Three-putt and the snake is yours. Hold it when the last putt drops on 18 and you pay everyone. The simplest — and most psychologically devastating — side bet in golf.
The first person to three-putt picks up the snake. It passes to whoever three-putts next. Whoever is holding it at the end of the round pays everybody. The pot usually grows with each pass, and the last three greens get very quiet.
Snake is a putting bet with one rule: the last player to three-putt holds the snake. It passes from three-putter to three-putter all round, and whoever is stuck holding it when the round ends pays. That's it — and it's ruthless. A snake game turns every four-foot second putt into a heart-rate event, especially on the 17th and 18th greens where there's no one left to take it off your hands. Groups traditionally mark the holder with an actual rubber snake clipped to the bag, because public shame is half the game.
Worked example. $5 snake, foursome. Dana three-putts the 2nd — snake. Alex three-putts the 11th — relief for Dana, snake to Alex. Everyone lags carefully for seven holes… until Alex's 40-footer on 18 races six feet by and the comebacker lips out. Alex three-putted last and pays $5 to each of the other three. Total damage: $15 and a long drive home.
The doubling snake. The famous (infamous) variant: the pot starts small and doubles on every three-putt by anyone. $1 becomes $2, $4, $8… eight group three-putts is $128 for the final holder. Cap it or don't — but decide sober, on the first tee.
Front/back snakes. Run two separate snakes, settling one at the 9th green and starting fresh on 10. Halves the max pain, doubles the drama points.
Announce or it doesn't count. Some groups require the group to call “snake!” before the next tee shot; unnoticed three-putts escape. Adds a fun vigilance layer.
Four-putts. Classic: same as a three-putt. Doubling variant: some groups double twice. House rule.
Conceded putts. In casual play, a gimme inside the leather counts as holed — you can't be snaked by a putt you were given. If money's on the line, putt everything out.
Snake is scored in Duck Hook Pro. The pro or organizer sets up the game and keeps the card there, and Duck Hook Pro works out the result and the settle-up and shows it on a TV leaderboard. It isn’t in the free app yet.
See Duck Hook Pro Browse all 42 gamesNo — standard Snake counts only strokes made from the putting surface, even if you use a putter from the fringe. That's the rule to confirm on the first tee, because it's the one that starts arguments on the fifth green.
No payout — the snake was never caught. In practice this almost never happens, which is the entire charm of the game.
The pot starts at a base amount and doubles with every three-putt of the round, no matter who commits it. A $1 snake with eight three-putts in the group is a $128 problem for whoever holds it last. Set a cap unless your group has strong nerves.
In the classic game, no — any putt count of three or more just takes the snake. In the doubling variant some groups double twice for a four-putt. House rule; agree first.
Yes — that's how it's usually played. Snake rides quietly on top of a skins game, Nassau, or Wolf, and only makes noise when someone's par putt slides four feet by.
Same energy, different game. Everything below has a full rules guide of its own.
Duck Hook Golf