Money games · 2 to 4 players
Skins: how to play
Also known as Skins game
Win the hole outright or the skin carries over.
Skins is golf's favourite money game. Every hole is worth one skin, and you have to win the hole outright to take it. If two or more players tie for the lowest score, nobody wins and the skin carries over, so the pot builds until somebody finally takes a hole on their own.
That carry-over is what makes Skins so dramatic: a quiet front nine can turn into a six-skin hole on the fourteenth. Golf Daddy tracks the carry-overs and who has what, gross or net, so the group only has to argue about the stake.
Score Skins in Golf Daddy
Pick Skins on the first tee and the app applies the strokes, keeps the live leaderboard and settles the points for the whole group. Free on iPhone and Android.
Skins rules
- 1.Each hole is worth one skin.
- 2.The lowest score on the hole wins the skin outright. A tie for lowest means no winner.
- 3.Tied holes carry the skin to the next hole, so the next outright winner takes the whole pot.
- 4.A pick-up can never win a skin.
- 5.Optional validation: a skin only counts if the winner is not beaten outright on the next hole.
- 6.Skins left unclaimed after the last hole stay in the pot.
How handicaps work
Gross skins reward the best golfer; net skins apply each player's handicap strokes on their stroke-index holes so everyone has a chance. Golf Daddy lets you choose gross or net when you set the game up and shows net scores on the hole.
Worked example
Holes 1 to 3 are all tied, so hole 4 is worth four skins. Jo makes the only par on the fourth and takes all four. At £1 a skin that is £4 from the pot.
Tips and variations
- Agree the stake per skin and whether you are playing gross or net on the first tee, not the eighteenth.
- The validation rule stops a lucky skin: if you want a purer test, turn it on.
- Skins works in a two-ball, three-ball or fourball, and it is a great add-on to a stroke play round.
Skins FAQs
What happens to a skin if the hole is tied?
It carries over. The next hole is then worth two skins, and so on until somebody wins a hole outright.
Can you play Skins with handicaps?
Yes. Net skins use each player's handicap strokes on their stroke-index holes, so the hole is decided on net scores.
What is a skins validation rule?
A skin only counts if the winner is not beaten outright on the following hole. It is optional and stops one fluke hole deciding the round.
Related formats
All golf formats and games →Play Skins this weekend
Download Golf Daddy and let the app do the maths while you do the talking. Guests who haven't got the app can play too.