These are golf games for two people, you and one other player. The best golf games for 2 players are match play, where you win holes instead of counting strokes, the Nassau, which turns the match into three bets on the front nine, the back nine and the 18, and skins, where each hole has its own prize. With strokes off the low, all three keep two players of different ability even.
Golf games
Best golf games for 2 players
Playing as a pair? Match play, a Nassau and Skins are the best two-player golf games, with Stableford and Quota when you want a points game instead.
Jim CampbellUpdated 2 min read
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For more ideas, see the full guide to golf betting games.
The picks at a glance
Game | How it works | Swings | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
Match play | Lower score wins the hole | Low | A straight game |
Nassau | Front, back and 18 as three matches | Medium | More action, more chances |
Skins | Each hole a prize, ties carry | Medium | A few big holes |
1. Match play
Play hole by hole. The lower score wins the hole and equal scores halve it. The match is won by holes, so a bad hole costs one hole and nothing more, and it ends when one player is up by more holes than are left.
A sample hole: Priya gets a stroke on the 13th. Both make 4, so her net 3 wins the hole.
2. Nassau
Three matches at once: the front nine, the back nine and the full 18, each with its own stake. Many pairs add an automatic press when a player goes 2 down: a new bet on the holes left in that nine.
A sample hole: Jim goes 2 up on the 12th, so a press starts for Mike on the 13th. Mike wins the press and the front nine and halves the back.
3. Skins
Each hole is worth a skin. With two players, the lower score wins it and a tie carries it to the next hole. The loser pays the winner per skin. It plays more like a match where some holes are worth two or three.
A sample hole: Two halved holes leave three skins riding on the 3rd. A birdie there takes all three.
More two-player games
- Stableford. Head to head on points against par. Kind to a bad hole. How to play Stableford.
- Quota. Each player chases their own points target, 36 minus the strokes they get for the day. How to play Quota.
- Side games. Snake, Junk or Low Putts ride on top of any of these. See fun golf games.
How to choose
- For a simple game: match play.
- For more bets in the same round: the Nassau.
- For big holes: skins, or skins on top of the match.
- For a big difference in ability: any of them net, or Quota.
Picnic scores all of these for two players, net or gross, and shows who owes whom at the end.
Questions
What golf games can 2 players play?
Match play, a Nassau and skins are the classics. Stableford and Quota work as head-to-head points games, and side games such as Snake or Junk can ride on top.
What is the best two-player golf bet?
The Nassau: three match play bets on the front nine, the back nine and the 18. It gives the player who starts badly two more chances, and presses add more.
How do you give strokes in a two-player game?
The better player plays off zero and the other gets the difference in handicaps, one stroke on each of the hardest holes by stroke index. A 6 and a 12 means 6 strokes for the 12.
Related reading
- Match Play2 to 8 playersMatch play is scored by holes, not strokes: win more holes than the other side and you win the match. The rules, how strokes work and a scored match.
- Nassau2 to 8 playersA Nassau is three match play bets in one round: the front nine, the back nine and the full 18. How it works, how presses work, and a scored round.
- Skins2 or more playersSkins puts a prize on every hole: the lone low score wins it, and a tie carries it to the next hole. The rules, carryovers, a scored nine and the money.
Built Picnic
Jim built Picnic after too many rounds where someone got the math wrong by the turn. He writes up the games his group plays, and the ones they want to try next.