By Michael D Elliott

You ever get that golf bug? You know, that bug just hits you out of the blue, and you just have to go to the golf range or better yet, off to the golf course. A lot of times though, it hits you where you want only to go play a “good”, “challengeing” golf course.

These are the times you give your old golfing group a call. You hope to get the old foursome back together so you can hit it around golf course. You all get excited to hit the linx get to the course and get ready to go hit that golf ball all around the golf course. But now you have some decisions to make. Lets say all the players in the group want to do something to keep it interesting and keep their focus off of each bad shot they hit and more directly on the golf game.

Golf Skins – Low ball / Combined

Skins are two different golf games, but they are pretty similar. The short description for skins is the single golf player with lowest score on a golf hole, wins that hole.

If player A, B, C and D are playing skins for $1 per hole (no carry overs to keep it simple), and player A makes a par, while players B, C and D all bogie the hole. Well, player A wins the hole and each of the other player (B,C,D) owe player A $1 each. Player A made $3 bucks on that hole.

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While playing skins you can also select golf teams prior to teeing off. For example player A and B are on one team while player C and D will be team mates. You have a few more options on how you score wins when playing as teams than if you are playing individually. You can either continue with the low ball on the hole wins for his / her team; however, you can also have a combined golf score for another point on the same golf hole. In other words, there are two bets going on for the same golf hole.

Example: A and B are golf team 1. C and D are golf team 2. On golf hole number 1, player A makes a 4, player B makes a 7, player C makes a 5 and player D makes a 5. What happens? Well, if you are playing low ball / combined, there are two golf bets going on on every hole. In this scenario golf Team 1 won the low ball bet because player A had the lowest score of 4; however golf Team 2 won the combined score because players C and D combined score was 10 where golf Team 1’s combined score was 11. So the hole was a wash, 1 golf Team won the low ball bet and the other ball won the combined ball bet. This can get a little confusing if you haven’t ever played it or a diverative of it, but it is a lot of fun and keeps the golf team on their toes. No one can give up on a hole because they are still contributing to their combined score.

Pressing

When you are playing skins, there is something known as pressing. Pressing is doubling the current bet, it’s like saying “double or nothing”. For example, if you are playing $1 skins and there is a press that is accepted, the next hole and every hole after that will be $2 per hole (unless there is another press down the line which will again double the bet to $4 then $8 then $16 then $36…. see how it works).

The typical rules with pressing is that it must be agreed prior to teeing off if pressing is going to be allowed and if they are “automatic 2 downs” or if pressing is a “press / accept” process. In other words, some play where if player A loses 2 golf holes and is 2 down there is an automatic press, regardless as to whether or not the other player wants it or not. This is termed automatic 2 downs (agree prior to teeing off if they will or will not be used). Automatic 2 downs are dangerous and the amounts of money can grow quickly if someone is having a bad day.

On the other hand, a typical press goes like this. Golf Player A loses the hole, he says “I want to press” Golf Player B has the option to accept or reject the press. This way each golf player has control over the amount of their bets they can lose.

Remember games are fun, but gambling can cause family and personal problems. It can become an addiction. Moderation, moderation, moderation.

Check out 86 The Bogies. This site is a great growing community where all kinds of information can be found.

I have been playing golf for over 25 years, and I have played competitively. These days, I try to play for fun when I can. I have taught golf camps to children and have given 100’s of adult private lessons on the swing, course management, putting, short game and philosophy.

By the way, we all need help with our game and we should all always be willing to listen to others.

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86TheBogies.com

86 The Bogies

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