The Clubhouse: Your Guide to Golf Betting Games

1. What Is a Nassau in Golf?

The Nassau is the backbone of almost every golf betting game. If you've played golf for money, you've probably played a Nassau — even if nobody called it that. It's simple: three bets in one.

• Front 9 — a bet on holes 1–9
• Back 9 — a bet on holes 10–18
• Overall 18 — a bet on the full round

Each segment is its own independent bet worth the agreed-upon wager. So a "$10 Nassau" means $10 on the front, $10 on the back, and $10 on the overall — $30 total at stake between each pair or team.

How It Works

The Nassau format works with virtually any scoring method. In match play, the player or team who wins the most holes in a segment wins that bet. In stroke play, the lowest net score over the segment takes it. If a segment is tied, that bet is typically pushed (no money changes hands) or split depending on your group's rules.

Why Nassaus Are Universal

The beauty of the Nassau structure is that it keeps everyone invested for the entire round. Down big on the front? You've still got the back and the overall to play for. It also limits risk — a bad stretch of holes can only cost you one segment, not the whole match.

A $20 Nassau keeps things interesting without anyone sweating the mortgage. Your maximum exposure is $60 (three segments), plus any presses you agree to.

Typical Nassau Payouts

In team formats, losing players typically split their team's obligation. In a 2v2 game, each player on the losing team pays half.

2. How Do Skins Work in Golf?

Skins is the simplest and most exciting golf side bet. Every hole is worth one "skin." Win a hole outright (lowest net score, no ties) and you win the skin. If two or more players tie, no skin is awarded — unless you're playing with carry-overs.

How Skins Work

1. Each player puts an agreed amount into the pot (e.g., $20 each).
2. On each hole, the player with the lowest net score wins one skin.
3. If no player has the outright lowest score, the hole is a push.
4. At the end of the round, the pot is divided proportionally among skin winners.

Carry-Overs vs. No Carry-Overs

No carry-overs (clean skins): Tied holes simply award no skin. Each hole is worth exactly one skin. This is more conservative — skins are spread out more evenly.

Carry-overs: When a hole ties, the skin carries to the next hole, making it worth two (or more). This creates drama — imagine three holes carrying over and someone birdies the fourth to scoop four skins at once. If the final hole ties with carry-overs on, those carried skins are dead (unawarded).

Skins Settlement Example

Six players opt in at $20 each = $120 pot. Playing with carry-overs:

• Holes 1–3 all tie → hole 4 is worth 4 skins
• Player A wins hole 4 (4 skins) and hole 12 (1 skin) = 5 skins
• Player B wins holes 7 and 9 (1 each) = 2 skins
• Total skins awarded: 7
• Player A gets 5/7 × $120 = $85.71
• Player B gets 2/7 × $120 = $34.29

The remaining 11 holes were ties, so those skins went unawarded.

Opt-In Per Round

Not everyone has to play skins. Each player can opt in or out for any given round — you can play the main team game without being in the skins pool. Only opted-in players contribute to the pot and are eligible to win.

3. What Are the Best Golf Betting Games?

The right game depends on your group size, skill mix, and how much action you want. Here's a breakdown of the most popular formats.

What Are the Best Golf Games for 2 Players?

With just two players, it's all about head-to-head competition.

• Solo Match Play — the classic choice. Lowest net score wins each hole. Simple, competitive, and pressing keeps it interesting even if one player jumps ahead early.
• Net Stroke Play — works well for two if you prefer aggregate scoring over hole-by-hole battles.

What Are the Best Golf Games for 3 Players?

Three is the trickiest number for golf betting since most team formats need even numbers.

• Net Stroke Play — everyone plays their own ball, lowest net aggregate score wins. Clean, fair, and works naturally with three players.

If you can recruit a fourth, you'll unlock the full range of 2v2 team formats.

What Are the Best Golf Games for 4 Players?

Four is the sweet spot for golf betting — you've got the most options.

• 4-Ball (Best Ball) — the go-to. 2v2 match play where the lower net score on each team counts. Fast, fun, and keeps both partners engaged.
• Next Ball — same as 4-Ball, but if the best balls tie, the second-best scores decide the hole. Fewer pushes, more action.
• Duels — 2v2 best ball stroke play. Great if you prefer aggregate scoring.
• Stableford — team points format that rewards aggressive play and prevents blowups from ruining a round.

What Are the Best Golf Games for 6 Players?

Six players opens up some of the most exciting team formats.

• Top 2 (3v3) — each hole, both teams sum their two lowest net scores, and the lower total wins. Keeps all three players involved since anyone could contribute the winning score.
• Duels (2v2v2) — three two-player teams playing best ball stroke play. Partners don't need to be in the same group, great for groups split across carts or tee times.
• Stableford — works well with three two-player teams.

What Are the Best Golf Games for 8 Players?

With eight players, you need formats built for scale.

