER GAMES TO PAIR WITH YOUR PINTS
If you are running Beer Tax, these three are also worth pairing or considering for later:
- F the Golfer — the rotating drinking game where every hole has a hot seat
- Snake — the three-putt side bet that bites every group, every round
- The Bounty — a high-stakes betting format that turns one player into the target
What you need before the first sip
Setup takes one minute on the first tee. Three calls to make:
Players. Beer Tax runs with 2 to 4 players and stretches to a fivesome just fine. It slots into any of the standard golf games for 4 players without touching your main game.
Net or gross. Groups split by more than a few strokes should play net, counting sips off each player’s handicap-adjusted par. A 22-handicap should not be drinking three per hole while the 4-handicap walks to 18 sober. Our free golf handicap calculator gives an honest number for the day. Similar handicaps can skip the math and play gross.
Drink of choice. Beer is in the name, but the rule is the rule. Sip whatever you brought. Seltzer counts. Non-alcoholic drinks count,too, if you are driving. And since the tax is nothing but strokes over par, the surest way to keep your tab down is to stop leaking doubles, which is exactly what our practice games and drills are built to fix.
How the Beer Tax adds up
The whole game is one rule and a quick tally.
- Play your normal round. Count your strokes, write them down.
- On any hole over par, you owe sips equal to your strokes over par.
- Pay the tax before your next tee shot.
No table, no chart, no app. Pars, birdies, and eagles are tax-free. Bogey and worse pays.
Example. You make a 6 on a par 4. That is a double bogey, so 2 sips before you pull driver on the next tee. Next hole you card a 9 on a par 5. Quadruple bogey, 4 sips before the following tee shot.
Variations that move the tab
Once the group has the rhythm, a few twists change how it plays:
- Cart Mate Tax — Cart partners combine scores, and both of you sip the team total over par on every hole. Build chemistry or build resentment. Same cart, same tab.
- Skin Saver — Stack Beer Tax on top of skins. Win the skin on a hole and you pass that hole’s tax to any other player. The reward for the skin is dodging the tax.
Questions that come up at the turn
Can you play Beer Tax in a tournament?
No. It is a casual game. Save it for buddy rounds and practice rounds, not anything where you are posting a score for handicap purposes.
What if someone in the group does not drink?
Water counts. Seltzer counts. The point is keeping score honest, not getting anyone drunk. It runs the same whether you are sipping an IPA or a LaCroix.
Does Beer Tax work for 3 or 5 players?
Yes. It is individual scoring against par, so group size does not change the math. Threesomes and fivesomes run it exactly like a foursome.
Is there a cap on a blow-up hole?
By default, no. An 8 on a par 4 is 4 sips, ugly as that sounds. Humane groups cap the damage per hole, often at 3 sips, or stop counting at a triple bogey, so one wreck does not end someone’s afternoon. Decide it on the first tee.
Last call
Beer Tax does not replace your real golf game. It rides shotgun.
Play your match. Play your Nassau. Then let your scorecard decide who is buying the next round. Bogeys add up fast, and so does the tab.
