Nassau is the oldest of the popular wagering games. Played at every level of golf — country clubs, public courses, buddies trips, weekend foursomes — and credited (probably apocryphally) to Nassau Country Club on Long Island in the early 1900s. The reason it's lasted: the match never dies.
In stroke play, a 5-shot deficit means the round is presumed over before you reach hole 14. In Nassau, that same player is still more than alive thanks to the back 9 and on the overall 18 — both of which are separate matches with their own outcomes. Add the press, and even a guy 1-down-thru-7 can double his action and walk off the 18th green up money.
There's no single official Nassau — different groups handle the press cap, the carry-over treatment, and the Vegas press differently. What follows is the base game, plus every variation ForeBoard supports.
The basics
Nassau is three match-play contests running at the same time inside a single round of golf.
- Front 9 match — holes 1 through 9
- Back 9 match — holes 10 through 18
- Overall 18 match — cumulative across the full 18 holes
Each match has its own stake and its own outcome. You can win the front, lose the back, and tie the overall in the same round — they're independent. The structure is what makes Nassau both more forgiving than pure stroke play and more dangerous.
Nassau is typically played as match play. Win the hole, you go 1-up on that match. Tie the hole (a "push"), the match status doesn't change. Standard match-play vocabulary applies — 2-up thru 7, all square (AS), dormie 2 (leader up by exactly the number of holes remaining), 3 & 2 (match closed with the leader 3-up and 2 to play).
Stakes are typically structured one of two ways:
- Even (e.g. $5/$5/$5, $10/$10/$10, $20/$20/$20). Each match is worth the same.
- Weighted overall (e.g. $5/$5/$10, $10/$10/$20). The overall 18 carries more weight since it's the only contest that runs across the full round.
- If your group prefers not to play for cash, you can assign point values to the matches (e.g. 1/1/1, 2/2/4).
The right stake depends on the group. $1 per match keeps it casual; $10 makes hole 17 feel real; $50 starts to affect swing tempo. Calibrate to what your group can lose without changing the round.
The press — the defining mechanic
Nassau's signature feature is the press, and it's what separates the game from every other side bet.
Presses can balloon the number of matches from three (front, back, overall) up to double digits, potentially.
When a side goes 2-down on any of the three matches, the trailing side can open a press — a brand-new side bet at the same stake, covering only the remaining holes of that specific match (front, back or overall). Every press will either end on hole 9 (front 9 press) or hole 18 (back 9 or total press).
The original base bet keeps running independently. So, if the front 9 is at hole 6 and you've gone 2-down, you can press: now there's a base bet on the full front 9 AND a separate press bet on holes 7-9. The press starts at all square (AS) and three-hole matchup.
The base bet and the press operate independently. You can win the press and still lose the base, or vice versa. Each settles on its own outcome at the end of its respective match.
Presses cascade. If your press bet itself goes 2-down (you press on hole 6, and by hole 8 you're down on the press), the trailing side can press the press. A side that's getting buried has nested layers of opportunity to recover (or dig deeper).
A few important rules:
- Press value. The value/amount risked in a press is equal to the amount of its corresponding match. If the front 9 match is $5, every front 9 press is $5.
- Closed matches cannot be pressed. Once a match is mathematically over (3 & 2, 4 & 3, etc.), no more presses on that match.
- One press per match per trigger — you don't get to re-press when the deficit oscillates. If you went 2-down and pressed, then climbed back to 1-down, you can't re-trigger another press just because you went 2-down again.
- Tied presses always wash. A press that ends square (after hole 9 or 18) pays nothing.
Press triggers can be configured: ForeBoard supports auto-trigger at 2-down (the press fires automatically when the deficit hits) or manual trigger (the trailing side taps a button to press, giving them the option to decline). Manual is the traditional and more cautious approach; auto is faster, ensures the most action, and prevents the "wait, did anyone press?" forgetting that happens on the back nine.
If you're new to Nassau, play a game or two without stakes (ForeBoard has this option) and the press auto trigger. You will quickly understand how presses work, and why this game is so popular. Once you have it, you can take the training wheels off and start playing for stakes.
The Vegas press — optional one-hole drama
ForeBoard supports an optional layer called the Vegas press.
If the front-9 base match is 1-down entering hole 9, the trailing side can fire a one-hole press for hole 9 only — a single-hole side bet at the same stake. Same rule applies to the back-9 base entering hole 18.
The Vegas press resolves in one hole. Win the hole, you collect. Lose the hole, you pay. Tied hole washes.
This is the layer that turns a Nassau round into a Nassau evening. A guy 1-down going into 9 can either ride the loss or fire the Vegas press and double his action. The math gets entertainingly bad if you also have a base press still running.
Singles vs Best Ball Nassau
ForeBoard supports two competition modes — pick at round creation.
Singles Nassau is 1-on-1. This is the traditional format and what most "Nassau" references mean by default.
Best Ball Nassau is 2-on-2. Each side's lowest ball counts on every hole. The standard Nassau rules apply at the team level — match play, the three concurrent contests, presses when 2-down, the works. Best ball Nassau is the natural mode for buddies trips, member-guests, and any time you want the format to forgive a player having a rough hole.
