Nassau Presses Explained: Auto-Press, 2-Down and How the Money Adds Up

The Nassau in One Paragraph

A Nassau is three match-play bets in one round: the front nine, the back nine and the overall 18. Each hole is won, lost or halved on net score, and whoever wins more holes wins that bet. A $10 Nassau usually means $10 on each nine and $10 on the 18, so your total exposure before any presses is $30. A tied bet is halved and no money changes hands.

What a Press Actually Is

A press is a new side bet that starts when someone falls behind. It covers only the holes left in that bet, starting on the next hole, and it is worth the same amount as the bet it came from. The original bet keeps going. The press does not replace it.

That is the whole point. Lose the first two holes and the front nine looks gone. A press gives you a fresh, even match over the last seven holes, so one hot stretch can get your money back.

The 2-Down Auto-Press

Most groups press automatically when a player goes 2 down. Nobody has to call it, and nobody can forget. The trigger is the number of holes you are behind in that bet, not your total score.

In theStick you set the press trigger separately for the nines and for the 18-hole bet. The default is 2 down on the nines and no presses on the 18. A press never starts on a bet's last hole, because there would be nothing left to play for.

Presses on Presses

Each bet can start one press. If the press itself goes 2 down, it starts its own press over the holes that remain. That is how a bad nine can end up with three or four bets running at once.

Groups play this differently. Some press every time a player falls another two holes behind on the original bet. theStick uses the more common rule: each bet presses once, and further presses come from the presses. Whatever your group plays, agree on it before the first tee.

A Worked Example: One Front Nine

Two players, $10 front nine, auto-press at 2 down. Player A starts badly:

Now settle each bet on its own:

A lost the front nine but came out even on it. Without presses, A would be down $10.

How Many Matches Are Running?

In a twosome there is one Nassau. In a foursome playing individually, every pair plays its own Nassau: six matches, each with its own presses. theStick runs every pairing at once and settles each match and each press separately, so nobody has to keep six cards in their head. A team Nassau (two against two) is one match between the teams.

House Rules to Settle on the First Tee

Almost every Nassau argument comes from a rule nobody agreed on. Cover these:

Why Track It in an App

The money in a Nassau is simple. The bookkeeping isn't: three bets per match, several matches per group, presses starting partway through. theStick tracks every bet and press hole by hole, and when the round ends it shows who owes whom. Nobody has to rebuild the back nine from memory at the 19th hole.