The quick version
Use the venue's posted rules. If it has no scoring instructions, use the house format below: seven-stroke cap, one player finishes a hole before the next starts, and lowest total wins. Equal totals share the win.
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Set the scorecard rules
Get putters, different-colored balls and a scorecard. Confirm which holes are included in your admission and the venue's group-size limit. Put everyone in a fixed playing order. For a larger group, split into separate groups rather than crowding one hole.
Read the venue's rules for stroke limits, balls leaving the lane and relief beside walls. Those instructions govern the round. Where none are posted, agree on this house fallback: at most seven strokes per hole; record seven and pick up if still unfinished. For an unplayable ball beside a wall, move it only enough for a putter stroke, at most 20 cm, without opening a new route around an obstacle. Add no stroke for that move.
Putt and finish each hole
Start at the marked tee
Wait for the preceding group to clear the hole. The first player puts their ball in the designated starting area and strikes it with the putter. Count one for an intentional stroke even if it misses the ball; placing the putter behind the ball to aim is not a stroke.
Play the ball where it stops
Wait until it is still, then putt again from that spot. Rails and designed obstacles may be used. Do not move obstacles or guide the ball by hand. Under the fallback, a ball leaving the playing lane is replaced at its exit point with the same limited relief; count the shot but add no separate penalty. Venue rules can differ.
Finish before changing players
Continue until the ball rests in the cup or the stroke cap is reached. Retrieve it, state your hole score and let another person write it down. The next player starts with a clear lane. After everyone finishes, move to the next hole and repeat.
Add the round
Add all completed hole scores. A one-stroke hole followed by four strokes is five so far. Lowest total after the agreed course wins. Equal totals share the win; do not replay a busy hole unless staff expressly allow it. Start a fresh scorecard for another round.
Keep the lane clear
Before hole one, explain the stroke cap and any venue exceptions in one sentence. A ball swallowed by a designed return chute follows that hole's instructions; it is not automatically a lost ball or penalty. If a ball becomes stuck where you cannot reach it, ask staff rather than climbing into an obstacle.
Stand off the putting surface while someone shoots. Check scores at the next waiting area, so the following group can start. If someone accidentally moves a resting ball, replace it at its original spot before play continues; do not turn an accidental nudge into a better lie.
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Ideas & Twists
Choose a variation together before you start.
Mini golf · See main rules
Suggested house variationAlternate-putt pairs
With four people, make two pairs and use one ball per pair. Alternate strokes throughout each hole, then switch which partner tees off on the next hole. Both partners' strokes contribute to one hole score, with the same relief and cap. Lowest team total after the course wins; equal totals share the win. Restart the alternation with the designated starter on every hole.
Mini golf · See main rules
Suggested house variationTwo-person scramble
Each pair's players putt from the tee, choose the preferred result and both play their next shot from that spot. Mark and restore the chosen spot between attempts. A holed attempt ends the hole. Count one team stroke per pair of attempts, not two; apply the same cap. Lowest team total wins, with shared ties. Before starting, require each partner's tee shot to be selected on at least two holes of a round of nine or more holes; track that requirement on the card.
About this guide
Venue rules come first. The fallback and pair variations are house formats informed by NZMGF stroke scoring, its seven-stroke cap, limited repositioning and no extra out-of-bounds penalty. They are not universal adventure-golf or WMF tournament rules.
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