How to play skins.

Overview

Skins is a hole-by-hole golf betting game. Each hole is worth one skin, the lowest score on a hole wins it, and any hole that's tied carries over — the next hole is worth two skins, then three, and so on until someone wins outright. It's the simplest, most popular casual side game in golf because every hole matters and a single birdie on a stacked carryover can swing the whole round.

How Skins Works

1. Agree on a unit cost before the round. Every player puts in the same buy-in: unit cost × 18 holes. With 4 players at $1 a skin, that's $18 each, $72 total in the pot.
2. Each hole is worth one skin. A standard 18-hole round has 18 skins up for grabs.
3. Lowest score wins the skin. Score lower than every other player on a hole and you win that hole's skin (and any that have carried over to it).
4. Ties carry over. If two or more players tie for the low score, no one wins. The skin stacks onto the next hole.
5. Carryovers stack indefinitely. Three tied holes in a row? Hole 4 is worth four skins. The pressure builds with every tie.
6. Settle up at the end. Each skin won pays out unit cost × player count. Any holes that never resolved (still pushed at the end of 18) refund equally to every player.

Detailed Rules

Carryover mechanics. Duck Hook Golf tracks carryovers automatically. When a hole ties, an internal counter increments; when the next outright winner appears, they sweep all stacked skins at once. The counter resets and the next hole starts at one skin again.

What counts as a tie. A tie is any hole where two or more players are tied for the low score. If no scores are entered for a hole, that hole simply isn't counted — its skin is refunded equally to every player at settlement, the same as a push that never resolves.

Pushed skins at the end of the round. If hole 18 ties (or carryovers never resolve), those skins are pushed. The pot is refunded equally to every player rather than awarded to anyone — nobody wins a hole nobody actually won.

Payout math. Buy-in per player = unit cost × 18. Each won skin is worth unit cost × player count. So if four players play $1 skins and you win 5 skins, you collect 5 × $4 = $20 in winnings before subtracting your $18 buy-in. Duck Hook Golf's settlement engine combines all winnings, refunds, and buy-ins into a single net amount per player.

Variants & Handicap

Gross or net. Skins works either way. With handicaps on, the app subtracts each player's handicap strokes from their hole scores before comparing — so a 15-handicap who makes a net 4 ties a scratch player's actual 4. Duck Hook Golf applies handicap strokes to the hardest-rated holes per the course's stroke index.

Individual or team skins. Run a standard 4-player skins game, or pair up and play 2v2 team skins where the team's better ball on each hole sets the team score.

USGA or relative handicaps. Games default to USGA handicapping. Swap to relative if your group prefers a simpler, lowest-handicap-plays-scratch model.

Strategy

• Press your advantage on stacked holes. A 3-skin carryover changes every decision — aggressive lines and chip-ins are worth more than they were 20 minutes ago.
• Mind the pressers behind you. If you're the lone leader on a tough par 5 and others are scrambling, even a safe par often wins outright.
• Keep the group small. 4–6 players is the sweet spot. Too many players means too many ties and everything pushes.
• Don't do mental math on the course. Use the app. The carryover counter, payout-per-skin, and final settlement are all live.

Presses and side bets. Getting buried? The app scores a 2x press: each hole from the next unscored one is worth double, and a carryover keeps the value it had. It also tracks side bets like closest to the pin and long drive on top, and settles them with the rest of the round.

If you like Skins, try these

Same energy, different game. Everything below has a full rules guide of its own.

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