Choose Golf Betting Games by Group Size

For two players, start with no-press Nassau or one capped match-play bet; for three, choose Nines or Skins; for four, try four-ball Nassau, Wolf or Vegas with a monetary cap. For five, eight or twelve players, fixed-pot net Skins or net Stableford keeps contributions predictable while everyone plays in separate normal tee groups.

These are friendly games between participants, not sportsbook markets. Money is optional: you can use points instead. All monetary examples below are in US dollars, with no currency conversion assumed.

Match play compares results hole by hole: holes won matter, not the total strokes taken during the round. Stroke play, also called medal play, compares total strokes. R&A Rule 3 explains the distinction.

A gross score is the score before handicap strokes; a net score is the score after applying them. A stake unit specifies an actual obligation—for example, the loser pays the winner $5 for a match, or every opponent pays a skin winner $1. Agree on the payer and recipient, not just the amount.

Two Players: Nassau or One Fixed-Stake Match

The clearest two-player Nassau consists of three independent matches without presses: front nine, back nine and all 18 holes. At $5 per match against one opponent, the maximum loss is $15.

This example uses match play. The overall match is decided by hole results, not by comparing total strokes. Nassau documentation describes the three separate bets and optional presses; the group must still agree on the conditions for additional bets.

Nassau calculator with a 5-dollar base bet, four players and 18 holes

With a $5 base bet, four players and 18 holes, the calculator models independent bets against three opponents—not team Nassau.

Presses and Final Settlement

A press is a new, independent bet that does not cancel the original bet. In the house version used here, it starts on the next hole after an agreed call; any automatic trigger must be agreed separately.

This five-bet ledger shows the results from one player’s perspective:

After netting the obligations, the opponent pays this player $5. Winning a press neither erases an original loss nor guarantees recovery.

If the agreement allows no more than two presses per nine, there can be seven bets: three original bets and four presses. At $5 each, the maximum loss is $35 per opponent. That limit belongs to this particular agreement; it is not a universal Nassau rule. Without the press limit, it is not a valid bound.

For something simpler, use one match-play bet with a fixed stake for the round. Alternatively, use one stroke-play bet, with the loser on total strokes paying the winner. Specify gross or net scoring and the tie rule before play.

Nine Holes and the 3-3-3 Label

For nine holes, one match is the simplest arrangement; “3-3-3” is not an unambiguous rules label. Ordinary 18-hole Nassau does not mean three arbitrary short segments.

If you want three six-hole mini-matches, write down your house 3-3-3 variation: holes 1–6, 7–12 and 13–18, each with its own stake and tie rule. This is different from the 3/3/3 point split for a three-way tie in Nines.

Skins for Two or More Players: Choose the Payment Model First

A skin goes to the player with the outright lowest score on a hole; a tie for the lowest score carries the skin forward. Choose gross or net scoring, then decide whether opponents pay per skin or winners share a fixed pot.

Skins documentation describes carryovers and payments from other players. Validation—an additional requirement to confirm a won skin—is optional, not a universal rule.

Carryover Example: Three Skins Won on Hole Three

In this example, validation is off and every other player pays the winner $1 per skin. All scores use the same agreed gross or net method; no rounding is needed.

B, C and D each pay A $3 for hole three, so A collects $9. The final tie does not create an automatic payment. Agree beforehand how any remaining skin will be handled.

Fixed Pot: A Payout Is Not Net Profit

With a fixed pot, each player contributes once rather than paying every skin winner separately. Four contributions of $10 create a $40 pot.

If eight skins are awarded and the agreement distributes the whole pot across them, each skin is worth $5. A player winning four skins receives $20, but their net profit after the $10 contribution is $10. These amounts require no rounding. Rules for remaining ties and any refunds must be settled before the round.

Full Settlement for 18 Skins

At $5 per skin from every other player, a 6/5/4/3 distribution produces net results of +$30, +$10, −$10 and −$30.

Three payments settle the ledger: D pays B $10 and A $20; C pays A $10. The net results sum to zero because money moves between participants. Receipts before netting are not net profit.

This assumes all 18 skins have been awarded under the agreed rules. No rounding is needed, and this manual settlement is not a calculator feature.

Skins calculator with a 5-dollar base bet, four players and 18 holes

These settings show a theoretical maximum loss of $90 and maximum win of $270 per player. The model does not know who won the actual skins.

Three Players: Nines or Three Pairwise Matches

Nines works well for exactly three players because each hole awards exactly nine points. Settle the final point difference between each pair rather than treating all points awarded as a cash pot.

