A press raises what you’re playing for, mid-round, and it belongs to the side that’s losing. There are two kinds, they settle differently, and most groups have never agreed which one they mean.
You’re 2 down with five to play. You press. Either a second bet starts on those five holes, all square, and the first one carries on. Or the bet you’re already losing is now worth double from here. Both start at the next hole nobody has scored, and neither changes anything that’s already been played.
| Form | What it does | What it leaves alone |
|---|---|---|
| The press (a new bet) | Starts a new, separate bet between the same sides, on the same terms, from the next hole to the end of the segment. It starts all square. | The bet it was pressed from. That one keeps going unchanged and settles on its own. |
| The 2x (a double) | Doubles what the bet is worth from that hole forward. In a points game every point from there on is worth twice as much. In skins each remaining hole is. In a match, the bet or its remaining holes. | Everything already scored. No point total, skin or match status changes, and no new bet is created. |
They share a start hole, a rule about who may press, and a lifecycle. They settle differently: a new-bet press is a whole extra bet with its own winner, while a 2x only changes what the existing one pays.
A game can take a new-bet press if it produces a match status, somebody up and somebody down. It can take a 2x if it has a unit of value that can be worth more from a hole forward.
| Game | New bet | 2x | What a 2x doubles |
|---|---|---|---|
| Match Play, and the match versions of Best Ball, Scramble and Alternating Shot | Yes | Yes | Each remaining hole, or the match bet when it’s played for a flat stake |
| Nassau, scored as match play | Yes: front, back and overall | Yes | That segment’s bet |
| Nassau, scored on low total | No | Yes | That segment’s pot |
| Vegas, Daytona | No | Yes | Every point, for both teams |
| Quota, Stableford, Nines, Split Sixes, Defender | No | Yes | Every point, for everyone |
| Skins | No | Yes | Each remaining hole |
| Stroke Play, paid per stroke | No | Yes | Each stroke of difference |
| Howard Vegas, Tilt | No | Only if you turn stacking on | Every point, on top of the game’s own multiplier, up to a cap |
| Stroke Play for a flat bet | No | No | Nothing: a flat bet has no going-forward unit |
Your group can change the settings. These are what makes it a press and not an argument.
Who can press. Trailing side only is the default. “Either side” lets the leader pile on, and it’s where most disputes start. In a game of three or more, the default is that only last place can double, so second place can’t double to catch first while burying third.
When. Two down is the classic trigger for a match bet. Points and skins games usually allow a double any time you’re behind, or you can set a minimum margin.
How many. Three presses deep and doubles up to 4x are sensible caps. Two doubles is where most groups stop on their own.
The last hole. A press on the final hole of a segment is a one-hole bet. Allow it or don’t, but decide before somebody tries it on 18.
Acceptance. Automatic means the trailing side has the right to press and nothing is needed from anybody else. “Must accept” gives the other side until the start hole is scored to say yes. “Accept or fold” is the Hammer rule: take the doubled bet, or pay what it was worth and it’s over.
Automatic presses. The app declares them by rule, for instance a new bet every time a side goes 2 down. Nobody calls it, nobody times it, nobody can withdraw it. If your group has ever argued about a press, play it this way.
A press on a $5 Nassau. Al wins holes 1 and 2 and is 2 up on the front. Bo presses: a new $5 bet on holes 3 through 9, all square. Over those seven holes Bo wins three and Al wins two. The front nine finishes Al 1 up, so Al collects $5. The press finishes Bo 1 up, so Bo collects $5. Net on the front: nothing. Without the press, Bo was simply out $5.
A 2x at Vegas. $1 a point. Through nine holes one team leads by 30 points. The other team doubles from hole 10, so every point on the back is worth $2, and then outscores them by 25. The front is worth $30 one way and the back $50 the other. The team that was getting buried finishes $20 up, and not a single point total changed.
A 2x at skins, with a carry. $5 a hole, and hole 9 was tied, so $5 carries. Somebody doubles from 10. The carry keeps the value it had: hole 10 is worth the $5 carry plus $10, which is $15, and holes 11 through 18 are worth $10 each.
The Hammer. A $10 match, accept or fold. Bo is 3 down after 11 and doubles. Al can play on for $20, or fold and pay Bo $10 now. Al folds. The match is settled, and holes 12 through 18 still count for anything else the group has going.
Too late. Al is 2 down after 5. Bo’s scores for 6 go in, and then Al taps Press on the 7th tee. The press starts at 7. If Al meant 6, the answer is the one it has always been on the course.
Turn presses on when you set up the game. When you’re behind, tap Press under the bet.
A press raises the stakes mid-round, and it is normally the trailing side's right. There are two kinds. A new-bet press starts a second, separate bet on the remaining holes of the segment, all square, while the original bet carries on. A 2x press doubles what the existing bet is worth from that hole forward: every point, skin, stroke or hole from there on is worth twice as much.
By default the side that is behind can press once it is 2 down in a match bet, or any time it is trailing in a points or skins game. A press always starts at the next hole nobody has scored yet. It can never be backdated to a hole that has already been played.
No. A new-bet press is its own bet with its own result, and the original keeps going and settles separately. Win the press and lose the original and the two cancel out. A 2x press does not create a bet at all: the same bet is simply worth more from that hole on, and nothing already scored is revalued.
The Hammer is a 2x press with one extra rule: the other side must accept the doubled bet or fold on the spot and pay what the bet was worth before the double. Duck Hook Golf has that rule as its Hammer preset, on a match played for a flat stake: the double applies to the match bet, from the next unscored hole. The hole-by-hole Hammer game, thrown mid-hole, is not scored by the app; it is scored in Duck Hook Pro.
An automatic press is declared by rule instead of by a player: for example, a new bet starts every time a side goes 2 down. Nobody has to call it, time it or agree to it, which makes it the setting to use if your group has ever argued about a press.
Yes. Turn presses on when you create the game, tap Press under the bet when you are behind, and the app starts the new bet or applies the double from the next unscored hole. Every press shows on the leaderboard for everyone, settles with the round, and is listed in the results email.
A press raises a bet the scorecard decides. For the ones it can’t, closest to the pin and long drive among them, see the guide to side bets.
Each of these has a full rules guide of its own.
Duck Hook Golf