Nassau
A Nassau is three bets in one round: the front nine, the back nine and the full eighteen, each with its own stake. Golfers play it for the presses, which let a side that is behind start a fresh bet on the holes that remain.
How to play
- Agree the three stakes. A common set is 5 for the front, 5 for the back and 10 for the overall, often written 5/5/10.
- Play match play against your opponent, or two against two. Most holes won over the nine wins that nine, and most over eighteen wins the overall.
- Decide how presses work before you start: manual (a trailing side calls it) or automatic (it starts by itself when a side goes 2 down).
- When a press is made, a new bet starts on the holes that remain, at the same stake unless you agreed otherwise. The original bet keeps going.
- At the end of the round add up each bet. Tied nines are a push by default; some groups carry the stake to the next nine.
Example
Ann and Bo play a 5/5/10 Nassau with manual presses. Ann wins holes 2 and 4 and the rest are halved, so she is 2 up after four holes. Bo presses: a new 5 bet starts on hole 5 and runs to the ninth.
The most you can lose
Nassau, default settings, 2 golfers: Most you can lose: $270
Agree on the first tee
- Front nine stake: 5
- Back nine stake: 5
- Overall stake: 10
- Handicap allowance (%): 100
- Stroke method: off the low
- Scoring basis: match