TheGrint HQ
12 minutes
Updated
October 7, 2026
Skins in golf is a game where every hole is worth one skin, and the player with the lowest score on the hole wins it outright. If two or more players tie for the low score, nobody wins that skin and it carries over, so the next hole is worth more. Whoever collects the most skins wins.
This guide covers how a skins game works, what happens with ties and carryovers, a hole-by-hole example, how handicaps work in net skins, the War, Pot and Pairs modes, variations like Birdie or Better and Longest Yard, and how a Nassau fits in.
If you'd rather not track carryovers on a scorecard, TheGrint includes Skins as one of the six games every member can play and keeps the count updated as you enter each hole.
Skins is a hole-by-hole golf game in which each hole is worth one skin, and that skin goes to the one player who makes the lowest score on the hole. You don't need to beat anyone over 18 holes. You need to win individual holes outright.
That makes skins different from stroke play, where every stroke over the whole round counts. In skins, a 9 on one hole costs you that hole and nothing more. The next tee is a fresh start.
It also makes timing matter. Because tied holes carry over, a single birdie late in the round can be worth several skins at once, and a golfer who has struggled all day can still finish on top.
A skins game works by giving each hole one skin, awarding it to the only player with the lowest score, and carrying it forward whenever the low score is tied. Here is the full sequence:
Only the lowest score matters. In a group of four, it doesn't matter whether the other three make par or triple bogey once one player has the unique low score.
When players tie for the lowest score on a hole, the skin is not won and carries over, so the next hole is worth two skins instead of one. If that hole is tied too, the next is worth three, and so on until someone wins a hole outright.
A tie only matters at the top. If one player makes a 3 and two others tie with 4s, the player with the 3 wins the skin; the tie for second place changes nothing.
Carryovers are what make the game. A run of tied holes builds a big hole, and everyone in the group knows exactly what the next putt is worth.
If skins are still carrying over after the last hole, nobody has won them. On TheGrint, those skins stay in the pot and are not awarded to anyone. Groups keeping score on paper sometimes play extra holes instead, so agree on the rule at the first tee.
On a scorecard, skins are scored hole by hole: circle the one lowest score on each hole, mark tied holes as carried, and give the carried skins to the next outright winner. Here is a gross skins game between four golfers over six holes:
| Hole | Par | Alex | Ben | Carla | Dev | Result | Skins on the hole |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | Alex and Carla tie, carried | 1 |
| 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 | Three-way tie, carried | 2 |
| 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | Carla wins | 3 |
| 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 5 | Ben wins | 1 |
| 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | Three-way tie, carried | 1 |
| 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | Dev wins | 2 |
| Total | 23 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 25 | 6 skins awarded |
Final count: Carla 3 skins, Dev 2, Ben 1, Alex 0. Carla's birdie on hole 3 picked up the skin for that hole plus the two carried from holes 1 and 2. Dev's birdie on hole 6 collected that hole and the carryover from hole 5.
Notice Alex. Over these six holes Alex had the lowest stroke total, 24, and won no skins, because every hole where Alex had the low score was tied by someone else. That is skins in one line: winning holes outright matters more than the total.
In net skins, players subtract their handicap strokes on the holes where they receive them before comparing scores, so golfers of different abilities can win skins against each other.
The holes where strokes fall are set by the stroke index printed on the scorecard, which the USGA® defines as “the value assigned to each hole on a golf course to indicate where handicap strokes are given or received” (Rules of Handicapping, Definitions).
The strokes start from each golfer's Course Handicap™, which converts a Handicap Index® for the tees being played (our guide to what a golf handicap is explains how). TheGrint offers two handicap formats for net games:
Both formats only matter when you play net; in gross skins nobody receives strokes. Here is how one hole plays out each way. It is a par 4 with a stroke index of 5, and the four golfers' Course Handicap values are 4 (Alex), 7 (Dev), 10 (Ben) and 12 (Carla):
| Player | Course Handicap | Gross score | Strokes, USGA Format | Net, USGA Format | Strokes, Modified Format | Net, Modified Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex | 4 | 4 | 0 (plays off 0) | 4 | 0 (strokes on stroke index 1–4 only) | 4 |
| Dev | 7 | 4 | 0 (3 strokes, on stroke index 1–3) | 4 | 1 | 3 |
| Ben | 10 | 5 | 1 (6 strokes, on stroke index 1–6) | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Carla | 12 | 4 | 1 (8 strokes, on stroke index 1–8) | 3 | 1 | 3 |
Gross, this hole is a three-way tie at 4 and the skin carries. In USGA Format, Carla's net 3 wins it outright. In Modified Format, Carla and Dev tie at net 3 and the skin carries again. Same scores, and the skin carries, is won, or carries again depending on the format, which is why the group should pick it before the first tee.
