The Rules of Zookeeper

Introduction

Zookeeper is a game for golfers who are not very good at the game of golf. If you can count the number of bad shots that you hit in a round on one hand, then this game may be not for you. If, on the other hand, your swing often results in your ball following the law of unintended consequences, then you and your equally golf-challenged buddies may well enjoy this game..

Rule 1 - The Zoo

Each player is the owner of a zoo, which has no animals in it at the beginning of the round.

Rule 2 - Awarding of Animals

Each time an player hits an errant shot, he or she is given an animal for their zoo. If, for example, a player hits the ball into a water hazard, the player is awarded a frog for his or her zoo. Click on an animal to see the errant shot that is associated with it.

Rule 3 - An animal can only be owned by one golfer

A player keeps the animal in their zoo until such time as a different player gets the same animal. For example, if player A owns the frog, and player B subsequently drowns their ball in a water hazard, the frog will hop from player A's zoo to that of Player B.

Rule 4 - When animals are awarded

Animals are allotted immediately after each shot. Thus, if two players both hit into the water on the same hole, the one who went in last gets the frog.

Rule 5 - One animal per shot

A player can get only one animal per shot. For example, hitting a tree before going into a pond would result in either the frog or the woodpecker. In this example, the player would be awarded the animal that is not currently in a zoo. If both animals are currently in a zoo, the player is awarded the most esoteric animal (in this case, the frog). The animals are listed according this ranking with the most common animals at the top row and the rarest on the bottom.

Rule 6 - The Veterinarian

If a player holes in from off the green, the veterinarian is called and the player can remove any animal from his or her zoo. The veterinarian is not bankable, so a player with no animals who holes out is out of luck. There are some versions of this game where the veterinarian is called following birdies or eagles, but that is not encouraged or sanctioned by the governing body.

Rule 7 - Wagering

Should there be wagering, each player pays one dollar (or whatever number and denomination mutually agreed upon) to each other player for every animal in his or her zoo. If one player owns all the animals in play during that round, he or she is the owner of Noah’s Ark, and is excused from payment as that round is assumed to be punishment enough.