Pub golf is a drinking game. It involves a number of pubs and/or bars comprising the 'course', with each being assigned a 'par' as a hole on a golf course is. In pub golf, the par for each pub is drinking a certain drink in a particular way. For example one pub might be assigned as a par one with a straight double vodka and another might be a par four with a pint of cider. In the first case a par 'score' would be recorded by drinking the double vodka in one. In the second case, the pint of cider would have to drunk in four goes. Under and over par would be drinking the assigned drink in less or more goes than the par of the bar allows respectively.

It is often the case when playing the game that there are designated places for using the toilet and that if a participant uses the toilet outside of those places they are penalised. This can be particularly hard when a course is set up using many pints of beer or cider or glasses of wine.