The basic splits in Nines documentation are:

Over 18 holes, 18 × 9 = 162 points are awarded. That is a scoring check, not a stake or bank.

Suppose A/B/C finish with 66/54/42 points and each pair settles at $0.50 per point of difference:

• B pays A $6.
• C pays A $12.
• C pays B $6.

The net results are A +$18, B $0 and C −$18. These exact amounts need no rounding. Agree on a spending cap separately: a point price alone does not ensure a small fixed loss.

An alternative is three concurrent pairwise matches: A against B, A against C and B against C. Everyone plays their normal round while hole results are recorded for all three pairings. Each pair needs its own stake and tie rule.

Wolf can also be adapted for three, but a two-against-one match needs explicit payments for either side winning. Do not automatically copy the four-player convention.

Four Players: Four-Ball Nassau, Wolf or Vegas

For four players, choose fixed teams, rotating partners or team-number scoring—but distinguish a team-total stake from an individual obligation. State whether an amount belongs to the whole side or to each player.

Four-Ball Nassau: The Stake Belongs to the Team

In four-ball Nassau, everyone plays their own ball and the lower score of the two partners counts for each side on a hole. This is Four-Ball under R&A Rule 23, not a scramble.

It is also different from formal Foursomes, where partners share one ball and alternate strokes. A casual “foursome” can simply mean a group of four people; it does not define the playing format.

With a team-total stake of $5 per Nassau segment and no presses, a side losing all three segments pays the winning side at most $15. If split equally, each loser pays one winner $7.50, and each winner receives $7.50. The equal split is an agreed payment convention, and no rounding is needed.

This is not a rule where each loser pays each winner. The calculator’s four-player setting does not model this team arrangement either: it assumes independent opponents.

Wolf: Choose a Partner Immediately After Their Drive

In this version, the Wolf tees off first and must select a partner immediately after that candidate’s drive, before the next player drives. If no partner is chosen, the Wolf plays alone against the other three.

Agree on tee order and the decision point beforehand; Wolf documentation describes house variants. Here, each player is Wolf four times over the first 16 holes, with the order for holes 17 and 18 agreed before play.

Use this explicit payment convention:

There is no blind-Wolf bonus in this version. Any bonus for choosing to play alone before seeing other drives needs a separate multiplier and spending limit.

Vegas: Price the Difference at Team Level

Vegas combines the partners’ scores into a two-digit number, placing the lower score first. The difference between team numbers determines the payment, but flips and handling of large scores must be agreed beforehand.

This house example follows the mechanics in Vegas documentation. A birdie by one side flips the opponents’ digits; the other rows have no flip.

At $0.25 per team point, CD pays AB $2.50. With equal splitting, each loser pays one winner $1.25, and each winner receives $1.25. These amounts need no rounding.

This short example is not a full-round spending limit. Set a monetary cap before playing. For scores of 10 or more, you could cap the score used in the number at 9 or write another rule. There is no universal number-building rule assumed here.

Rotating Partners: 6-6-6

This 6-6-6 house version gives everyone a segment with each other player: AB versus CD for the first six holes, AC versus BD for the next six, and AD versus BC for the final six. The name alone does not guarantee identical rules.

Specify scoring, the team-total stake for each six-hole match and how partners split payments. Changing partners must not silently turn a team stake into four individual obligations.

Mixed Abilities and Larger Groups: Stableford or a Fixed Pot

For mixed abilities, start with net Stableford; for larger groups, use a fixed contribution rather than surprise all-against-all payments. Five, eight or twelve players should play in separate normal tee groups with one shared scoring agreement.

Stableford: Standard Scale and Net Example

Standard Stableford awards points relative to a fixed target under R&A Rule 21.1. In this table, that target is par.

For example, a gross 5 on a par-4 hole with one handicap stroke becomes a net 4: net par earns 2 points. This assumes the stroke is allocated to that hole; no rounding is needed.

Different point values are a custom or modified scale. Name and record that scale rather than presenting it as standard Stableford.

Quota: A Separate Scoring Recipe

In this Quota version, the target is 36 minus Course Handicap, while points are earned from gross scores using a separate scale. This recipe appears in the SCGA guide to golf betting games.

The scale is 0 for double bogey or worse, 1 for bogey, 2 for par, 4 for birdie and 8 for eagle. It is not standard Stableford.

With an already determined Course Handicap of 12, the target is 36 − 12 = 24. A gross-points total of 28 finishes +4 against the quota. No rounding is needed in this example; any monetary award requires a separate agreement.

