Ladder golf rules are short enough to fit on a napkin, which is exactly why every backyard argues about them. Three rungs, three bolas, first to exactly 21. That is the whole game, right up until your brother-in-law claims his bounce shot counts and the cookout turns into a courtroom. We have been playing this game since 2008, back when we published PVC build plans and half the country still called it blongoball, bolo toss, or hillbilly golf. Here is the full rulebook, the official numbers, and the house variations that actually make the game better.
What Do You Need to Play Ladder Golf?
Two ladders and six bolas. That is the entire equipment list.
Each ladder has three horizontal rungs, spaced about 13 inches apart. A bola is two golf balls joined by a roughly 13 inch length of nylon rope. Each player or team gets three bolas in their own color. Store-bought sets come with everything; our 2008 build used 12 golf balls, some 3/8 inch rope, and a pile of PVC, and several of those ladders are somehow still alive.
The game goes by a lot of names. The patented commercial version is Ladder Golf, but you will hear ladder ball, ladder toss, lasso golf, Norwegian golf, and a dozen regional variants. The patent history credits Robert Reid, a Pennsylvania postman who played the game with his family for decades before filing in 1999. Campground folklore says the bola started as a stand-in for a thrown snake. We choose to believe the snake story.
How Far Apart Do the Ladders Go?
Officially, the toss line is 15 feet from the ladder you are throwing at. Most sets in the wild get set up “about five paces” apart, which is close enough for a barbecue.
Our house rule since 2008: pace off 15 feet once, drop a cooler or a lawn chair at the line, and stop relitigating the distance every round. For kids or tight patios, shorten it to 10 feet. For showoffs, back it up to 20 and watch the bolas sail into the neighbor’s yard.
What Are the Official Ladder Golf Rules?
A game is played in rounds. Here is the sequence:
- Flip a coin or toss one bola each at the ladder for closest-to-the-top to decide who throws first.
- The first player throws all three bolas, one at a time, at the far ladder. Underhand, overhand, bounced off the grass, spun like a helicopter: all legal in the official game.
- The second player then throws their three bolas at the same ladder.
- When all six bolas are thrown, the round is over. Count only the bolas still hanging on rungs.
- The highest scorer of the round throws first in the next round.
Knocking your opponent’s bolas off the ladder is legal and encouraged. A bola that gets knocked off before the round ends scores nothing. This is roughly half the fun of the game and the source of the other half of the arguments.
Singles is one against one, throwing from the same end and walking to collect. Doubles is two against two with partners standing at opposite ladders, which means nobody has to walk anywhere. Doubles is objectively the correct format for a hot day.
How Does Ladder Golf Scoring Work?
Points depend on which rung your bola wraps around at the end of the round:
| Rung | Points | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Top | 3 | Hardest target, biggest payoff |
| Middle | 2 | The percentage shot |
| Bottom | 1 | Better than the grass |
| All 3 bolas on one rung | +1 bonus | Official optional bonus |
| One bola on each rung | +1 bonus | The “full ladder,” same bonus |
The maximum in a single round is 10 points: three bolas on the top rung for 9, plus the bonus point. We have seen it done exactly twice in 18 years, and both times the thrower talked about it for the rest of the summer.
Only bolas hanging when the round ends count. Wrapped twice, dangling by a thread, spun around the rung five times: all the same 3, 2, or 1.
How Do You Win a Game of Ladder Golf?
First player or team to reach exactly 21 points at the end of a round wins. The word “exactly” is doing heavy lifting there.
If a round would push you past 21, you bust: none of your points from that round count, and you stay where you were. Sitting on 20 means you need a single bottom-rung bola and a lot of self-control. This exact-count rule is what turns the endgame from a throwing contest into actual strategy, and it is the one rule we refuse to soften.
If both sides hit 21 in the same round, play overtime rounds until someone ends a round ahead by 2 or more.
What Are the Most Common House Rules and Variations?
Every driveway has its own constitution. These are the variations we see most, and what we think of them:
Cancellation scoring. Opposing bolas on the same rung cancel each other out. Two of your bolas on the middle rung and one of theirs leaves you net 2. Makes games longer and defense meaningful. We like it for doubles.
Fast scoring. One bola on each rung scores an automatic 10 instead of the plus-one bonus. Speeds the game up considerably. Good when there is a line of people waiting to play.
Flipped rungs. Some crews score the bottom rung 3 and the top rung 1, on the theory that the low rung is harder to wrap. We tried it for a season and went back. The classic 3-2-1 top-down scoring is standard for a reason.
English scoring. Top rung 3, middle 1, and the bottom rung scores 1 for you plus takes 1 off your opponent, with a 5 point bonus for the full ladder. There are named bonus shots involving the balls clacking together. Delightfully complicated, best saved for tournament nerds.
No bounces. Officially, a bounced throw that wraps a rung still counts in the standard game, but plenty of house rule sets, including several university intramural leagues like CSU Channel Islands, disallow it. Decide before the first throw, not after.
A note on the drinks side, since this is us: ladder golf shows up at the same cookouts our coolers do. Play the game straight and keep the drinks on the side, at your own pace, with water in the rotation. A round of ladder golf takes two minutes and a game runs maybe twenty, so nobody needs a sipping schedule attached to the scoreboard. Everything on this site assumes players of legal drinking age who want to remember who won.
Should You Buy a Ladder Golf Set or Build One?
We are the site that published free PVC plans in 2008, so our bias is on record. But honest answer: it depends on how often you play.
| Set | Style | Why pick it |
|---|---|---|
| GoSports Classic | PVC, soft rubber bolas | Cheapest way in, kid-safe bolas, folds into a carry bag |
| GoSports Metal | Powder coated steel | Heavier frame that shrugs off wind and hard knock-off throws, about $60 |
| GoSports Gigantoss | Oversized PVC | Double size for big yards and people who like an audience |
Building is still a great Saturday project. A full two-ladder set needs about 16 feet of 3/4 inch PVC, a dozen golf balls, and some nylon rope. Our original ladder golf build plans from 2008 still work, and homemade ladders take paint, team colors, and abuse better than you would expect. If you like the build route, our horseshoe pit plans are the natural next project, and if you want a full backyard lineup, see our picks for the best cornhole boards and the official cornhole rules to go with them.
Quick Answers: Ladder Golf Fact Sheet
- How far apart are ladder golf ladders? 15 feet from toss line to ladder, official. Shorten to 10 feet for kids.
- How do points work? Top rung 3, middle 2, bottom 1. Only bolas still hanging at the end of the round score.
- What score wins? Exactly 21. Go over and the whole round’s points are wiped.
- Is there a bonus? Yes, 1 extra point for all three bolas on one rung or one bola on each rung. Max round is 10 points.
- Can you knock off your opponent’s bolas? Yes. Knocked-off bolas score nothing.
- How many people can play? 2 to 6: singles, doubles, or three teams of two with a third bola color.
- How high is the ladder? Three rungs spaced about 13 inches apart, roughly 40 inches tall overall.
- Who invented it? Patented by Robert Reid of Pennsylvania in 2002, but campgrounds were playing it years earlier.
Print the fact sheet, tape it to the cooler lid, and half your rules arguments disappear. The other half are about whether a bounce counts, and no rulebook has ever settled that one. Those are the ladder golf rules: 15 feet, 3-2-1, exactly 21, and the eternal truth that the person who insists loudest on the official rules is usually losing.