Define Skins in Golf

Value

• Skins rules make every hole count.Golf image by Vanessa van Rensburg from Fotolia.com
  
  When one player wins a hole, the other three players in the group owe him a "skin." If you have agreed beforehand that skins are worth $1 per player, the winner of the skin has just won $3. Other ways to play skins are to have the skins escalate in value as you get further into your round of golf. For example the first six holes might be worth $1 per hole, the next six holes $2, and the last six holes $3 each. The value of each skin needs to be determined before starting your round.
  
  

Single Hole Skins

• In a single skins game, each skin is worth its value only while the hole is being played. If two or more players tie the hole, there is no skin. Your group will move on to the next hole and start a fresh skin.
  
  

Rollover Skins

• Rollover skins are designed so ties are not rewarded and to add value to a future hole. The pros play a modified version of this game. If several holes in a row have been tied, the next player to win a hole wins multiple skins. If your group ties four holes in a row in a rollover skins game, and a player wins the fifth hole, that player wins five skins from each player. Generally, significantly more money will change hands in a rollover skins game.
  
  

Group Skins

• If you play with a large group of golfers where the individual foursomes are formed at random, the entire group could participate in a skins game. You might have a player in your group who wins a hole but is tied by someone else in another group. This eliminates the skin for that hole. A player must win a hole among the entire group of players to get a skin. This is a way the game can be played where an individual skin may be worth a substantial amount to the winner but the other players are only paying one skin.
  
  

Double for Hazards

• Hazards can add value to a skins game.golf course image by Mark Constantine from Fotolia.com
  
  Skins can be played with as few as two players or as many as 20 or more people. Another variation involves course hazards. If a player hits into a sand trap or water hazard, yet still wins the skin, the skin value is doubled.