Format type: Skins is a social side game, not a Rules of Golf competition format, so the conventions below are the common ones rather than official rules. Read the skins golf guide for how the game is played.
Skins payout calculator
MatchPlay settles this in the group chat.
MatchPlay is being built to record each hole as the group plays, track the carryovers, and post exactly who owes whom the moment the card is confirmed — no calculator, no clubhouse maths.
How the payout is worked out
The calculator uses the convention most groups play: every hole is worth one skin, a player must have the sole lowest score to win it, and when the low score is tied the skin carries to the next hole. Each skin is worth the agreed stake from every other player, so with four players at $5 a skin the winner of a hole collects $15, and a hole carrying three skins pays $45.
A worked example over nine holes with four players (Alex, Ben, Chris and Dana) at $5 a skin: Alex wins hole 1, holes 2 and 3 are tied, so Ben's win on hole 4 is worth three skins. Chris wins hole 5, Alex wins hole 6, and holes 7, 8 and 9 are all tied. Six skins were awarded: Alex 2, Ben 3, Chris 1, Dana 0, with three skins unclaimed at the end.
- Alex: collects $15 × 2 = $30, pays $5 for each of the 4 skins others won = $20. Net +$10.
- Ben: collects $15 × 3 = $45, pays $5 × 3 = $15. Net +$30.
- Chris: collects $15, pays $5 × 5 = $25. Net −$10.
- Dana: collects nothing, pays $5 × 6 = $30. Net −$30.
The nets always sum to zero, and the calculator then reduces them to the fewest payments: Dana pays Ben $30 and Chris pays Alex $10. Press “Load the worked example” above to see the same round in the tool.
Skins payout table: what one skin is worth
With the per-player convention a skin is worth the stake from every other player, so its value to the winner is stake × (players − 1). The table gives that figure for the usual group sizes and stakes. A hole carrying extra skins is worth the figure multiplied by the number of skins riding on it.
| Players | $1 a skin | $2 a skin | $5 a skin | $10 a skin | $20 a skin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | $1 | $2 | $5 | $10 | $20 |
| 3 | $2 | $4 | $10 | $20 | $40 |
| 4 | $3 | $6 | $15 | $30 | $60 |
| 5 | $4 | $8 | $20 | $40 | $80 |
| 6 | $5 | $10 | $25 | $50 | $100 |
| 7 | $6 | $12 | $30 | $60 | $120 |
| 8 | $7 | $14 | $35 | $70 | $140 |
Carryovers multiply the hole, not the stake. In a four-player game at $5 a skin, a hole worth one skin pays $15 to the winner; two skins riding pays $30; three pays $45; four pays $60; five pays $75. That is why a run of tied holes changes a skins game: the 7th hole in the worked example above was worth nothing to anyone, but had somebody won the 9th outright it would have paid $45.
The table is for the per-player convention. If your group plays a fixed pot instead, everyone puts in the same amount before the round and the pot is divided by the number of holes: four players at $20 each over 18 holes is an $80 pot and each skin is worth $80 ÷ 18 = $4.44 to its winner, carried skins included. Pot games need a rule for skins nobody wins, because the money is already in the pot.
How to calculate skins payouts by hand
- Count the skins. Go through the card hole by hole. A hole with a sole lowest score gives its winner one skin plus any skins carried into it. A tied hole carries its skin forward (or is void, if that is the group's rule). Note the total skins awarded.
- Work out what each player collects. Their skins × stake × (players − 1).
- Work out what each player pays. The stake × every skin somebody else won, which is (total awarded − their skins) × stake.
- Net the two. Collected minus paid. The shortcut is net = stake × (players × their skins − total skins awarded), and the nets across the group must add to zero. If they do not, a skin has been counted twice or missed.
- Settle with the fewest payments. The biggest loser pays the biggest winner first, then work down.
Checked against the worked round above (four players, $5 a skin, six skins awarded): Alex 5 × (4 × 2 − 6) = +$10, Ben 5 × (4 × 3 − 6) = +$30, Chris 5 × (4 × 1 − 6) = −$10, Dana 5 × (0 − 6) = −$30, and the four nets sum to zero. For three players at $5 with four skins awarded 3, 1 and 0, the same formula gives +$25, −$5 and −$20: the player with no skins pays $20 and the player with one pays $5, both to the player with three.
