Side game · 2–4 players
How to play Bunkers
Also called: sandies · sand bet · bunker bet
An inverse penalty bet. Every hole you find sand costs you a unit to each opponent. The sand does not care how you got there.
The rules
- Any hole on which you end up in a bunker costs one unit, paid to every other player.
- It is once per hole, not once per bunker shot — three swings in the same bunker is still one unit.
- Needs the bunker toggle on the live screen; the bet reads that, not the score.
- Zero-sum per hole, so it layers safely on top of any other game.
A worked example
Setup. $2 a unit, four players.
- A finds the greenside bunker on hole 5. Nobody else does.
Result. A pays $2 to each of the other three, −$6 for the hole.
This is exactly how Bagpipe Golf settles it: hole by hole, zero-sum, no arguing at the 19th.
Variations and house rules
- The traditional "Sandie" is the opposite bet — a par saved FROM a bunker, which pays the player. We renamed this one Bunkers because it punishes landing in the sand rather than rewarding the escape.
- Some groups exempt fairway bunkers and only count greenside. Decide before the round; the app counts whatever you toggle.
How it works in the app
- Add Bunkers at setup with a unit value.
- On each hole tap the bunker toggle for any player who found sand.
- Settlement lists the holes and who paid.
Bunkers FAQ
- Is this the same as a Sandie?
- No, it is the inverse. A Sandie rewards getting up and down from sand; Bunkers charges you for being there. The app has this version, and the name change is deliberate so nobody bets the wrong direction.
- Do two bunkers on one hole cost double?
- No. One unit per hole, however many times you visit.