Nassau rules: the short version
A "$10 Nassau" is three separate $10 match-play bets: one on the front 9, one on the back 9 and one on the overall 18. Win a hole and you go 1 up in the bets that hole belongs to. Whoever is ahead when each bet ends wins it; a tie is a push. The most you can win or lose is three stakes.
Step by step
- Pick the sides. Singles (1 vs 1) or four-ball (2 vs 2, best ball of each side counts on every hole).
- Set the stake. The same amount rides on each of the three bets.
- Settle strokes. In handicap play, the low player plays off zero and the others get the difference, on the hardest holes by stroke index. Four-ball usually uses 90% of each course handicap. Our handicap strokes calculator does the math.
- Play match play. Low score (net, if you're using strokes) wins the hole. Holes 1–9 count toward the front and the overall; holes 10–18 toward the back and the overall.
- Settle up. Add up the three results. Sweep all three and you win three stakes.
Presses
A press is a new bet, usually for the same stake, that starts on the next hole and runs to the end of that nine (or the round). The common house rule is that a side that falls 2 down can press; some groups make presses automatic at 2 down. Presses are where Nassaus get expensive, so agree on the rules before you start.
How 2-vs-2 money works
In a four-ball Nassau each player usually plays for the stake. At $10, each player on the losing side of a bet pays $10 to a player on the winning side. ForeLeft!'s settle-up nets all three bets (and any other games) into the fewest payments. Try the Nassau calculator.
Where the name comes from
The Nassau is credited to J.B. Coles Tappan, a member of Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove, New York, who devised it in 1900. Splitting a match into three parts meant the worst score a club could see printed in the newspaper was 3–0 rather than a lopsided margin.
Sources
- USGA, "Nassau Scoring System Originated at 2014 U.S. Women's Amateur Venue" (2014): usga.org
- Nassau Country Club history: nassaucc.com
Last updated October 19, 2026. House rules vary; agree on yours on the first tee.