With two players the formula collapses to the stake × the difference in skins, because every skin is paid by the one other player. Net skins with handicaps changes who wins each hole, not the payout maths: Appendix C of the Rules of Handicapping lists no allowance for skins, so most groups play off the lowest Course Handicap and give the others the difference, which the handicap calculator works out.
Source: the USGA Golf History FAQ describes skins as a golf gambling format that has been played for decades, also known regionally as cats, scats, skats or syndicates. The carryover and sole-low-score conventions are the common group convention rather than an official rule.
Agree these before the first tee
- The value of a skin, and whether it is per player (as here) or a fixed pot. Per player scales with group size: more players, bigger skins.
- Gross or net. If handicaps apply, decide the method (full handicap, or strokes off the lowest player) and where the strokes fall; the handicap calculator works that out. The calculator only needs the winner of each hole.
- Carryovers. Almost everyone carries tied holes forward. Untick the option above if your group voids tied holes instead.
- Unclaimed skins at the end. Void, a sudden-death playoff hole, or carried to the next round — the calculator reports them as unclaimed so the group can apply its own rule.
- Validation. If a skin must be validated by halving the next hole, agree it up front and only enter it once it is safe.
Keep it social: the stake should be one the whole group is comfortable with.
Related guides
Read the full skins golf guide, compare the other golf betting games groups play, or see how a Nassau splits the round into three matches and score one with the Nassau calculator. The complete format library covers every game.
Common questions
How do you calculate skins payouts?
Count the skins each player won, carryovers included. Each skin is worth the stake from every other player, so a skin pays stake × (players − 1) to its winner. Each player then pays the stake for every skin somebody else won. The shortcut for a player's net result is stake × (players × their skins − total skins awarded): with four players at $5, a player with 2 of the 6 skins awarded nets 5 × (8 − 6) = +$10. The calculator does this and reduces the result to the fewest payments.
How much is a skin worth with 4 players?
The stake from each of the other three. At $5 a skin, one skin is worth $15 to the winner, a hole carrying two skins is worth $30 and a hole carrying three is worth $45. At $10 a skin those become $30, $60 and $90.
How does a skins payout work with 3 players?
Exactly the same way, with each skin worth the stake from the other two. At $5 a skin, one skin is $10 to the winner. If three skins out of four awarded went to one player, one to a second and none to the third, the nets are +$25, −$5 and −$20: the third player pays the first $20 and the second pays the first $5.
Does the calculator work for 2 players?
Yes. With two players a skin is simply the stake, because there is only one other player to collect from. Set players to 2 and the settlement is a single payment for the difference in skins times the stake.
What happens to skins nobody wins on the last hole?
There is no official rule, because skins is a side game rather than a Rules of Golf format. Common choices are to void them, to play a sudden-death hole, or to carry them into the next round. This calculator treats them as void; agree the rule before you tee off.
What is the difference between per-player skins and a fixed pot?
Per player, which this calculator uses, means each skin is worth the stake from every other player, so the value of a skin grows with the group. A fixed pot means everyone puts in the same amount at the start and the pot is divided by the number of holes to give the value of one skin: four players at $20 each over 18 holes is an $80 pot and $4.44 a skin. Unclaimed skins stay in the pot, so a pot game usually needs a rule for leftover money.
Can I use net scores with handicaps?
Yes. Decide before play whether each hole is won on gross or net score, then enter the winner of each hole. The payout maths is the same either way. Appendix C of the Rules of Handicapping has no allowance for skins; most groups play off the lowest handicap and give the others the difference, which the handicap calculator works out.
What is validation in skins?
An optional variant where a player must at least halve the next hole to keep a skin they have just won. If your group plays it, only enter the skin once it has been validated.
Does the calculator work for a scramble or team skins?
Yes, as long as each team counts as one player. In a four-team scramble with skins, set players to 4 and enter the team that won each hole; the stake is then per team, and the teams split what they collect or owe between their members.