WiGolfer

New member
Joined
Apr 5, 2011
Messages
33
Reaction score
0
Location
Wisconsin Dells, WI
Handicap
17.4
I would like to get a Saturday morning skins game going at my course. Does anyone have any suggestions to get this going? Or any successful parameters you're using? I'm thinking we should be using handicaps.
 
Our weekend skins players come largely from our mens leagues, but there are a few guys that show and play that are not part of league's. We use handicaps and every team has a A B C D player on it. Our scoring is based on points, 5 for eagles, 3 for birdie, 1 for par. Anything over par is 0 points. Each player in the foursome records their points each hole with the team total being the best point total on each hole. We pay $10 each time we play and 100% is paid out that day depending in the number of skins.
 
I would like to get a Saturday morning skins game going at my course. Does anyone have any suggestions to get this going? Or any successful parameters you're using? I'm thinking we should be using handicaps.

I would first talk to the Head Golfing Professional and see if anyone else has expressed interest. If so I would hook up with them and see how you have the are interested in Playing. I would then ask to post something in the restroom or on the club bulletin board.

Have the buy in listed and what ever your rules are. Full hdcp or 80% of hdcp. Tees that you will be competing from, etc.

Important to run past pro so you can get those prime tee times. Hope this helps
 
I've seen them played a couple different ways.

One is pretty simple. Quarter/dollar/dime/whatever skins. However many people are playing, if there is a skin, everyone pays that person the set amount. Win one and it should pay for the day.

Another version is to use a pot. All those involved put in a set amount ($2/$5/$10/whatever) to the pot for either each nine holes or the entire round. Count up the skins at the end, divide that number by the pot amount and that is what each skin is 'worth'. 10 guys playing for $2 per nine, $20 pot each side, if there are two skins, they pay $10 to the winner. Pretty simple.

There are probably more complex versions, but you really don't want it to be too complicated otherwise people lose interest because they have no idea what it takes to win or how much they might get paid.

Personally, I am against using handicaps for a skins game. I prefer to just played straight up. The few times I have played handicap it sucked. Everyone has an opportunity to have a good score on a few holes. Some more than others, but if you have relatively equal skill levels it should all balance out. A good skins game should only have 5-6 for the round with birdies or eagles taking the majority. Any more than 10 or if you have a bunch of pars winning and it isn't very competitive.
 
Thanks for the input. The thinking was to expand the action from our 4some to anyone else. I agree that we're going to do this without handicaps. The pro is cool with any member driven ideas. I'm thinking 10$a guy. Hopefully from the start we get 8-12 guys who are already golfing on Saturday morning. We leave the envelope in the pro shop to pay in. then they turn in their cards as they finish. I pick up the cards Sunday and pay out, by leaving envelopes of money in pro shop. Ideally we build momentum whereas everyone is in and out golfing by 9, and we can pay out in the clubhouse when everyone gets in.
 
We use our index and break it up into 2 or 3 groups depending on the size of the field. 0-9, 11-19, 20+ for indexes. I think if you don't use indexes you won't get the higher indexes to join as they won't have much of a opportunity to win. They might get lucky on a hole every now and then and make a par or a rare birdie, but they are a high index for a reason. It's usually a lower index that are against using them for skins game from my experience. Now if all the players are within a reasonable index range then I could see not using it for a skins game. But our weekly skins game ranges from a couple +4 to -25 indexes, so not using it wouldn't be fair.
 
At my old course everyone put in 5$, and low score on a hole got a share of the pot. Sometimes only 1 guy would win a skin and take the pot, other times several people took home cash. Great game!!
 
We use our index and break it up into 2 or 3 groups depending on the size of the field. 0-9, 11-19, 20+ for indexes. I think if you don't use indexes you won't get the higher indexes to join as they won't have much of a opportunity to win. They might get lucky on a hole every now and then and make a par or a rare birdie, but they are a high index for a reason. It's usually a lower index that are against using them for skins game from my experience. Now if all the players are within a reasonable index range then I could see not using it for a skins game. But our weekly skins game ranges from a couple +4 to -25 indexes, so not using it wouldn't be fair.

+2. Indexes are a must for a fair and balanced skins game. In our format, we do not pay out for par's. It takes under par (birdies - eagles etc) to win a skin.
 
The problem we have with using the handicaps is that not everyone is keeping one. For some reason they don't want to pay for the handicapping service.
 
The problem we have with using the handicaps is that not everyone is keeping one. For some reason they don't want to pay for the handicapping service.

Well, at my course they simply would not play then. May seem harsh, but keeping a official index there is $20 for the year. Pretty low price.
 
Well, at my course they simply would not play then. May seem harsh, but keeping a official index there is $20 for the year. Pretty low price.

I agree for sure
 
Yeah, unless you know them pretty well and how they play, I certainly wouldn't play in a skins game with them.
 
I have a regular foursome and we play skins. What we do is $2 a hole each. Any ties then the skin carries to the next hole. One of the guys' HC is 10 better than mine. I get a stroke on the ten most difficult holes on the course. That's how we play - it evens it up enough that no one loses or wins much money, but it's still competitive and fun.
 
Back
Top