Skins is the game most golfers learn first, and for good reason. There is nothing to calculate during the round. You play your own ball, write down your score, and look across the card to see whether anyone matched it.
The skins golf game at a glance
- Players: two or more; three or four is the sweet spot.
- What wins: the lowest score on a hole, outright.
- Ties: the skin carries over to the next hole.
- Handicaps: gross or net, agreed before the round.
- Pace: normal, since everyone plays their own ball.
- Stake: a small value per skin, or a pot shared out by skins won.
The game works for any format of round. It fits as easily into a casual nine as it does into a full 18 with friends.
Skins rules, step by step
- Before the first tee, agree the value of a skin, gross or net scoring, and what happens to skins still open after 18.
- On each hole, everyone plays their own ball and holes out, or takes an agreed maximum score.
- Compare scores. If one player has the lowest score outright, that player wins the skin.
- If two or more players share the lowest score, the skin carries over to the next hole.
- Carryovers stack. The next outright winner takes every skin riding on that hole.
- After a carryover is won, the following hole goes back to a single skin.
- After the round, count each player’s skins and settle up.
The rule that trips people up is the tie. A tie for low means nobody wins, even if the other players scored worse. One birdie beats two pars, but two birdies cancel each other out.
How carryovers build
Carryovers are what make skins exciting. A run of tied holes can turn an ordinary par 4 into the biggest hole of the day.
In a foursome of similar players, ties are common. Three or four halved holes in a row is normal, and the hole after that can be worth four or five skins. A long putt on that hole can decide the whole game, which is why skins produce so many stories in the clubhouse.
The opposite also happens. On a day when one player is playing well, skins are won hole by hole and nothing builds at all.
A worked example over five holes
Four players, Dee, Eli, Fran and Gus, play gross skins at a small fixed value.
| Hole | Dee | Eli | Fran | Gus | Result | Skins on the hole |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Tie for low, carryover | 1 |
| 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | Tie for low, carryover | 2 |
| 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | Dee wins outright | 3 |
| 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | Tie for low, carryover | 1 |
| 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 6 | Fran wins outright | 2 |
After five holes Dee has three skins and Fran has two. Eli has made the most pars and has nothing to show for it, which is exactly how skins can feel on a quiet day.
Handicaps: gross or net skins
Gross skins are the purest version. Only actual scores count, and the better players will usually win more skins. That is fine in a group of similar ability.
For a mixed group, net skins are fairer. Each player receives handicap strokes on the holes with the lowest stroke index, and the net score decides the hole. A net birdie by a 20 handicapper on the hardest hole can take a carryover from a scratch player’s par. Many groups play off a reduced allowance, such as three quarters of course handicap, so the strokes still matter without making the low handicappers feel they cannot win.
Skins with two, three or a full group
The number of players changes the feel of the game more than any rule.
With two players, skins becomes a simple hole-by-hole match with carryovers, and ties are frequent. With three, there are fewer ties and skins are won more often, so carryovers rarely grow large. A foursome is where the game is at its best: ties are common enough to build a few big holes, but not so common that the round goes quiet.
In a society day or a group of two or three foursomes, skins are often played across the whole field. A skin is only won by a score that nobody in any group matched, so a single birdie on a hard hole can take a large share of the pot.
Common variations and house rules
Skins is one of the easiest games to tweak. These are the most common changes. Treat each one as a house rule, since groups do not agree on a single version.
- Validation: a player who wins a carryover must back it up on the next hole by matching par or the group’s low score.
- Only tied players stay eligible: when a hole is tied, only the players who tied can win the carryover on the next hole.
- Back nine worth more: skins on holes 10 to 18 count double.
- No carryover: a tied hole is simply halved and nothing moves forward.
- Leftover skins: playoff, putt-off, chip-off, or an equal split after the round.
Skins also sits comfortably alongside a match. Plenty of groups play a Nassau between partners and skins across the whole group at the same time.
Etiquette and keeping it friendly
Skins only works if every score is honest and recorded on each hole. Hole out, or agree a maximum score per hole so that a blow-up hole does not slow the group. Gimmes should be agreed in advance, since a conceded putt can decide a carryover worth several skins.
Keep the value of a skin small. Carryovers can make one hole worth a lot more than expected, and the game should still feel like a friendly round on the last hole. A few dollars across the whole round, or the first round of drinks, is enough.
Which game to try next
If your group enjoys skins but wants something that rewards more than the final score, try Bingo Bango Bongo, where position on the green earns points. Pairs who want a running match should look at the Nassau. For a threesome, the three-player games split points on every hole so there are fewer dead holes. The whole family of side games is compared on the golf betting games page.