Game Modes Glossary
Skins, Nassau, Stableford, Rabbit, Birdie Pool and the rest — explained at a glance. With concrete examples for every competition.
Per-hole competitions
Settled on the hole. You win or lose as soon as the score is in.
Birdie Pool
Every birdie pulls points from every other player.
Rules
Each birdie (1 under par) counts. The birdie-maker receives the stake from every other player — settled per hole.
Example
Stake 1 point, 4 players. Anna birdies hole 3 — she gets 3 points (1 from each of the other three). On hole 7 Bernd also birdies — he gets 3 points; Anna's earlier birdie is already settled.
Tip
Risk-reward: attack reachable par 5s, play safer pars on tight par 4s.
Eagle Pool
Like Birdie Pool, but for eagles. Rarer — higher stake.
Rules
Every eagle (2 under par) or better counts. The eagle-maker receives the stake from every other player.
Example
Stake 2 points. Carsten eagles a reachable par 5 with two solid shots and a putt. He gets 2 points from each of the three others — 6 total.
Tip
Pure bonus tier. Eagles happen on reachable par 5s or by chipping in for 2 on a par 4.
Skins
Every hole is its own pot. Tie = carry-over.
Rules
Whoever is ALONE with the lowest score on a hole wins the skin. Any tie (even just two players sharing best score) means no skin — the stake carries over to the next hole. Pots can build up over multiple holes.
Example
Stake 2 points, 4 players. Hole 1: Anna 4, Bernd 4, Carsten 5, Doro 5 → pot rolls (hole 2 is now worth 4). Hole 2: Carsten 3, everyone else 4 → Carsten wins 4 points.
Tip
Go aggressive when the carry-over is large — even if you're behind, a solo win on a fat pot puts you back in.
Rabbit
Whoever holds the rabbit at the end of 9 (or 18) wins the pot.
Rules
The rabbit is won by being alone with the lowest score on a hole. As soon as someone else goes alone-low, the rabbit changes hands. Whoever holds the rabbit after hole 9 (front rabbit) or hole 18 (back rabbit) wins.
Example
Anna wins hole 1 alone → rabbit hers. Holes 2 and 3 are pushes → still hers. Hole 4 Bernd wins alone → rabbit to Bernd. If no one else wins alone before hole 9, Bernd holds and wins.
Tip
Unlike Skins, Rabbit is a hold game. Catch the rabbit early, then just avoid losing it alone — play safer afterward.
Up & Down
Chip + one putt for par or better — points per save.
Rules
An up & down: you miss the green in regulation, then with your next shot (chip / pitch / bunker) get close enough to one-putt for par or better.
Example
Stake 0.5 points. Anna misses the par-4 green long into a bunker on hole 7. She splashes out to two metres and holes the putt → par with up & down. She earns 0.5 points from each other player.
Tip
Pure short-game reward. Players who get up & down well bank points even on a bad ball-striking day.
3-putt
Three putts on a green → penalty paid to everyone else.
Rules
Anyone who uses 3 or more putts on a single green pays the stake to every other player.
Example
Stake 1 point, 4 players. Carsten three-putts hole 4 — he pays 3 points (1 to each).
Tip
Distance control first, hole-hunting second. Lag putts beat brave 5-metre attempts.
4-putt
Four or more putts — drastic penalty.
Rules
Anyone needing 4 or more putts on a green pays the (higher) 4-putt stake to every other player. Applies on top of 3-putt — both can fire on the same hole.
Example
Stake 3 points. Doro four-putts hole 11 — she pays 9 points to the three other players.
Tip
Usually a too-short follow-up putt. Always lag past, never short.
Triple+ Bogey
Triple bogey or worse → penalty to all.
Rules
Score 3 or more over par on a hole (triple, quadruple, ...) and you pay the stake to every other player. Fires once per hole regardless of how bad.
Example
Stake 1 point. Bernd makes 8 on a par 4 (quadruple) — he pays 3 points to the three other players.
Tip
Bail out once a hole is lost. A solid bogey saves you here vs a hero attempt out of trouble.
Per-round competitions
Counted at the end of the round (18 holes, or 9 depending on setup).
Nassau
Three contests in one round: Front 9, Back 9, Overall.
