How to Play Nassau on a Golf Trip: Front, Back and Overall
A Nassau gives your round three separate contests: the front nine, the back nine, and all 18 holes. For a foursome on a golf trip, try 2v2 best-ball match play and keep the same partners throughout the round. Everyone plays their own ball, and the better score from each pair counts on each hole.
The appeal is the fresh start at the turn. A rough opening stretch can cost you the front, but you arrive at the 10th tee with the back-nine match all square. There's still a reason to enjoy the next nine together.
Agree on three things before the first tee
Start with the version your group can explain in a sentence: front, back and overall, with no presses. The PGA's golf glossary describes Nassau around those three parts of the round.
Then settle these decisions:
- Scoring: play gross, or use agreed handicap strokes for net scores. This guide uses match play, where each hole is won, lost or tied, rather than adding up strokes for each nine.
- What each part is worth: one point per segment works without money. If you use a small stake, say whether the amount is per golfer or for the pair as a whole.
- Ties: a simple house rule is to split the point, or have no payment on a tied segment. Choose before playing.
For example, “$5 front, $5 back, $5 overall, per pair, ties wash, no presses” leaves much less to sort out afterward than “let's play for five.” With those rules, a pair that loses all three owes $15 total.
A Saturday round with four friends
Imagine James and Matt playing Ben and Tom. This is a hypothetical 18-hole best-ball match, with $5 per segment for each pair as a whole, no presses, and no payment for a tie.
On the front nine, James and Matt win three holes, Ben and Tom win two, and four holes are tied. James and Matt take the front by one hole.
The back-nine contest starts from scratch on 10. Ben and Tom win four holes, James and Matt win two, and three are tied. Ben and Tom take the back by two holes.
Across the entire round, Ben and Tom have won six holes to James and Matt's five. That gives Ben and Tom the overall as well.
| Part of the round | Result | Payment |
|---|---|---|
| Front nine | James & Matt win by 1 hole | Ben & Tom owe $5 |
| Back nine | Ben & Tom win by 2 holes | James & Matt owe $5 |
| Overall | Ben & Tom win by 1 hole | James & Matt owe $5 |
The front and back payments cancel. James and Matt owe Ben and Tom $5 total. Splitting that between partners is up to the agreement they made before the round.
Winning one nine each doesn't automatically tie the overall. The margin matters because the overall follows the holes across all 18, not just which pair won each nine.
Keep presses optional
A press adds another contest over the remaining holes of an agreed segment. It leaves the original contest running, so it adds to what is at stake. Golf Digest's Nassau explainer covers the familiar version that starts when a side falls two holes behind.
For a group learning Nassau, leave presses out for the first round. Front, back and overall already give you plenty to follow. If your friends want presses later, agree on when they can start, which holes they cover, and a limit everyone is comfortable with before the round begins.
Fit Nassau into the weekend
You can play a Nassau inside each foursome while the whole trip follows a Ryder Cup competition. Keep the Nassau results separate from the points for the cup unless your group deliberately chooses another structure.
In the example above, if the Ryder Cup awards one point for the 18-hole match, Ben and Tom earn one team point. Winning the back and overall in their Nassau doesn't turn that into two cup points.
Nassau also works as a 1v1 game. On a singles day, a foursome can contain two separate matches, each with its own front, back and overall. If you'd rather have everyone across the trip competing for the same side-game pot, look at Field Skins instead.
Give the group a score they can follow
Dormie shows the front nine, back nine and overall for your Nassau as hole scores come in. Use it with an 18-hole 1v1 or 2v2 round so the friends in your match can follow all three without penciling separate tallies into the scorecard margins.
It's an iPhone app, requiring iOS 26.2 or later. A Quick Round with up to 4 players is free, so your regular foursome can try it before the trip. For a tournament with up to 24 players across 6 rounds, one organizer activates the event and invited players participate free. A Tournament Pass is $19.99 for one event in the US App Store.
Download on the App Store, pick your partners, and agree on the game before the first tee. Then everyone knows what they're playing for when you reach the turn.
Frequently asked questions
Does the whole Nassau restart on the 10th hole?
No. Only the back-nine match starts all square. The front-nine result is settled, and the overall match carries forward the holes won and lost from the front nine.
Does winning the front and losing the back mean the overall is tied?
Not necessarily. In match-play Nassau, the overall result comes from holes won across all 18. A one-hole advantage on the front and a two-hole deficit on the back leaves you one hole down overall.
Do we have to play Nassau for money or allow presses?
No. You can play for one point per segment and leave presses out. If you use money, agree on each segment's stake, whether it is per player or per side, how ties work, and any press rules before teeing off.