Golf Games: The Bear

Here's a golf game similar to the Rabbit game covered some time ago, but with a little more volatility:  The Bear. The Bear is best played with groups of at least two, but larger groups are better.  At the beginning of the round an initial bet amount is set for the Bear.  In our example we will say $1.00.  If a person is the sole low score on a hole, he captures the Bear.  That player will hold onto the bear as long as no other players beat him on subsequent holes and the Bear value doubles.  When another player does beat the original player who captured the Bear, he captures the bear and wins the doubled bet amount.  At the end of each nine the person holding the bear wins the current bet amount from the group.  At the beginning of the next nine, the Bear starts over. Example Four players start with the Bear at $1.00 and are playing nine holes.  All players tie the first hole.  On the 2nd hole Player A makes the sole birdie in the group.  Player A now holds the Bear.  If he can hold onto the Bear the rest of the nine, he will win a dollar from each group member. The next Bear is worth $2.00.   On the 3rd hole, Player B has the only par of the group which is the lowest score.  Player B now holds the Bear and would win $2.00 from each group member if he kept it the rest of the nine.   Two more times during the nine the Bear changes hands with Player D holding the Bear when the nine is completed.  Player D would win $8.00 from each of the other players. As you can imagine, Bear can be volatile. If the Bear were to change players on each hole, the final Bear holder would win $18 from every player!