Golf Vacation Games - Nassau

If you have ever heard the word “press” emanating from the group in front, it’s a pretty good chance they are playing a Nassau.

Nassau is actually three matches in one: one match on the front nine, one on the back nine, and one on all eighteen holes. Nassau is often referred to as 2,2 and 2 since you play in pairs and the 2 usually refers to some non-monetary wager (two beers or two balls, etc) per match. The total wager per person is therefore is six of something.

Each Nassau game can be match play, medal play, or, if you really want to get things complicated, you can play both. In match play, players keep track of who wins each hole on the front nine, restart the match on the back nine, and then sum up the two to find out who wins the total. Play can be between individuals or teams. In team play, everyone uses their net score and plays off of the lowest player's handicap.

What makes Nassau so popular though is something called the Press. Similar to calling double or nothing in a standard bet, a player or team will press when they are down in their match and want a chance to earn some of their money back. Pressing means that while the original game goes on you are now starting another game from that point on. i.e. If your team is losing a match on the front nine and you decide to press on the 6th hole your team is now involved in two independent matches – the original nine hole match and a new match for holes 6,7,8 &9. The new match is always worth the same amount as the original match. If the team that pressed wins the new match but loses the original one they will come out even. If they manage to turn things around and win their original match as well as the press match then they have succeeded in doubling their earnings.

Competitors are under now formal obligation to accept a press but it is generally considered bad form to decline a press. The danger with presses however is that there is no formal limit to the number of presses that can be wagered. As a result it is quite common in Nassau to have several matches above and beyond the original three going on. As a result if you are not careful you will need a calculator and the services of Stephen Hawking to figure out exactly who owes what to whom. To avoid these situations arising it is often wise to establish a few rules regarding pressing before you start the game. Be careful not to make them too ridged though since pressing is really what makes Nassau the game that it is.

Here are some sample rules regarding pressing. The final decision and the kind of rules that you adopt are of course entirely up to you.

• Presses are only allowed if one team has already won the original wager (e.g. four holes up with three to go).
• Presses are allowed only on the last four holes of each nine.
• Presses are allowed only if one team is losing (no pressing on ties).
• A team cannot press more than twice per nine holes.