Three bets in one round -- front 9, back 9, and overall 18. Presses included.
Nassau splits your 18 holes into three separate matches: front 9, back 9, and overall 18. You're playing and settling three independent bets simultaneously on every hole.
Each hole is won by the player with the lower score. Ties are halved. The bet is won by whoever wins more holes in that portion -- front 9, back 9, or overall 18.
When you're down 2 or more holes on a bet, you can "press" -- starting a new side bet at the same dollar value. The original bet still runs. Presses keep the match alive deep into the back nine.
Some groups play automatic presses -- a press is triggered automatically whenever a player goes 2-down. Others require a player to call the press. Set your house rule before teeing off.
Jake wins holes 1, 3, 5. Tom wins holes 2, 4. Holes 6-9 halved.
Jake wins front 9 -- +$5
Tom goes on a run, winning holes 10, 12, 14, 16, 18. Jake wins 11, 13.
Tom wins back 9 -- Jake −$5
Jake 6 holes, Tom 7 holes, 5 halved. Tom wins the overall match.
Tom wins overall -- Jake −$5
If Nassau has a beating heart, it is the press. A press is simply a brand-new side bet started in the middle of a match, and it is what turns a quiet game into a lively one. The custom is to press when you go 2 down on a bet, though nothing stops you agreeing a different trigger. When you call it, a fresh match begins from that hole and runs to the end of the nine you are on. The original bet keeps running untouched; you are now playing two matches at once over the same holes.
The reason presses matter is that they stack. Go 2 down and press. Fall 2 down on the press as well and you can press again, so now three separate bets are live on the back nine at the same time. Each one is worth the base stake, which is how a tidy £5 nine can quietly grow into £15 or £20 of action before anyone has done the sums. This is the appeal and the danger in the same breath: the total can swing far wider than the base bet ever suggested.
Groups handle presses two ways. In an optional press, the player who is down chooses whether to call it, and only they may start one. In an automatic press, often written as "auto-press at 2 down", a new bet is opened the instant anyone falls two holes behind, with no asking required. Automatic presses keep the money moving and stop anyone forgetting, but they also let the stakes climb fast, so settle which version you are playing on the first tee.
The single biggest mistake in Nassau is pressing out of frustration. When you are 2 down and cross, a press feels like a way to win your money straight back, but you are usually pressing at your worst moment, against a player who is currently beating you. Discipline says the opposite: press when you are playing well and have the momentum, not when you are chasing losses. A good rule is to ask whether you would take this fresh bet if it stood alone. If the honest answer is no, do not chase it.
The smartest thing you can do in Nassau is remember it is three separate matches, not one. A rough front nine is not a lost day, because the back nine and the overall are still wide open. Players who forget this let a couple of early bad holes drag their whole round down, pressing wildly to fix a bet that is already gone. Treat each of the three bets on its own terms and you will make calmer decisions.
A match-play mindset helps here. You are not trying to shoot a good total; you are trying to win the hole in front of you. If you have made a mess of a hole and your opponent is safely on the green, concede it and walk on with your energy intact rather than grinding out a score that changes nothing. Win the holes you can win, give away the ones you cannot, and keep your head clear for the next tee.
Before you tee off, work out your worst case. Add up the three base bets, then imagine every possible press landing against you, and you will have your true downside for the day. If that number makes you wince, the stakes are too high. Set them at a level where losing the lot would still leave the round fun, and make sure everyone in the group is genuinely comfortable rather than just nodding along.
Most casual Nassaus run on small, even stakes. The classics are the £2-£2-£2 and the £5-£5-£5, meaning that much on the front, the back, and the overall. A popular middle ground is the "6-6-6", which splits the eighteen into three sixes rather than two nines plus the whole, giving three bets of six holes each.
Before the first tee, agree these points as a group:
None of these are right or wrong. They are just house rules, and the only real rule is that everyone knows them before a ball is struck.
Nassau runs on trust, so a little order keeps it friendly. On the first tee, agree the base bets, the press rules, and the handicaps, and make sure the group has heard all three. Once you are playing, track the front, the back, and the overall separately, along with any presses as they open, so nobody is guessing at the turn.
At the end, settling is simple arithmetic. Add up the base bets for the three matches, then add any presses that were called, and net the totals between players. Keep it light: the money is there to sharpen the golf, not to sour it. Whatever you owe, pay it promptly and without fuss, and the game will still be on next weekend.