GAMES TOOLS

Golf Skins Calculator with Carryovers

In golf skins, a unique lowest score wins the hole’s skin. Use this calculator to track tied holes, carryovers and the optional next-hole validation rule across two to four players.

Score locally with our side-games-v1 house rules. Units are the default. Optional cash accounting only records agreed amounts; this tool never handles money.

1. Match & Rule Setup

In net mode enter the already agreed handicap for this exact 9 or 18 holes. “Plus handicap” returns strokes. No automatic allowance or halving. Course Handicap calculator

Save or share your game

Saving uses this browser only, with no account sync. A link is a snapshot. Anyone with it can read the scores; fragments normally are not sent in HTTP requests, but page scripts and browser extensions can read them.

Delete saved

Our house rules

All games: handicaps and unfinished holes

Numeric scores from every player resolve an active hole. Stableford also accepts an explicit pickup for zero points. A blank or withdrawal is pending, never zero. A whole-hole void advances the hole and Wolf rotation without scoring. Later scores wait behind the first unresolved hole. Nine-hole stroke indexes are ranked within that nine; plus players return strokes from the highest rank. Gross scores stay unchanged.

End early only within the resolved prefix. Future holes are excluded. Corrections recompute all results. Fixed-player or team changes create a replacement draft and preserve the preceding game. Live balances are provisional, and only completed or explicitly closed rounds get a final transfer plan.

Nassau: matches and presses

Two players play singles; four play fixed better-ball teams. Net strokes use the difference from the lowest playing handicap across the entire round. Eighteen holes have front, back and overall contracts. Nine holes have one nine-hole contract, without a 4/5 split. A won contract exchanges its weight between sides: each teammate gets or owes half the side-total units.

A maximum of one press per enabled base contract starts on the next hole, with its parent’s weight and end. Only the trailing side can declare a manual press. Automatic presses start after the first two-down hole; front and overall may both press. Presses cannot themselves be pressed. An earlier correction can invalidate a manual press. Early closure honors completed or mathematically clinched contracts; others are void.

Skins: carryovers and validation

Two to four players use full signed handicaps. A unique low score wins the pot; ties do not split it. Each other player owes one unit per skin won. With carryovers off, tied units expire. Optional validation requires carryovers: the winner must score par or better on the next nonvoid hole, even if another player wins it. Failed units return to the pot before the new unit is added. A unique winner on the scheduled final hole is immediately accepted. Unclaimed carry and pending claims are refunded at completion or early closure.

Wolf: declaration and rotation

Exactly four players rotate in saved seat order, including void holes; there is no last-place override. Over 18 holes turns are 5/5/4/4; over 9 they are 3/2/2/2. Choose a partner after that player’s tee shot and before the next shot, lone after seeing shots, or blind before any shot. Record the choice before scores; correction is visible but real-world timing cannot be verified.

Partner play compares better balls: each winner +1 and each loser −1. Lone defaults to 2 and blind to 4: the Wolf wins or loses three times the multiplier, each opponent the opposite multiplier. Ties score zero. Full signed handicaps do not change with the partner.

Vegas: digits and flip the bird

Exactly four players form two fixed pairs. Full signed gross/net comparison scores become digits clamped to 1–9; original strokes remain visible. Order each pair’s digits low to high. Each winning player receives the difference; each loser owes it. Flip the bird uses actual gross birdie-or-better. If exactly one team qualifies, reverse the other team’s digits once before comparing. If both qualify, neither flips. No carryovers.

Stableford: points and optional accounting

Two over or worse: 0; one over: 1; par: 2; one/two/three/four under: 3/4/5/6. Pickups score zero. Our house extension continues one point per stroke beyond four under. Shared ranks have no countback. Optional group accounting compares every pair’s point difference, increasing comparisons in larger groups; a solo card has no settlement.

R&A Stableford rule · Handicap principles

Units, cash rounding and transfers

Ledgers use exact fractions. Cash conversion rounds once, allocating the same total between creditors and debtors by largest remainders, breaking ties by saved seat order. Any adjustment is shown. An exhaustive search finds the fewest debtor-to-creditor transfers, with deterministic seat-order ties. Transfers are a record only; no payment is sent.

How to use this tool

  1. Choose players, gross or net scoring, carryovers and any validation requirement.
  2. Enter each hole’s scores and keep void or missing holes explicit.
  3. Check skins won, unresolved pots and each player’s balance; a skin count differs from a net settlement.

How we calculate

A unique lowest score wins the skin; tied lowest scores do not split it. Carryovers are on by default. Optional validation requires par or better on the next nonvoid scheduled hole.

Worked example

In a four-player game, a player winning a three-unit skin receives 9 units; each other player owes 3. Skin count and net balance are therefore different numbers.

Quick reference
Input or ruleWhat it means
Unique lowWins or claims pending validation
Tied lowCarries or expires according to setting
Unclaimed final potUnawarded; no transfer
Last scheduled holeNew unique claim needs no later validation

Limits and common mistakes

These are declared house rules. Blank scores block later-hole settlement; void holes remain explicit. Cash is optional manual accounting. Data stays local unless you deliberately export or share a snapshot.

Model version: 2026-10-19. Reference: R&A handicap allowance reference.

Frequently asked questions

Are tied skins divided?

No. They carry forward when carryovers are on; otherwise that unawarded unit expires.

Must I win the next hole to validate?

No. Make par or better under the selected gross/net mode.

What happens if validation fails?

Its units return to the current pot before that next hole is evaluated.

What if the last hole is void?

It does not validate a claim. Any unresolved pot or pending claim is unawarded.

Can validation work without carryovers?

This house rule requires carryovers; enabling validation also enables them.

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