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The 19th
Golf Side Bet2–4 playersRuns concurrently

Skins

Win the hole, win the pot.

Win a hole outright to earn a skin and a bigger share of the pot. Ties get nothing. Buy-ins, payouts, and the math all handled automatically.

Skins is the most-played side bet in golf. Each hole is its own contest — win it outright and you earn a skin. Tie, and that hole's value vanishes. There's no carryover, no bookkeeping, just a clean pot at the end split by who actually won the most holes.

It's the easiest game to learn at the turn and the easiest one to argue about on the way to the clubhouse if you don't have an honest scorekeeper. The 19th's Skins tracker handles the buy-ins, the per-hole results, and the payout math the second the round ends — no spreadsheets, no IOUs, no guessing.

How to play Skins

  1. 1

    Set the buy-in

    Each player drops a buy-in into the pot before the round starts. The total pot equals buy-in × number of players.

  2. 2

    Play the round

    Play your usual round of 9 or 18. Stroke-play scoring on every hole.

  3. 3

    Record the hole winner

    The host marks the outright low score on each hole. Tied holes are recorded as a tie — no skin awarded, no carryover.

  4. 4

    Settle the pot at the end

    The 19th divides the pot by total skins earned to compute a per-skin value, then pays each player based on their skin count minus their buy-in.

Rules at a glance

  • An outright low score on a hole earns 1 skin.

  • Ties on a hole award no skins and do not carry over.

  • Holes can be recorded in any order; the host can undo the last three entries to fix mistakes.

  • If no skins are won the entire round, every player breaks even.

  • If a single player takes every skin, they take the entire pot minus their buy-in.

Configurable variations

Carryover Skins (not in The 19th)

Some traditional Skins variants carry the value of tied holes forward to the next outright winner. The 19th uses the cleaner no-carryover ruleset by default — fewer disputes, faster math.

Skins in the app

The 19th tracks every shot, side bet, and payout for Skins automatically. Here's what it looks like on iOS.

Skins gameplay screen in The 19th iOS app
Skins results screen in The 19th iOS app

Frequently asked questions

How are payouts calculated in Skins?
Total pot ÷ total skins earned = per-skin value. Each player's earnings = (their skins × per-skin value) − buy-in. Example: a $40 pot with 8 skins earned makes each skin worth $5; a player with 3 skins earns (3 × $5) − $10 = $5 profit.
What happens if no one wins any skins?
Every hole was tied, so no skins are awarded. Each player gets their buy-in back and nobody wins or loses a dollar.
How many players can play Skins?
Skins is designed for a typical foursome — 2 to 4 players. The 19th supports running Skins concurrently with Greenies, Animals, or Wolf in the same round.

Related games

Wolf

Choose your partner. Or go alone.

Strategic golf side game with a rotating Wolf role and Lone Wolf high-stakes plays.

Read the rules

Greenies

Closest to the pin. Cash in hand.

Par-3-only golf side game where the player closest to the pin earns a greenie.

Read the rules

Animals

Penalties that follow you home.

Six golf mishaps each tied to a payout — get stuck holding one at the end and you pay.

Read the rules

Track Skins automatically

Download The 19th and let the app handle the scoring, payouts, and settlement so your crew can focus on the round.

Download on the App Store
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