If you’ve been around golf for any length of time the odds are you’ve heard the term Nassau before. The Nassau wager originated at Nassau Country Club on Long Island NY in the early 1900s and given its longevity and widespread adoption is considered the granddaddy of golf games.
Understanding the Nassau Format
Instead of just playing one long match over the course of 18 holes, the Nassau adds two additional matches covering each half, the front 9 and back 9. So 3 bets in all, pretty easy to understand and keep score of plus you now have something extra to play for. In its simplest form, playing a $10 Nassau means $10 for the front 9, $10 for the back 9 and $10 for the overall. Varying stakes are conventionally separated with slashes e.g. $10/$20/$20 representing Front/Back/Overall amounts.
The Basics of Nassau Betting
A Nassau is typically played in match play format but stoke play can also be used. Handicaps keep the game competitive among players of differing ability, utilizing net score to determine a winner. The format allows players to stay engaged and potentially win, even if they have a bad stretch of holes.
Why It’s One of the Most Popular Golf Bets
- It breaks a single round into 3 separate bets
- It’s easy to understand
- There’s a defined upside/downside
- It’s well-suited to better ball team and individual play
Nassau’s keep everyone invested in the game. If you lose the front you have a chance to recover on the back. It’s also a highly flexible format with respect to stakes and numerous variations exist, many of which have become standardized like the Ways games and automatic presses.
How the Nassau Game Works
The Nassau is a popular golf betting format that divides a single round into three separate wagers: a match for the Front Nine, a match for the Back Nine, and an Overall match for all 18 holes, allowing players to win or lose on multiple fronts.
Front Nine, Back Nine, and Overall
The Front and Back Nine matches are entirely separate but both clearly factor into the Overall match. There’s also no chance of winning the Overall without winning either the Front or the Back or conversely, losing the Overall if you’ve won both the Front and the Back.
- Front 9 match covers holes 1 thru 9
- Back 9 match covers holes 10 thru 18
- Overall match covers holes 1 thru 18
Example: You’re playing a $10 Nassau so your damages range from plus $30 (win all 3) to minus $30 (lose all 3). Here are some possible payouts in between:
Win Front 9, Lose Back 9, Win Overall >> $10
Lose Front 9, Win Back 9, Win Overall >> $20
Win Front 9, Lose Back 9, Tie Overall >> $0
Tie Front 9, Win Back 9, Win Overall >> $20 (Front 9 not carried over)
Tie Front 9, Win Back 9, Win Overall >> $30 (Front 9 carried over)
The Role of Press Bets
Press bets add further excitement to a Nassau match. If you’re down, presses give you a chance to make up ground (or possibly go down further). A “press” creates a new match within the match—they generally apply to the front and back nine matches with 2-hole automatic considered the best and fairest practice.
Nassau Variations and Strategies
Beyond the standard three-part wager, the Nassau format is highly adaptable, allowing players to introduce several variations and side bets to intensify the competition and increase the potential stakes.
How to Add More Side Bets
Presses are the most effective way to add side bets but they can be confusing to keep track of, particularly when they’re automatic and both team and individual matches are taking place. Also, when the Front 9 is tied, players must decide whether to play it all off on the Back 9. Certain groups will also tweak matches by Doubling the stakes on the Back 9 or even add in a final hole “Aloha” bet. Yet another variation adds a “Junk” match to the action, tracking extraordinary scoring events as a separate bet.
Ways Games
Ways games are a Nassau variant where the Front/Back/Overall weight are pre-determined and then scaled up by a given amount. These games also have automatic presses (generally 1 way), optional Doubling (back 9 and presses worth double) and optional Aloha (last hole press bet for half the guaranteed take) bets.
Examples:
5 Ways – 1/2/2 Front/Back/Overall
7 Ways – 2/2/3 Front/Back/Overall
9 Ways – 2/2/5 Front/Back/Overall
Tips for Playing a Nassau with Friends
Especially in a team format, a Nassau game promotes camaraderie. As a friendly competition, the Nassau fosters social interaction and playful trash talk. It gives players a shared experience beyond just keeping their own individual scores, making the round more fun and memorable.
The strategy inherent in match play lends itself particularly well to the Nassau format. When and whether to concede putts, trying to get into your opponents head via slow/quick play or other means, you are now competing mentally as well as physically, giving the competition an exhilarating quality.
Nassau vs Other Golf Betting Games
Among golf betting games the Nassau reigns supreme, at least by my take, to specialized, hole by hole points-based games like Skins, Stableford and Wolf, exciting as they may be. The thrill of being in a Nassau match, preferably with a teammate – win, lose or tie, pressure building from one hole to the next, those are my favorite memories in golf. As opposed to scrambling to not be the player with least points as is often the case in pure points-based games. That being said, points-based games like Stableford may be played “Nassau” style with point totals determining Front, Back and Overall bets.
Related blog: 12 Best Golf Betting Games
FAQs
Why is it called a Nassau in golf?
It originated at Nassau Country Club in the early 1900s. Members wanted a straightforward yet more engaging way to structure bets, so they created the front nine, back nine, and overall eighteen hole format still used today.
How much is a typical Nassau bet?
A Nassau bet can range from a few dollars to larger wagers, depending on the risk appetite of the group. The oldest format is probably either a “$2 Nassau” or a “$5 Nassau”, meaning $5 for the front nine, $5 for the back nine, and $5 for the overall match.
What does “press” mean in a Nassau?
A press is a side bet that starts when a player or team has taken the lead, typically by 2 holes. It provides an opportunity for the losing side to win back money (or of course go down further) as it creates a new bet within the existing match for the remaining holes, usually for half the stakes.
Are Nassau games good for beginners?
Yes. A Nassau is beginner-friendly because it spreads risk across three bets instead of just one. Even if you struggle on one nine, you can still win the other or the overall match. And in the prevailing format of match play, a blowup on a single hole or two has less impact than it would under stroke play.