Format · Interactive tool

Skins game rules and payouts.

A skin per hole. Tied holes carry over. Last one standing takes the pile. Below: how it actually works, common variants, a calculator that does the math for any 18-hole round, and a printable payout sheet for the next trip.

Skins calculator

Enter gross scores per hole for 2–4 players. Same math as the app's Skins engine (gross only here — for net handicap skins, back-nine multipliers, or validation skins, use the app). An unwon pot at the end of the round is dropped, the app's default.

Per-skin value ($)

Players 2 3 4

Carryover — tied holes roll the pot to the next hole

Doubling carryover — the carried pot doubles on each tie (then adds the hole's value)

Calculate payout Reset

What Skins actually is

Each hole is its own one-shot wager called a skin, worth a fixed dollar amount. The player with the lowest score on the hole wins the skin. If two or more players tie for low, no skin is awarded — the value carries over to the next hole. At the end of the round, every skin won is paid out, and any unwon skins from carryovers either return to the pool or are awarded by a tiebreaker rule.

Skins is the most popular non-Nassau golf wager because the format reads instantly — every hole has its own little drama, every carryover ratchets up the stakes, and the math is "lowest score wins this one." Children understand it. Caddies remember it. Foursomes love it.

How a Skins game is scored

• Per-hole wager. Every player puts in the same amount per hole (typical: $1, $2, or $5).
• Lowest score takes the skin. Outright low score wins. Tied low score? No winner — the pot carries.
• Carryover compounds. An untied skin on hole 3 carrying to hole 4 means hole 4 is worth 2x the per-hole stake.
• Settlement at round end. Each player tallies the dollar value of skins won (carryovers included); each pair settles the difference between their totals.

Carryover variants

Standard carryover (most common)

Unwon skin rolls to next hole. If hole 18 ties, the carried pot either returns to the pool (split evenly back) or is awarded by a tiebreaker like a closest-to-the-pin contest on a pre-named hole.

Capped carryover

Carryover stops after N consecutive ties (typical: 3). Prevents runaway compounding when nobody can win a hole — useful in groups with similar handicaps.

Doubling carryover

Each carryover doubles instead of adding. Hole 1 worth $1, ties, hole 2 now worth $2 — but if hole 2 also ties, hole 3 is worth $4, then $8, $16. Spicy. Limit to 2-3 doublings or it gets silly.

No carryover

Tied holes simply void — nothing rolls forward, and every hole is worth exactly the per-skin value. Most groups find it deflating; the carryover is the drama.

Validation skins

A won skin only stands if the winner makes par or better on the next hole; otherwise it's revoked. Reduces the lucky-shot factor. A skin on the final hole has nothing to validate against, so it stands.

Handicapping Skins

Net Skins is the standard for mixed-handicap groups. The higher-handicap player receives strokes on the most difficult holes per the scorecard's handicap-index column, and the net score (gross minus strokes-received) is the score that competes for the skin. USGA Course Handicap is the canonical math — most apps and most clubs use it.

Gross-only Skins works for similar-handicap groups but produces a predictable outcome (the lowest handicap usually wins most skins). If you're playing across a spread, run it net.

Common Skins stakes

• $1/hole, 4-player gross. Low-stakes default. Maximum exposure per player: $18. Realistic exposure with carryovers: $5–20.
• $2/hole, 4-player net. Friendly weekend round. Maximum exposure: $36. Realistic: $15–40.
• $5/hole, 4-player net. The "we mean it" stakes. Maximum: $90. Realistic: $30–100.
• $10+/hole. Vegas territory. Make sure everyone's actually in.

What Friendly Wagers handles for you

The app's Skins engine handles carryover compounding, doubling variants, validation modes, and net handicap allocation per hole. Every score you enter updates the live skin tally — you always know which skins are won, which are carried, and what the running per-player total looks like. When the round ends, the settlement renders: who owes whom, ready for the payment app of choice.

Skins is one of the two formats included in the free tier (alongside Stroke Play). You don't need Premium to track a Skins game.

Frequently asked

Can you play Skins with two players?

Yes, but the format loses some flavor — carryover means very little when there's only one opponent (tied = nobody wins is the same as match play tying a hole). Two-player Skins works better with the doubling-carryover variant for drama.

What happens to carried skins on the last hole?

Group rule. The most common defaults: (1) split equally back to all players, (2) closest-to-the-pin contest on a pre-named hole, (3) sudden-death playoff on hole 1 (uncommon in friendly rounds). Decide before the round. In the app, the options are: drop the unwon pot (default), carry it back to the most recent skin winner, or award it to whoever wins hole 18 outright.

Can you combine Skins with Nassau?

Absolutely. The most common "stack" is Nassau front/back/total wagers plus a per-hole Skins game running in parallel. The two formats don't interfere — Nassau measures segment totals, Skins measures per-hole winners. Friendly Wagers lets you add up to three game formats per round.