Nassau Golf: Front, Back, Overall and Presses

Ava wins the back and overall matches; the front is tied. The press adds a separate result. Its holes are already part of the front nine and overall, but its score starts from zero on its own starting hole.

After hole 4, Ben has won three holes and Ava one: Ben is 2 up. Ava requests a press beginning on the next tee, and Ben agrees.

Across holes 5–9, Ava wins three, Ben one and they halve one. Ava therefore wins the press 2 up. In the original front-nine match, that two-hole gain cancels the earlier two-hole deficit. The front nine ends tied, not with Ava 1 up or 2 up.

Keep those two calculations visible. A fresh side track changes what is counted in that track; it does not erase the first four holes from the main match.

The Skins App's Nassau description describes an optional automatic-press implementation. Our manual, single-press example deliberately specifies a different agreement. Neither should be silently substituted for the other.

Write down who can request a press, when it begins, where it ends, and whether further presses are allowed. If your group wants the simplest version, agree that presses are off. The three original matches are enough to play.

For net play, establish the handicap method and each hole's allocated strokes before comparing hole results. Match-play and stroke-play versions need different scoring instructions; this example does not combine them.

1. Name the sides and whether the version is match play.
2. Agree gross/net treatment and stroke allocations.
3. Open three score lines: front, back and overall.
4. Write 'presses off' or the precise agreed press rule.
5. Add any press as a new labelled line with start/end holes.
6. Reconcile each final line against the same hole results.

For a hole-by-hole carryover game, use the skins scorecard. The existing formats overview explains the wider choices, and getting a GHIN handicap covers establishing an Index.