Combining Results Across Tee Groups

Use the same selected tees, handicap method and tie-break rules for the shared game. For Skins, compare every participant’s score on the corresponding hole, even when they play in different groups.

Each player contributes the agreed fixed buy-in, and payouts come from that pot under written rules. This makes the cost of entry known before play without creating an unexpected obligation to pay every other participant.

Side Games: Set the Limit, Not Just the Name

Add a side game only when everyone understands its scoring and maximum cost. A game name is not a substitute for a rules card.

See Bingo Bango Bongo documentation for its three awards and Rabbit documentation for holding and changing the Rabbit. Other recipes appear in the SCGA guide and game rules directory. Scotch and Umbrella require a specific rules card, not assumed universal categories.

A Calcutta auction or high-stakes game is not a sensible beginner default: funding is more complicated, and local restrictions may apply. Start with one game and a voluntary, affordable contribution.

Handicap: Follow the Format’s Allowance, Not a Universal Percentage

Use the handicap allowance for your format as determined by the responsible association or committee. There is no universal 70/30 rule and no basis here for claiming that a 100% allowance always overcompensates a player.

Appendix C of the 2024 Rules of Handicapping, including the Handicap Committee Guide added in April 2025, gives these recommendations:

This is a dated source, not a claim that allowances never change. The national association or committee determines the allowance used. See Appendix C, page 97.

Appendix C excerpt showing recommended handicap allowances for golf formats

English original: 2024 Rules of Handicapping with the Handicap Committee Guide added in April 2025, page 97.

Select the tees first and determine the Course Handicap for those tees. Apply the relevant allowance with full precision until the prescribed rounding stage, then use the rounded Playing Handicaps. A Handicap Index is not itself the course-specific stroke allowance.

If the Playing Handicaps for a singles match are already calculated as 6 and 14, the difference is 8. The player with 14 receives one stroke on each hole with stroke index 1 through 8. Stroke index allocates handicap strokes; it is not simply a ranking of actual hole difficulty. This example needs no further rounding.

Do not transfer these recommendations to a four-player scramble using an arbitrary “25% of the combined total” shortcut. That method is not used here.

Calculator: Model Exposure, Not the Round’s Result

The calculator compares financial exposure in its Nassau and Skins models. It does not calculate actual winnings from a scorecard or forecast results.

Select the game using its button, enter the base bet, set 2–4 players and choose 9 or 18 holes.

Read the panel alongside these limitations:

These examples use the stated settings and exact amounts; no additional rounding is required. The press maximum applies only within the model’s cap. If your group permits more presses, the displayed amount is not an upper bound.

Skins outputs do not replace the payment agreement: choose payments from each opponent or a fixed pot separately. Panel labels do not turn the model into a forecast or an expected pot.

The calculator does not accept hole results, handicaps or the actual press count. It has no Wolf or Vegas option and cannot produce a final settlement. Use a separate ledger for team Nassau, other games and actual payments.

Before Teeing Off: Write the Rules and Settlement Plan

Agree on a short rules card that every participant understands before play. Money should be optional, and the spending limit should be affordable without chasing losses.

Record:

1. Players and teams: who plays whom and whether partners rotate.
2. Scoring: match play, stroke play or points; gross or net; selected tees and stroke allocation.
3. Stake unit: who pays whom, for what and how much; whether the amount applies to one person, a team or the whole pot.
4. Ties and carryovers: validation, final unawarded skins and any refunds.
5. Additional bets: press start points and limits, Hammer acceptance rules and the overall monetary cap.
6. Unfinished holes: pickup treatment, conceded putts and which games allow them.
7. Interrupted play: weather and withdrawal settlement.
8. Rule changes: no unilateral changes after play begins.

A conceded match-play putt does not automatically supply an actual score for Skins. When playing multiple games, specify which scores are valid for each.

A manual ledger needs the hole number, scores, handicap strokes, winner or carryover, any called press and payment obligations. Calculate each player’s net result, then check that the total is zero. The 18-skin example reconciles as +$30 + $10 − $10 − $30 = 0, settled by D paying B $10 and A $20, and C paying A $10.

The R&A’s February 2024 amateur-status guidance describes informal wagering where participants generally know one another, participation is optional, players supply the money, and the activity does not encourage abuse of the Rules of Golf or handicapping rules. That concerns sporting status, not local legal permission or eligibility. Keep participation voluntary, stop at the agreed limit and do not expect guaranteed profit.

These on-course games are separate from tournament sportsbook wagers such as each-way golf bets.