Vegas Golf Game: How to Play, Score and Win

The Vegas golf game is a two-against-two team game for four players. On each hole, each team puts its two scores together into a two-digit number, lower score first, so a 4 and a 5 become 45. The team with the lower number wins the difference as points, and the most points after the round wins.

This guide covers the rules, worked examples, the 10-or-higher rule, a six-hole scorecard, strategy and net Vegas.

If you'd rather not do the subtraction on the cart, TheGrint scores Vegas for you as you enter each hole. It is one of the five games a Pro Membership on TheGrint adds to the six free games.

What is the Vegas golf game?

Vegas is a team game in which two pairs compare combined two-digit team numbers on every hole instead of single scores. Because the numbers are built from both partners' scores, small differences on the hole turn into big point swings.

Everyone plays their own ball and counts every stroke. Like High & Low, both balls on each team count, not only the better one. The twist is that a par and a bogey become one number, so a bad hole from either partner shows up in the team's total, and a team that trails all day can get back in it with one big hole.

How do you play Vegas in golf?

You play Vegas by splitting a foursome into two teams of two, combining each team's scores into one number on every hole, and giving the difference to the team with the lower number. These are the rules as TheGrint's app sets them out:

1. Form two teams: four players, two pairs. On TheGrint, Team A is players 1 and 2, and Team B is players 3 and 4.
2. Play the hole as normal: each player plays their own ball and counts every stroke, including penalty strokes.
3. Build each team's number: each partner's score becomes one digit, with the lower score first. A 4 and a 5 make 45.
4. Apply the 10-or-higher exception: if a player scores 10 or more, the higher score goes first. A 4 and a 10 make 104.
5. Compare the two numbers: the team with the lower number gets the difference as points. If the numbers match, neither team scores on that hole.
6. Add up after the round: the team with the most total points wins.

Some groups add house rules on top of this; those are not part of TheGrint's Vegas.

How do you score a hole in Vegas?

You score a Vegas hole by writing each team's two scores as one number, lower score first, and subtracting the lower team number from the higher one. The result is the winning team's points for that hole. Here are four holes worked through:

• A par 4: Team A makes 7 and 5, so its number is 57. Team B makes 6 and 4, so its number is 46. 57 minus 46 is 11, and Team B wins 11 points.
• A par 3 with two birdies: Team A makes 2 and 2 for 22. Team B makes 3 and 4 for 34. Team A wins 12 points.
• A matched hole: both teams make 4 and 5, so both numbers are 45. The difference is 0, so neither team scores on the hole.
• A score of 10: Team A makes 4 and 10. Because one score is 10 or higher, the higher score goes first and the number is 104, not 410. Team B makes 5 and 5 for 55. 104 minus 55 is 49, so Team B wins 49 points.

The last example shows what the exception does. Putting the 10 first makes the number 104 instead of 410, so the hole still costs a lot, but far less than it would under the normal lower-first rule.

What does a Vegas game look like on a scorecard?

On a scorecard, Vegas is tracked hole by hole: write each team's number, the points the hole was worth and a running total. Here are six holes for Team A (Alex and Ben) against Team B (Carla and Dev), played gross:

Team B won three holes to Team A's two, and Carla finished level with par. Team B still trails by 47 points, because Dev's 10 on hole 4 made the team number 104, and that one hole was worth 60 points to Team A.

In Vegas, winning more holes matters less than avoiding the one number that blows a hole open.

Why can one bad score swing a Vegas hole?

One bad score swings a Vegas hole because both partners' scores sit inside the team number: the better score sets the tens digit, the worse score sets the ones digit, and a score of 10 or more jumps to the front and makes the number three digits long.

Take a par 4 where a team makes 4 and 5 for 45. If the second partner makes 7 instead, the number is 47, only 2 points worse. If the better partner slips to 5, it becomes 55, 10 points worse. If one partner runs up a 10, the number jumps to 104, 59 points worse on a single hole.