Net skins is only as fair as the handicaps behind it. An estimated handicap from an app is not an official Handicap Index; if your group plays for a real net result, getting an official golf handicap gives everyone the same starting point.
War, Pot and Pairs are the three ways TheGrint sets up who competes against whom in a skins game: every player against every other player, everyone in one game, or two teams of two.
Pot is the classic skins game most golfers know. War suits groups where everyone wants their own result against each player, and Pairs suits a foursome that wants a team game.
The most common skins variations change what it takes to win a skin, what a skin is worth, or whether handicaps apply. These are the ones you'll run into most:
Whichever version you play, the core rule stays the same: one player, or one team, has to win the hole outright to take the skin.
A Nassau splits the round into three separate contests: the front nine, the back nine and the full 18, each worth its own value. On TheGrint, you can add a Nassau to a Skins game and set a point value for each part.
A Nassau keeps a round interesting to the end, because there is still something to play for on the back nine even after a slow start.
The Nassau values on TheGrint are points only and are not tied to real money. The app does not handle payments. If your group likes to settle up friendly wagers in person after the round, the Nassau points can serve as a guide.
The difference is that a tied hole carries over in skins but not in a match format such as Match Best Ball on TheGrint, where every hole is worth the same single point.
| Skins | Match Best Ball on TheGrint | Stroke play (Medal) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you win | A skin for each hole won outright | 1 point for each hole won | Lowest total for the round |
| Tied holes | Carry over to the next hole | Do not carry over | Not applicable |
| A blow-up hole | Costs you that hole only | Costs you that hole only | Every stroke counts |
| Late-round swings | Large, because carried skins pile up | Small, every hole is worth the same | Steady |
| Best for | Pressure moments and comebacks | Close finishes | Rewarding the best overall round |
If your group wants every hole to count the same, play a match. If you want a quiet run of tied holes to build up to one big moment, play skins.
Skins is one of the six games every golfer on TheGrint can play, Free or Pro, and the app works out who wins each skin, including carryovers, as scores are entered hole by hole.
Games on TheGrint are points-based: each skin is worth 1 point (or the hole's yardage in Longest Yard), and carried skins add to the value of the next hole won.
For the rest of the lineup, see the games and live leaderboards on TheGrint, the other games available to all members, how Stableford scoring works, and how to play Wolf, Vegas and the other Pro games.
A skin is the point attached to a single hole in a skins game. The player who makes the lowest score on the hole, with nobody tying them, wins it. If the low score is tied, the skin isn't won and carries over to the next hole, which then counts for two skins. The golfer with the most skins at the end wins.
You need at least two players for skins, and it works with any group size after that. More players make outright wins harder and carryovers more common, which raises the value of each hole won. Skins can also run across a larger field of several groups, where every golfer competes for the same skins on each hole, with a live leaderboard keeping track.
In net skins, each golfer subtracts handicap strokes on the holes where they receive them, then the lowest net score wins the skin. Strokes are placed by the stroke index on the scorecard. On TheGrint, USGA Format has the best player play off 0 while the others get the difference; Modified Format gives everyone their full Course Handicap.
If the final hole is tied, the carried skins have not been won by anyone. On TheGrint, they stay in the pot and are not awarded to anyone. Groups keeping score on paper sometimes play extra holes until someone wins outright instead, so agree on the rule before the round starts, not on the 18th green.
Birdie or better skins is a version where a skin can only be won with a birdie or better. If the lowest score on a hole is a par, even an outright one, the skin carries over to the next hole. It tends to build large carryovers, which makes each birdie worth more. On TheGrint, Birdie or Better is a Pro game type.
Longest Yard is a skins variation where each skin is worth the hole's yardage instead of 1 point. If hole 1 measures 575 yards and you win it outright, you score 575. Long par 5s become the most valuable holes, so the round's biggest swings tend to come on them. On TheGrint, Longest Yard is a Pro game type.
Start a round, tap Games and pick Skins, choose your game type and mode, and TheGrint tracks every skin and carryover for your group hole by hole, with live leaderboards when you have more than one foursome. Classic Skins is one of the six games every member gets. Get TheGrint.
Handicap Index®, Course Handicap™ and related marks are owned or licensed by the United States Golf Association® (USGA®) and/or The R&A. All rights reserved.
