Page type: Format comparison (two named formats)
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When each fits
Choose best ball when partners should each play their own ball and have the side’s lower score count, with the player arrangement and handicap terms stated clearly. Choose skins when individuals want a hole-by-hole contest with optional carryovers, using agreed gross or house-rule net scoring rather than an assumed WHS allowance.
best ball in brief
A low-score team game where each side records its best individual score on every hole.
skins in brief
A hole-by-hole game where the player with the best agreed score wins that hole’s skin or carryover.
Table
| Comparison | best ball | skins |
|---|---|---|
| One line | A low-score team game where each side records its best individual score on every hole. | A hole-by-hole game where the player with the best agreed score wins that hole’s skin or carryover. |
| Players | Minimum: 3 for the Rules-described one-player-versus-a-side version; ideal: 4 for two two-player sides. In ordinary club usage, best ball often means two partners versus two partners, but the Rules source distinguishes that as Four-Ball. | Minimum 2; ideal 3–4 players in one group. It is an individual field game, not automatically a head-to-head match. |
| Scoring unit | Holes in match play; strokes or points in stroke-play variants. Each side's score for a hole is the lower score of its partners, or the best score from the side in a one-player-versus-a-side arrangement. | Holes and skins. A skin is awarded only under the group’s agreed tie and carryover rules; scores may be gross or use an agreed net method. |
| Handicap method | For two-player sides played as Four-Ball match play, WHS Appendix C recommends 90% of the difference in Course Handicap, applied to the unrounded Course Handicap as the final step in calculating Playing Handicap; in match play the lowest Playing Handicap normally plays from zero and the others receive the differences. The one-player-versus-a-side Best-Ball variation has no separate allowance listed in Appendix C, so the Committee or house Terms should specify how handicaps are applied rather than automatically transplanting 90%. | No WHS handicap allowance or stroke-allocation recommendation exists for net skins. For a casual game, agree in advance whether it is gross or net and document any house method; do not present individual match-play’s 100% allowance as a skins rule. |
| Money settles how | If stakes are agreed, settle by the agreed match result or by hole; money is a house arrangement, not part of the Rules of Golf. Confirm whether a side or individual is the betting unit before play. | Per hole, with the value of an outright skin and any carryover agreed before play; settle the total after the round. Money is optional and only applies where stakes are agreed. |
| Pace | Often faster than individual stroke play in a casual round because a player can stop once a partner's lower score is secure, but it can be similar or slower when all players finish holes or when match-play decisions require discussion; this is an editorial tendency, not a measured rule. | Usually similar to stroke play, but it can be slower when players wait to confirm the lowest score, resolve ties or calculate net scores; this is an editorial tendency, not a measured claim. |
| Best for | Pairs who want every player to play their own ball while still rewarding a side's strongest score, including a two-versus-two match or a one-versus-two/three challenge when the Terms are clear. | Friends wanting a simple hole-by-hole contest with optional carryovers and a result that keeps interest alive across the round. |
| Weakness | The name and handicap treatment are easy to misunderstand: current Rule 23 is Four-Ball for two-player sides, while the USGA's Rules text describes Best-Ball as one individual against a side of two or three; informal events also vary on whether the game is match play, stroke play or a side bet. | Tie, carryover and handicap arrangements can become contentious because skins has no single WHS method for net play; the group must write its house rules first. |
Worked example
Illustrative inputs and selected terms, not historical results. For an explicitly selected one-versus-three best-ball match, Alex scores 4 against Ben 5, Chris 5 and Dana 6; the partners' lowest 5 loses that scratch hole to Alex. Casual best-ball labels may mean something else. Under a chosen pooled skins rule, four players each contribute $2 to a hole. Alex's outright low 4 against 5, 5 and 6 wins the $8 pool: net +$6 for Alex and −$2 for each other player.
Rule reference: Rules of Golf Rule 23 (Four-Ball/Best-Ball naming); Rule 3 (match play); WHS Rules of Handicapping Appendix C and USGA net-skins guidance
Sources: www.randa.org , www.usga.org , www.randa.org , www.randa.org , www.usga.org , www.usga.org
Common questions
How do best ball and skins score differently?
For best ball: Holes in match play; strokes or points in stroke-play variants. Each side's score for a hole is the lower score of its partners, or the best score from the side in a one-player-versus-a-side arrangement. For skins: Holes and skins. A skin is awarded only under the group’s agreed tie and carryover rules; scores may be gross or use an agreed net method.
How do handicaps apply in best ball vs skins?
best ball: For two-player sides played as Four-Ball match play, WHS Appendix C recommends 90% of the difference in Course Handicap, applied to the unrounded Course Handicap as the final step in calculating Playing Handicap; in match play the lowest Playing Handicap normally plays from zero and the others receive the differences. The one-player-versus-a-side Best-Ball variation has no separate allowance listed in Appendix C, so the Committee or house Terms should specify how handicaps are applied rather than automatically transplanting 90%. skins: No WHS handicap allowance or stroke-allocation recommendation exists for net skins. For a casual game, agree in advance whether it is gross or net and document any house method; do not present individual match-play’s 100% allowance as a skins rule.
When should I choose best ball instead of skins?
Choose best ball when partners should each play their own ball and have the side’s lower score count, with the player arrangement and handicap terms stated clearly. Choose skins when individuals want a hole-by-hole contest with optional carryovers, using agreed gross or house-rule net scoring rather than an assumed WHS allowance.