How to Play Nassau Golf Game

The Nassau is arguably the most famous and widely played betting format in golf. Originating at Nassau Country Club in Long Island, New York in 1900, it was designed to prevent runaways—where a player who started poorly would lose interest in the rest of the round. Nassau solves this by splitting the 18 holes into three distinct, independent matches.

The Three Matches

A standard Nassau wager consists of three individual parts, usually backed by equal dollar wagers (such as a $5/$5/$5 Nassau):

1. Front Nine (Holes 1–9): A match based purely on scores on the first nine holes.
2. Back Nine (Holes 10–18): A match scored independently starting fresh on the tenth hole.
3. Overall 18-Hole Match (Holes 1–18): The cumulative match covering the entire round.

Because these three matches are scored separately, a golfer who has a disastrous front nine still starts the back nine completely even, with an active chance to win that portion of the bet.

Nassau Scoring Formats

Nassau can be adapted to several scoring formats, depending on the size of the group:

• Individual Net Stroke Play: Players compare their net scores (gross score minus handicap allowance) on each hole. The player with the lowest total net strokes at the end of each segment wins that segment.
• Individual Gross Stroke Play: The same as net, but without handicap adjustments, suited for players of similar skill levels.
• Match Play (1v1 or 2v2): Played hole-by-hole. A side wins a hole by scoring lower than their opponent. The side that wins the most holes in a segment takes that segment's bet. If a side has won more holes than there are holes remaining in that segment, they win the match early.
• Best Ball (2v2, 1v2, 2v3): A team format where only the lowest single score (net or gross) among partners is compared against the opponents' best score on each hole.

Nassau Presses (Auto and Prompt)

A critical component of Nassau is the press. A press is a new, separate, parallel match that runs for the remaining holes of a segment. It is typically initiated by a player or team that falls behind to recoup their losses.

The Two-Down Rule

Traditionally, a press can only be called when a side is 2 down (two holes behind) in the active match. In Settle the Card, you can customize this "press down trigger" to 1 down, 2 down, or 3 down. Settle the Card offers two main pressing modes:

• Auto Press: A new press match is automatically created the moment a side goes 2 down (or the configured trigger limit).
• Prompt Press: The app will prompt you when a side reaches the threshold, allowing the trailing side to decide whether they wish to accept or decline the press.

Press matches are scored only on the holes remaining in the segment. For example, if a team goes 2 down on Hole 6, an Auto Press starts on Hole 7. The press match covers Holes 7–9. The overall bet is now increased by the value of the press.

Handicaps in Nassau

Applying handicaps ensures a fair match between players of different skill levels. In Settle the Card, handicap allocations follow standard USGA recommendations:

• In match play, the player with the lowest course handicap plays off scratch (0), and the other players have their handicaps reduced by that same amount.
• For example, if Player A has a handicap of 8 and Player B has a 14, Player A plays at 0, and Player B receives 6 strokes (one stroke on each of the 6 hardest handicap-rated holes).