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- Nassau
The Nassau golf bet, and how a press works
A Nassau is three match-play bets in one round: the front nine, the back nine and the full eighteen. It suits a twosome or two pairs who want a match that stays alive after a bad start, which is what the press is for.
Free for a single round. Players never sign up.
The rules. Three bets, one card.
Each bet is a match: a hole goes to whoever (or whichever side) makes the lower score on it, and a halved hole goes to nobody. The bet is won by whoever is up (has won more holes) at the end of its stretch. Strokes, birdies and blow-up holes don't count beyond the hole they're on.
A "$10 Nassau" is $10 on the front, $10 on the back and $10 on the eighteen, also written $10-10-10. A 5-5-10 doubles the overall. Played two-on-two, each side's better ball on the hole is its score.
- Set the three stakes. Front, back, overall. Without presses, the most anyone can lose is the three added together.
- Play the front nine as a match. Track it as "1 up", "2 down" or "all square". Whoever is up after 9 wins the front.
- Play the back nine as a fresh match, starting all square on the 10th, whatever happened on the front.
- The overall runs underneath both, holes 1 to 18, as one long match.
- Press when you're down. A side that's behind (traditionally 2 down) may start a new bet from the next tee to the end of that nine, usually for the same stake. The bet it's behind in keeps going.
- Settle every bet on its own. Each one won pays its stake; a halved bet is a push.
How a press works. A new bet, not a do-over.
A press doesn't cancel anything. If you're 2 down on the front after the 4th and press, the front nine bet carries on exactly as it was, and a second bet starts on the 5th tee and runs to the 9th green. Win the press 2 up and lose the front 1 down, and you're up a stake.
A press is a match like any other: holes won and lost, a result like "2 up" or "3&2", and it settles player to player at its own stake.
Pressing a press.
Once a press is running, the usual rule looks at the newest bet on the nine. When the side that's losing the press goes 2 down on it, they can press again: a press of a press, from the next tee to the end of the same nine.
Watching only the newest bet keeps the number of bets in proportion. A side 3 down on the nine with a press already running gets no new press until it's 2 down on that press.
A $10 Nassau with presses, hole by hole.
Dale and Tom play a $10 Nassau, gross, on a par-72 card, with presses at 2 down for $10. Each column is the match standing after that hole: D 1 is Dale 1 up, T 2 is Tom 2 up, AS is all square. Shaded scores won the hole.
| Hole | Dale | Tom | Front | Press 3–9 | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 5 | D 1 | – | D 1 |
| 2 | 4 | 5 | D 2 | – | D 2 |
| 3 | 3 | 3 | D 2 | AS | D 2 |
| 4 | 6 | 5 | D 1 | T 1 | D 1 |
| 5 | 4 | 4 | D 1 | T 1 | D 1 |
| 6 | 4 | 5 | D 2 | AS | D 2 |
| 7 | 4 | 3 | D 1 | T 1 | D 1 |
| 8 | 5 | 5 | D 1 | T 1 | D 1 |
| 9 | 6 | 5 | AS | T 2 | AS |
| Out | 40 | 40 | Halved | T 2 | AS |
| Hole | Dale | Tom | Back | Press 12–18 | Press 15–18 | Overall |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 5 | 4 | T 1 | – | – | T 1 |
| 11 | 4 | 3 | T 2 | – | – | T 2 |
| 12 | 4 | 5 | T 1 | D 1 | – | T 1 |
| 13 | 5 | 5 | T 1 | D 1 | – | T 1 |
| 14 | 4 | 5 | AS | D 2 | – | AS |
| 15 | 5 | 4 | T 1 | D 1 | T 1 | T 1 |
| 16 | 3 | 4 | AS | D 2 | AS | AS |
| 17 | 4 | 4 | AS | D 2&1 | AS | AS |
| 18 | 5 | 6 | D 1 | over | D 1 | D 1 |
| In | 39 | 40 | D 1 | D 2&1 | D 1 | D 1 |
How groups play their Nassau.
The bet is the same everywhere; the press rule is where groups differ. Agree it on the first tee, with the stake.
Handicaps. Strokes off the low man.
In a match only the difference between the players matters. The lower handicap plays at scratch and the other gets the difference, one stroke a hole on the hardest holes by stroke index. Dale off 8 and Tom off 14: Tom gets 6 strokes, on stroke index 1 to 6.
Two-on-two, the lowest of the four plays at scratch and the other three get their difference from him. The World Handicap System's allowance for four-ball match play is 90% of each course handicap before the difference is taken; many friendly games play full.
Most cards put the odd stroke indexes on one nine and the even on the other, so 6 strokes split 3 and 3. With an odd number of strokes one nine gets the extra; some groups split strokes by nine on purpose.
Settling the money. Six bets in the example. Five paid.
| Bet | Holes | Result | Dale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Front | 1–9 | Halved | $0 |
| Tom's press | 3–9 | Tom 2 up | −$10 |
| Back | 10–18 | Dale 1 up | +$10 |
| Dale's press | 12–18 | Dale 2&1 | +$10 |
| Tom's press | 15–18 | Dale 1 up | +$10 |
| Overall | 1–18 | Dale 1 up | +$10 |
| Total | +$30 |
Tom pays Dale $30. Without presses it would have been $20, the back and the overall. Tom's press on the front won him $10 back; Dale's press on the back and Tom's press of it each went Dale's way.
Two-on-two, each bet is a stake a man: on a $10 Nassau each player on the losing side pays $10 and each winner collects $10.
In Live Links Golf. Scored off the card. The press is one tap.
Every bet is worked out from the scores. The only thing anyone enters is the press, and only when the group plays a press rule that needs asking. Nobody pays in ahead: each bet moves money player to player, and the settle-up lists who pays whom.
Nassau and presses, asked on the first tee.
What is a $5 Nassau?
Three $5 bets: the front nine, the back nine and the full eighteen, each played as a match. Without presses the most you can win or lose is $15.
How does a press work in golf?
A side that's behind starts a new bet from the next tee to the end of that nine, usually at the same stake. The bet it was losing keeps going, so a press is a chance to win back what you're down, or to lose twice.
When can you press?
Most groups allow a press when a side is 2 down on the newest bet: the latest press on the nine, or the nine itself if nobody has pressed. Some allow it any time a side is down, and some make presses automatic.
Can you press a press?
Yes. When a side goes 2 down on a running press, it can press that press, which starts another bet from the next tee to the end of the same nine.
What happens when a Nassau bet is halved?
It's a push: no money moves on that bet. Each of the three bets, and every press, is settled on its own.
What does 5-5-10 mean?
$5 on the front nine, $5 on the back and $10 on the overall eighteen. The bigger overall makes the full round worth as much as the two nines together.