Skins? I'm confused

[adamk15]

Ive recently noticed in magazines and some televised celebrity golf competitions etc. that 'skins' is becoming a more and more popular alternative to matchplay. Ive noticed that one point is given for the longest drives in some cases but what about the par 3s does a point go to nearest to the pin? What else are points awarded for?

Could someone please inform me on the rules or possibly guide me to a sight which supplies the rules.

Any help from this fantastic forum would be great!

Adam.

 

[Smiffy]

I've played "skins" quite a few times with mates, and it is a lot of fun...it can be expensive if you are having an "off" day, but if you are all playing really well it is one of the most exciting ways of playing.
I don't know about points for longest drive and possibly nearest the pin though....we have never introduced these into our games but they may be a feature of the "pro" tournaments I'm not sure.
If you know the basics of the skins game I apologise now for going through them, but if you don't the following should give you some idea?

Before play, the players will decide on a cash amount (called a skin) for each of the holes. The way my friends and I play is maybe 50p per hole for the first six, rising to £1.00 a hole for the next six and then the final six say £2.00 per hole.
After working out handicaps (based on matchplay differences) you all play the hole. If somebody wins the hole outright they win the "skin". If two (or more) players halve the hole, the "skin" amount is carried over to the next hole, and so on. Somebody has to win the hole outright to claim the skins. So in my scenario above, if the first six holes were halved, and one person won hole 7 outright, they would win 7 skins with a total value from each player of £4.00 (six holes @ 50p and the 7th @ £1.00). Is this making sense? lol!!
The great thing about this format is that even if you mess a hole up, you haven't automatically lost money because if two of your mates halve that particular hole the money is automatically carried forward to the next, so that you have another bash at it.
As I said earlier, if you are all playing really well and holes are being halved left, right and centre you can end up with a hole later on in the round being worth something like 10 skins or so (especially playing as a fourball when there is more liklihood of a hole being halved) and the pressure can really be on to make a long putt, or if you are out of the hole you are willing somebody else on to make a great shot to save the skin!
My Brother in law played in our fourball once and was playing like an absolute knob. He couldn't hit a shot all day. The other three of us had been having a right royal battle all the way round and the 18th was played with about 7 skins not won...a fairly decent pot. As the course was quiet we decided to carry on playing extra holes until the pot was won. We got to the sixth extra hole, a really lovely par 3 at Crowborough Beacon. We all played our tee shots and ended up on the green but my Brother in law hit the best shot he had hit all day and put his ball within an inch of the hole. The other three of us all had fifteen footers or so to make birdie, none of us did. My B-I-L had a "gimme" for the win. So the guy had played like an idiot all the way round, the real battle had been between me and my other two mates yet he picked up about £30.00 or so courtesy of one shot!
Hope that helps, and once again I apologise if you knew all of that!
Rob

 

[USER1999]

The great thing about skins is the fun aspect. You change allegiance according to who is likely to halve the hole, and carry the skin over, One minute you are hoping your mate will miss it, next you are hoping he will hole it. played in the right spirit, it can be huge fun.

Often the worst golfer wins the cash.

 

[Cernunnos]

Skins are best played where there are four players as this means skins will be carried forward if there is no outright winner on a hole, giving a weaker player a chance of getting several skins by winning one hole outright, though often as not when played for money the often out come will be fairly even, unless you have a ringer in the mix. Or should I say real bandit playing.

You can take handicap difference or allow full handicap for each person for each hole over hole index. But must be sorted out prior to starting out.

 

[krokodil]

Someone mentioned in a previous post about 'wolf skins' which looked like an interesting idea, though I got a little lost on part of explanation.