What is a Nassau in golf? How to play it, presses and money

A Nassau is a golf bet made of three matches in one round: the front nine, the back nine and the full 18. Each match is scored by holes won, like match play, and each pays its own stake. A bad front nine doesn’t end your day, because the back and the 18 are still live.

It is the best known of the golf betting games, usually played one against one or two against two.

How a Nassau works

1. Agree on a stake for each of the three bets, such as $5, $5 and $5.
2. Play the round as a match: the lower score wins each hole, equal scores halve it.
3. Keep three scores at once: the front nine match, the back nine match, and the 18-hole match, which counts every hole.
4. A side that falls behind can press: a new bet on the holes left in that nine, at the same stake. Many groups make this automatic when a side goes 2 down.
5. At the end, each bet pays its stake to the side that won it. A halved bet pays nothing.

Scoring example

Jim plays Mike in a $5 Nassau with automatic presses when 2 down. Jim’s handicap is 8 and Mike’s is 13, so Mike gets 5 strokes, on holes 2, 4, 7, 11 and 13. A star marks each stroke.

On the front, the strokes help Mike win holes 2, 4 and 7 against Jim’s wins on 1 and 6, and Mike takes the front nine 1 up.

The back is where the presses come in. Jim wins 10 and 12 and goes 2 up after 12, which makes Mike 2 down: an automatic press starts on hole 13 for holes 13 to 18. Mike wins 13 with his stroke and 15 outright, so after 15 he is 2 up in that press. Now Jim is 2 down in the press, and a second press starts on 16 for the last three holes. Jim wins 16, they halve 17, and Mike wins 18.

Here is how the five bets end:

• Front nine: Mike 1 up. Mike wins $5.
• Back nine: all square. No money.
• 18 holes: Mike 1 up. Mike wins $5.
• Press from 13: Mike 2 up. Mike wins $5.
• Press from 16: all square. No money.

Mike wins $15. Jim led the back nine for most of it and still went home down, which is the press doing its job.

Strokes: playing a Nassau net

A net Nassau gives the higher handicap the difference in strokes, one on each of the hardest holes by stroke index, the same as a net match. The front and back nine bets use the strokes that fall on their holes, so check where they land: in the example Mike gets three strokes on the front and two on the back.

Picnic plays a Nassau net by default, with full strokes off the low for two players and 90 percent for teams. Percent handicaps and Net strokes change both.

Variations

• Automatic press when 2 down. Picnic: yes (Automatic press: When 2 down). A press that goes 2 down starts its own press.
• Presses at will. A trailing side can press whenever it likes, or only when asked. Picnic: not yet; Picnic starts presses automatically.
• Different stakes per bet. Such as $5 front, $5 back and $10 on the 18. Picnic: yes (set Front nine, Back nine and Overall separately).
• Two against two. Best ball of each side in all three matches. Picnic: yes (two teams).
• Nine-hole Nassau. Not really a Nassau; it’s a match with presses. Picnic suggests Match Play for nine holes.

The money

A Nassau is usually described by its three stakes: a $5 Nassau, or 5-5-5, is $5 on each bet, and the most you can lose without presses is $15. Presses can add a lot more, so agree on the press rule before the first tee shot. Each player on a losing team pays their opposite number.

Picnic keeps the tally and shows who owes whom; your group settles up.

Tips

• Strokes decide most net Nassaus. Know which holes your opponent gets them on before you tee off.
• A big lead on the back nine isn’t safe. Every time you go 2 up, your opponent gets a fresh bet.