Have you ever played ladder golf? It’s a great camping game and also a great tailgating game.
You may also know it by the name blongo ball, hillbilly golf, hillbilly horseshoes, bolo toss, lasso golf or ladder ball, tailgate golf, testicle toss, redneck golf, dingle balls, Chinese golf, monkey golf, monkey balls, beer nutz, or laderbolen.
Our family calls it blongo ball because that’s the name on the box of the set we bought although sometimes we call it…um……testicle toss – but only in adult company. The kiddies know it as blongo ball or ladder golf and as a really fun game.
It’s my favorite camping game and I’m pretty good at it if I do say so myself. One of the reasons I love it so much is that it’s a game pretty much anyone can play and is a great family game, making it perfect for family camping trips.
A ladder golf set consists of two ladders and 6 bolas (two balls-usually golf balls-securely connected with a piece of rope between them; think of it as a piece of rope with a golf ball dangling from each end). Each team gets 3 bolas and there’s 2 colors of bolas in a game so it’s easy to keep track of which ones belong to which team.
It can be set up on a concrete or asphalt surface, on a gravel surface, or on grass. Although it’s preferable to have a flat surface we’ve played it on uneven surfaces at many campgrounds. It just adds to the fun and challenge of the game.
It’s played by teams taking turns throwing their bolas at the ladder. Points are scored for getting the bolos suspended on one of the three rungs. Typically, the top rung is worth 1 point, the middle rung is worth 2 points, and the bottom rung is worth 3 points.
I don’t know if playing “take away” points is common but that’s how our family plays it and it works like this. Opposing team members throw at the same ladder, taking turns throwing one bolo at a time. The opposing team member will sometimes use the strategy of trying to dislodge the opponent’s bolo to take away their score instead of trying to score themselves – usually when the other player will have enough points to win the game if their bolo stays on the ladder. Trying to dislodge opponent’s bolos is my favorite part of the game (I’m evil that way).
Whoever gets to 21 points first wins (at least with the version we play). We also play that a person has to score exactly 21 points. If they get more than 21 during a round, then they lose the points from that round and have to try to get to exactly 21 points the next round; although we only use that rule when it’s all adults playing. When we play with the kids it’s 21 points or more to win. And if the kids are younger and just learning the game, the adults have to adhere to the “exactly 21 points” rule while the kids use the “21 or more points” rule to make it a little more fair for them and to give them a chance to win.
There’s lots of different ladder golf sets available. Most of the ladders are made of either plastic piping (if it’s not the same type of PVC piping used for plumbing then it’s very similiar) or wood. Most of the bolo sets are made with rope and golf balls although a few sets use plastic balls or have monkey fist knots on the end.
And there are also soft balls
If you only get one outdoor game to play while camping get ladder golf. It’s my number one pick.
If you do buy the game, don’t buy the cheapest plastic one you can find because all it takes is one ill placed throw and the plastic ladder will crack and break. I highly recommend BlongoBall.
