Skins Golf: How It Works, How to Score It, and How to Run It Without a Spreadsheet

Skins golf is a format where each hole is worth a set amount of money or points, and the player with the lowest score on that hole wins the “skin.” If two or more players tie, nobody wins that hole and the value carries over to the next. It’s one of the most popular side games in recreational golf because it gives a weekly Saturday morning game with your friends a little extra meaning and keeps every hole meaningful in the weekly league, even if you’re out of the overall tournament.

That’s the simple version. Running it cleanly for a group of 40 players is a different story. There are infinite ways to pay skins — carryovers, no carryovers, net skins, gross skins, pot skins, progressive skins — and the list goes on.

How Skins Scoring Works

Each hole has a value — usually a fixed dollar amount or a point. The player who makes the lowest score on that hole outright wins the skin. “Outright” is the key word. If two players both birdie the 4th hole, neither wins it. The skin carries over to the 5th hole, which is now worth double. If the 5th also ties, the 6th hole is worth 3 skins, and so on. A carryover skin on a par 3 late in the round can be worth five or six times the base value — which is exactly why skins games can turn into chaos if not run correctly.

With Carryovers vs Without

Some groups play skins with carryovers (accumulated value rolls to the next hole on a tie), and some play without (ties simply result in no winner on that hole, and the value resets). Carryovers create more drama and bigger payouts. No carryovers keep the math simpler and reduce the “I lost $40 on one hole” moments. For recreational leagues with mixed handicap ranges, carryovers tend to favor low handicappers who can string birdies together. Choose your format before anyone tees off — changing it mid-round or figuring it out in the clubhouse is a good way to clear a room.

Gross vs Net Skins

Gross skins use the score as played, no handicap adjustment. The player who cards a 3 wins the hole, full stop. This favors lower handicappers and better ball-strikers.

Net skins subtract handicap strokes from the score before comparing. A 20-handicap playing a par 4 where they receive a stroke effectively has a par of 5 — so if they make a 5, their net score is 4. If no scratch player makes better than 4, the 20-handicap wins the skin.

Net skins level the field and are the standard for recreational leagues where handicap spread is wide. Gross skins work well for competitive groups where the handicap range is tight.

On the Mulligan Tour, we split them: net skins on the front nine, gross skins on the back. It’s a simple rule that gives higher handicaps a real shot at winning something on the front while still rewarding ball-striking on the back. We’ve run it that way for years and it’s the format our players are most comfortable with.

A Skins Round: 4 Players, 9 Holes

Here’s how a basic skins game plays out. Four players, $5 per skin, carryovers in play.

Hole	Par	Player A	Player B	Player C	Player D	Skin Winner	Value
1	4	4	5	4	6	Tie (A & C)	Carries
2	3	3	4	4	3	Tie (A & D)	Carries ($10)
3	5	5	4	6	5	Player B	$15
4	4	4	4	5	4	Tie	Carries
5	3	3	4	3	4	Tie (A & C)	Carries ($10)
6	4	4	3	5	4	Player B	$15
7	4	5	4	4	5	Tie (B & C)	Carries
8	5	4	5	5	5	Player A	$10
9	4	4	4	3	4	Player C	$5

Player B wins $30, Player A wins $10, Player C wins $5. Player D wins nothing. Now run that same math for 40 players across 18 holes, with handicap strokes on every hole, while groups are walking in from every direction.

Running Skins for a 40-Person League

Here’s what actually happens when you try to run skins manually for a large group.

With rolling tee times, groups come in every 8–10 minutes. You’re writing down scores for each group, hole by hole, while the next group is already finishing. By the time you’ve processed the first three groups, two more are walking in with scorecards. If it’s a shotgun start, you get all 10 groups at roughly the same time — scorecards coming at you from every direction while you’re trying to figure out who made the low net on hole 7.