Rules
Three separate match-style contests, all with the same stake. Lowest score-to-par on the front 9 wins the front. Same for the back. Lowest over all 18 wins the overall. Tie = push, no winner.
Example
Stake 5 points, 4 players. Anna -2/+1/-1. Bernd -1/-1/-2. Carsten E/+2/+2. Anna wins front (-2 best). Bernd wins back (-1 vs +1/+2). Bernd also wins overall (-2). Payout: Anna +15, Bernd +30.
Tip
If you lose the front by hole 9, fully focus on back + overall. Bump the risk-reward on the back 9.
Front-Back-All
Best vs worst — front, back, and overall.
Rules
In each flight the lowest and highest score-to-par on front 9, back 9 and overall are compared. The worst pays the stake to the best. Three separate pots, one per split.
Example
Stake 5 points. Anna: -2 / -1 / -3. Doro (worst): +5 / +3 / +8. Doro pays 3 × 5 = 15 points to Anna.
Tip
Similar to Nassau, harsher on the bottom score. A consistently weak player bleeds points here.
Round bet
The overall pot of the round, split among the top 3.
Rules
Every player pays the stake into the pot. Top 3 by total score-to-par get 50% / 30% / 20%. Ties on a podium spot share the share.
Example
Stake 60, 4 players → pot = 240. Anna -3, Bernd -1, Carsten +2, Doro +4. Anna 120 (50%), Bernd 72, Carsten 48, Doro 0.
Tip
The bread-and-butter pot. Consistency beats heroics.
Bogey-free round
Bonus for finishing a round with no double bogey or worse.
Rules
Anyone who plays all 18 holes (or 9 if shorter) without a double bogey or worse receives the stake from every other player.
Example
Stake 3 points. Anna posts a round with no double-bogey blow-up — she gets 3 × 3 = 9 points from the three others.
Tip
Mid-handicap bonus. Disaster management matters more than birdies.
Stableford
Per-hole points — gross, not net.
Rules
Per hole: albatross+ = 5, eagle = 4, birdie = 3, par = 2, bogey = 1, double or worse = 0. Highest total wins. IMPORTANT: BirdieBet scores gross — no handicap adjustment. Most club Stableford rounds are net; that's not what this is.
Example
Anna: 1 birdie (3), 12 pars (24), 4 bogeys (4), 1 double (0) = 31 points. Bernd: 2 birdies (6), 10 pars (20), 6 bogeys (6) = 32 points. Bernd wins, even if Anna's straight stroke play might look better.
Tip
Risk-reward. Doubles are free — go for the birdie, because birdie is +3 and a double is just 0 instead of -1.
Tournament competitions
Across multiple rounds. Settled only when the whole tournament is done.
Most birdies
Most birdies across all tournament rounds wins.
Rules
Total birdies per player across all tournament rounds. Most wins, receives stake from each other player. Tie = split.
Example
Four players, four tournament rounds. Anna: 7 birdies, Bernd: 5, Carsten: 9, Doro: 4. Carsten wins.
Tip
Rewards aggressive play and putting. Even if overall is shaky, birdies pay separately.
Best round
Lowest single round of the whole tournament wins.
Rules
Lowest complete 18-hole round in the tournament wins the pot. Needs at least 18 holes — partial rounds don't count. Tie = split.
Example
4-round tournament. Lowest 18 holes by anyone: Anna 71 in round 2. She takes the pot.
Tip
One great round is enough. Even with a slumpy tournament, one Sunday 70 makes the season.
Worst round
Worst single round of the tournament pays everyone.
Rules
Highest 18-hole round across the whole tournament loses. That player pays the stake to every other player.
Example
Doro posts a 92 in round 3 — highest single round in the tournament. She pays 3 × stake.
Tip
Limit damage on bad days — no OB hero shots when the round is gone anyway.
Blow-up hole
Worst single hole across the whole tournament pays everyone.
Rules
Across every round the single hole with the highest score-over-par is found. That player pays the stake to all.
Example
Bernd posts 11 on a par 4 in round 2 (+7). No one else has a worse single hole. Bernd pays.
Tip
When you're in trouble, iron back to fairway and take a capitulating bogey. One hole can be more expensive than a whole round.