• Protect the low score: the better score is the tens digit, so every stroke one partner saves on a solid hole is worth 10 points.
• Never let a score reach double digits: a 10 or higher turns a two-digit number into a three-digit one. Take the safe layup, take your penalty drop and finish the hole.
• Keep the ball in play: penalty strokes are how a 7 becomes a 10. A safe tee shot is worth more in Vegas than in a best-ball game.
• Play off your partner: when your partner has a sure par, you can attack, because a birdie lowers the tens digit while a bogey only nudges the ones digit.

How do handicaps work in net Vegas?

In net Vegas, each player subtracts any handicap strokes they receive on the hole before the team numbers are built, so golfers of different abilities can be equally valuable partners.

Strokes fall on holes set by the stroke index 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 number of strokes starts from each golfer's Course Handicap^™, which converts a Handicap Index^® for the tees being played (see how handicaps work on TheGrint). TheGrint offers two formats for net games:

• USGA Format (the default on TheGrint): the group is re-based around the lowest Course Handicap. The best player plays off 0, and everyone else gets the difference. With Course Handicap values of 3, 7, 12 and 15, the players play off 0, 4, 9 and 12.
• Modified Format: every player gets their full Course Handicap, no matter who they play against, so 3, 7, 12 and 15 stay 3, 7, 12 and 15.

Here is one par 4 with a stroke index of 3. The Course Handicap values are Alex 6, Ben 14, Carla 9 and Dev 18:

Gross, both teams post 56 and nobody scores. In USGA Format, Team A posts 55 and Team B posts 45, so Team B wins 10 points. In Modified Format, both teams post 45 and nobody scores again. Same scores, different results, so pick the format before the first tee.

How do you play Vegas on TheGrint?

Vegas is one of the five games a Pro Membership on TheGrint adds, and the app builds each team's number and keeps the running points current as scores are entered hole by hole.

• Add four players in team order: tap Play and add your group in round setup. Vegas is played in Pairs mode, where Team A is players 1 and 2 and Team B is players 3 and 4, so add partners next to each other.
• Start it from your round: tap Start Round. Once the round is open, tap Games in the bottom menu and select Vegas.
• Choose gross or net: for a net game, pick USGA Format (the default) or Modified Format.
• Run another game alongside it: Pro also includes Multi-Games, so you can run Vegas next to Skins or another game in the same round. Free members run one game at a time.
• Free and Pro: scoring, GPS and six games, including Skins and High & Low, are free for every golfer on TheGrint. For more advanced features, try TheGrint Pro free for 7 days.

Vegas on TheGrint is scored in points: each hole adds the difference between the two team numbers to the winning team's total.

For the rest of the lineup, see the games and live leaderboards on TheGrint, how to play Wolf, Vegas and the other Pro games, and what Free and Pro include.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is Vegas scored in golf?

Vegas is scored by turning each team's two hole scores into one number, with the lower score first, so a 4 and a 6 make 46. The two team numbers are compared, and the team with the lower number gets the difference as points. If the numbers match, nobody scores. The team with the most points after the round wins.

What happens in Vegas when a player scores 10 or more?

When a player scores 10 or more, the higher score goes first in the team number instead of the lower one. A 4 and a 10 make 104, not 410. The team still loses the difference to the other side, so against a 55 that hole costs 49 points, which is why avoiding double-digit scores matters so much.

Can you play Vegas with 3 players?

Vegas is built for four players in two teams of two, and that is how TheGrint sets it up: Team A is players 1 and 2, Team B is players 3 and 4. A threesome can't split into two pairs, so a group of three is better served by a game such as Niners, which is designed for three players.

What is the difference between Vegas and High & Low?

Both are four-player team games in which both partners' scores count. High & Low awards 2 points per hole, one for the better low score and one for the better high score. Vegas combines the two scores into a two-digit number and awards the difference, so a single hole can be worth 1 point or more than 50.

Is Vegas a good game for mixed handicaps?

Vegas works for mixed handicaps when you play it net, with strokes taken on the holes set by the stroke index. Big numbers are costly, so a higher-handicap partner who keeps the ball in play is valuable. For groups with wide handicap gaps that want smaller swings, High & Low is the steadier choice.

Play your next Vegas game with TheGrint

Add your foursome in team order, start the round, tap Games and pick Vegas, and TheGrint builds every team number and keeps the points current hole by hole, gross or net. Vegas comes with a Pro Membership on TheGrint. 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.