Net or gross scoring works for either mode. Net is more inclusive in mixed-handicap groups; gross is cleaner when everyone is roughly even. ForeBoard pulls course data and applies handicap strokes automatically — no arguing about which hole Bob pops on.
The math problem
Here's what falls apart on a paper scorecard.
By hole 7, your group has four concurrent matches running. Front 9 is at 1-down. You're a push on hole 8 from the Vegas push coming into play. There's already been one press. And the overall 18 is also at 1-down (since it tracks cumulatively). Each of these has its own status that updates every hole.
By hole 12, the front 9 is over (the base and all presses settled). The back 9 base is in progress. The overall 18 is also running. Somebody went 2-down on the back and pressed — now there's a back base, a back press, and the overall 18 all running concurrently.
By hole 17, somebody's claiming the press on the back was actually triggered at hole 13, not 12. Somebody else is asking whether the front 9 carry-over rule applied. It's unclear if the number written down on hole 14 was a gross or net score. The math guy is doing arithmetic with an eraser-less broken pencil and the entire group is waiting at the 18th tee, unsure where the money stands.
This is the universal Nassau experience. The per-hole rules are simple. Tracking three concurrent base matches plus presses plus possible carry-overs is what few group have the bandwidth for while also trying to play golf.
ForeBoard runs the entire machine automatically. Enter your hole scores, ForeBoard updates all three matches, fires presses when 2-down (if auto is on) or surfaces the press button (if manual is on), tracks every cascade, tracks Vegas presses, and runs the running money tally. The leaderboard shows each match's status in real time on every player's phone. You hit the ball, type a number, ForeBoard handles the rest.
Carry-over options
Nassau groups handle tied base matches (front, back, overall) differently. ForeBoard supports three modes — pick one at round creation.
None. Tied base matches wash. No money changes hands. Tied presses always wash regardless.
Carry forward. A tied front 9 rolls its stake into the back 9 (the back 9 stake is now the original back stake plus the rolled-over front stake). A tied back 9 rolls into the overall 18. A tied overall 18 washes — there's nowhere to carry it. Tied presses still always wash.
Double-or-nothing. A tied front 9 doubles the back 9 stake instead of rolling. Same for the back 9 doubling the overall. A tied overall 18 washes. Tied presses wash.
Carry forward is the most common variant; double-or-nothing is for groups that want the stakes to escalate when matches tie. None is for groups that want each match to settle cleanly on its own.
Lock this rule before the first tee. The argument that's disrupted the most Nassau games is "wait, did we agree the tied front carries over, or doubles?"
House rules worth locking down before the first tee
A few more decisions that need to happen at the parking lot:
- Press cap per leg. ForeBoard supports unlimited presses or a configurable cap (2 or 3 is typical). Unlimited gets wild on tight matches. A cap of 2 keeps the math manageable and still gives a trailing side multiple chances to recover.
- Vegas press on or off. Default off. Turn on for groups that want maximum drama; leave off for groups that want to keep the base structure clean.
- Overall 18 base pressable. ForeBoard supports an optional press on the overall 18 base bet (covering holes 1-9 only). Default off in most groups — turning it on adds a layer of complexity that not every group wants. Some are about that action, though.
- Gross vs net. Default to net in any mixed-handicap group. Gross is fine when everyone's within a handful of strokes of each other.
- Stakes amount. Lock before the first tee. You'd think this is common sense. You'd be wrong.
The five-text exchange in the group chat ensures a smooth round. The disrupted conversation on the second green unnecessarily draws this out, and takes away from the fun.
When Nassau works best
The format shines in specific conditions:
- Twosomes or foursomes — Nassau is built for 1v1 or 2v2. It doesn't translate to threesomes or fivesomes without significant rewrites.
- Mixed-handicap groups, with net scoring. The three-match structure means a weaker player can win the front 9, lose the back 9, and tie the overall — still a competitive round. Net keeps every hole live.
- Groups that like back-and-forth drama. Presses turn the round into a momentum game. If your group enjoys talking about the match while playing it, Nassau gives you the most to talk about of any side game.
It works less well for:
- Groups that hate variance. Press cascades can compound stakes quickly. If a $5 base round becomes a $40 settlement, somebody's having a worse day than the scorecard suggests.
- Groups that can't agree on rules. Carry-over modes + press caps + Vegas press toggle = a lot of variables. Lock them all down before the round or expect arguments at the bar.
The trip translation
For buddies trips and those running Ryder Cup–style scoring, Nassau converts cleanly: each matchup is worth one Ryder Cup point, awarded to the side ahead on money (or matches won if stakes are off).
This is why Nassau slots so well into a Ryder Cup trip rotation. Day one is Best Ball. Day two can be Best Ball Nassau (which has more in-day drama than a single match-play round). Or day three could be Singles Nassau (the press cascade closes the trip with maximum stakes).
Ready to try Nassau? Create a round on ForeBoard → Pick your players, choose Nassau as your format, decide singles or best ball, set your stakes (or skip them), and pick your carry-over treatment. Share the link with the group. ForeBoard runs the three matches, every press, every cascade, and the final settlement automatically. You're scoring within thirty seconds — no app, no accounts, no math arguments at the bar.