• Top 2 (4v4) — the premier choice for large-group match play. Four players per team, two best net scores count each hole.
• Duels (2v2v2v2) — four two-player teams playing best ball stroke play. Partners can be in different foursomes, perfect for trips where you're mixing up playing groups each round.
• Stableford — scales to four teams of two as well.

4. What Are the Best Side Bets?

Side bets run alongside your main game and are opt-in per player. They add extra action without changing the primary format.

• Skins — every hole is worth one skin. Win a hole outright (lowest net score, no ties) and you win the skin. The pot is split proportionally among skin winners at the end of the round. Play with or without carry-overs for extra drama.
• Closest to the Pin (CTP) — on par 3s, the player who hits their tee shot closest to the pin wins the pot for that hole. Each opted-in player contributes a set amount per par 3.
• Lowest Net — the player with the lowest net score for the round (or across the entire trip) wins a separate pot. Simple and rewards consistent play across all 18 holes.

5. How Do Handicaps Work in Golf Betting?

Handicaps are what make golf betting fair. A 20-handicap can compete with a scratch player because strokes are allocated based on hole difficulty, leveling the field. Here's how it works.

Course Handicap

Your GHIN Handicap Index is a portable number. When you play a specific course from specific tees, that index converts to a Course Handicap — the number of strokes you get on that course. Harder courses and longer tees give you more strokes.

Playing Handicap: The Percentage Rule

The World Handicap System (WHS) recommends different handicap allowances depending on the format. This prevents higher-handicap players from having too large an advantage in certain game types.

The "Off-Low" Method

In match play, strokes are calculated relative to the lowest-handicap player in the group:

1. Find the player with the lowest course handicap — they play at 0 strokes.
2. Calculate the difference between each other player's handicap and the low player's.
3. Apply the format's percentage (e.g., 90% for team match play) to those differences.
4. Round to the nearest whole number. That's each player's Playing Handicap.

Example: Four players have Course Handicaps of 5, 8, 12, and 15. Off-low: 0, 3, 7, 10. At 90% for team match play: 0, 3, 6, 9 strokes.

Where Do Strokes Fall?

Every course assigns a handicap ranking (1–18) to each hole, with 1 being the hardest. If you get 9 strokes, you receive one stroke on the 9 hardest holes. On those holes, your net score is one less than your gross score. This is why a bogey on a hard hole can still be a "net par" — the handicap system accounts for difficulty.

6. What Is Pressing in Golf?

A press is a new side bet opened by the losing side that runs alongside the original bet. It's the "double or nothing" of golf — a way to fight back when you're down. Each press is settled independently and is worth the same amount as the original wager.

When Can You Press?

Pressing rules are agreed upon before the round. The most common setup:

• 1-down: You can press when you're 1 or more holes down in a Nassau segment.
• 2-down: You can press when you're 2 or more holes down. More conservative — fewer presses, lower total exposure.

The pressed team must accept — presses are not optional. This is what makes them exciting (and dangerous).

How a Press Plays Out

Say you're playing a $20 Nassau and you're 2-down on the front 9 after hole 4. You declare a press. Now there are two bets running simultaneously on the front 9:

1. The original front 9 bet (you're 2-down)
2. A new $20 press bet starting from hole 5, scored 0–0

The press runs to the end of the front 9 segment (hole 9). You and your opponent settle both bets independently. You could lose the original but win the press, breaking even on the front.

Press on Press

If enabled, a press can itself be re-pressed. If you declare a press and then fall behind in that press, you can press again. This can escalate quickly — which is exactly why some groups cap presses.

Press Limits

To keep things from getting out of hand, many groups set a press limit — the maximum number of active presses per Nassau segment. Common limits are 1–3 presses. Without a limit, a bad stretch of holes can multiply the original wager several times over.

Pro tip: If it's your first trip with a group, start with a 2-down trigger and a 2-press limit. You can always loosen it up for the next round.

7. How Do You Settle Golf Bets?

At the end of a round (or a multi-day trip), someone has to figure out who owes who. This is where golf betting gets messy — multiple games, presses, side bets, and team splits all combine into a web of transactions.

What Goes Into the Final Payout

• Main game results — Nassau segment wins/losses across every round
• Press bets — each press settled independently per segment
• Side bets — skins, closest-to-the-pin, lowest net (per round or trip-wide)
• Team splits — in team games, winnings and losses are split between partners

Net Position

The cleanest way to settle is to calculate each player's net position across all bets, then minimize the number of transactions. Instead of Player A paying Player B $40 and Player B paying Player A $25, Player A just pays Player B $15.

Keeping It Clean

On a multi-day trip with changing teams and different games each round, manual tracking gets complicated fast. This is exactly the problem Press2DN was built to solve — it calculates every player's net position across all rounds, games, presses, and side bets, then tells each person exactly who to pay and how much.