Add handicap strokes and carryovers and you’ve built yourself a genuine puzzle. Then comes the moment every commissioner knows: one player who insists your math is wrong. You spend 15 minutes going back through the scorecard, hole by hole, proving the calculation. Meanwhile everyone else is waiting for the skins payout and getting louder by the minute.

The number one mistake first-time commissioners make is showing up without a system. The time to figure out how skins will work is not after the round, when everyone’s loud and impatient and someone’s already asking where the closest-to-the-pin results are. You need to come to the course prepared — either with a spreadsheet set up with player names down one column and holes across the top, ready to enter scores as groups come in, or a paper template printed in advance. A blank sheet of paper at the scoring table is how you end up doing mental arithmetic in front of a crowd that’s already had a few.

The second mistake is not deciding gross vs net, and carryover rules, before anyone tees off. “We’ll figure it out after” always means an argument.

How We Run Skins on the Mulligan Tour

The Mulligan Tour has been running skins as part of tournament days for years. When we were doing it manually, tournament day was the most stressful part of running the league. Tracking 40+ players across 18 holes, net vs gross, carryovers, and then defending the math against at least one skeptical member — it added a significant chunk of post-round administration to every event.

When we moved to LeaderBoard Caddie, skins tracking became something that happened automatically while we were still on the course. Players could see on their phones who was currently holding a skin on each hole and what the score to beat was. By the time the last group walked off 18, the skins were already calculated — so we were done announcing the winner, closest to the pin winners, and who won skins in less than 5 minutes, not an hour like before. No spreadsheet, no defensive math conversations, no arguments.

We haven’t had a skins dispute since.

Running Skins in LeaderBoard Caddie

LeaderBoard Caddie tracks skins automatically as scores are entered. You set the format — gross or net, carryovers on or off — before the round. As each hole is scored, the live leaderboard updates to show who’s holding each skin and what the carryover value is. Players follow along on their phones without downloading anything. When the round ends, the skins summary is already done.

For a 40-person shotgun tournament, this is the difference between a smooth post-round payout and 45 minutes of chaos at the scoring table.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is skins golf? Skins golf is a format where each hole has a set value, and the player with the lowest score on that hole wins it outright. If two or more players tie, the hole is tied and the value carries to the next hole.

How do carryovers work in skins golf? When two or more players tie on a hole, nobody wins that skin and the value carries forward to the next hole. If the next hole also ties, the value keeps accumulating. The skin is finally won by whoever makes the lowest score outright on a subsequent hole.

What’s the difference between gross and net skins? Gross skins compare actual scores with no handicap adjustment. Net skins subtract each player’s handicap strokes before comparing — a player receiving a stroke on a hole effectively plays that hole at one par higher. Net skins are more common in recreational leagues where handicap ranges are wide.

How many players can play skins golf? Any number. Skins games work with two players or forty. Larger groups are harder to track manually — league management software handles the calculation automatically regardless of group size.

What happens if nobody wins a skin on the last hole? If the final hole ties and carryovers are in play, most leagues either split the accumulated value evenly among tied players, carry it to a playoff hole, or return the pot. Decide the rule before the round starts — “we’ll figure it out after” always ends in an argument.

Do you need to use handicaps for skins? No. Gross skins (no handicap adjustment) are common in scratch or low-handicap groups. Net skins are standard for recreational leagues with mixed handicap ranges. Some leagues, like the Mulligan Tour, run net on the front and gross on the back to give both formats a chance.

How do you calculate skins with handicaps? Identify which holes each player receives strokes on based on their course handicap and the hole handicap ratings on the scorecard. Subtract those strokes from the player’s gross score on each applicable hole to get their net score, then compare net scores across the group.

What’s the easiest way to track skins for a large group? Golf league management software is the most reliable option. Manual tracking with a prepared spreadsheet works for smaller groups if the admin sets it up before the round. Trying to track skins for 40 players with a blank piece of paper after a shotgun start is how you lose 45 minutes and a few friends.