The Best Golf Betting Games for Two Players

Handicap Strokes Head to Head

Between two players, only the difference in handicap matters. If one player's course handicap is 6 and the other's is 14, the higher player gets 8 strokes, one on each of the eight hardest holes, and the lower player gets none. theStick works out the stroke holes for each match and shows them on the card.

Match Play

Match play is the purest two-player game. Each hole is won, lost or halved on net score, and the player who wins more holes wins the match. A blow-up hole costs you one hole, not the round, so the match stays alive longer than a stroke-play bet.

The Nassau

The Nassau is three match-play bets in one: the front nine, the back nine and the overall 18. A $5 Nassau is $5 on each, $15 total. Add presses, a new bet that starts when a player goes 2 down, and a bad start never ends the day.

Hammer

Hammer adds pressure to every hole. Each hole starts at the base bet, and at any point before the hole is finished either player can hammer, doubling it. The other player either accepts and plays on at double, or concedes the hole at the stake before the hammer. A player who accepts can hammer straight back. It rewards nerve as much as skill, and it is at its best with two players.

Stroke-Play Bets

If you'd rather play the whole round:

Side Games

Add one or two of these on top of the main bet:

What Doesn't Work With Two

Skins with two players is just match play with carryovers. Games built on partners, like Wolf, Vegas or Four Ball, need at least three or four.

A Good Two-Player Combination

theStick scores every bet and press hole by hole and shows one amount at the end, so the 19th hole is about the round, not the math.