Golf Glossary
Nassau
In short
Nassau is a popular golf format built on match play. The round is split into three separate contests: the front nine holes, the back nine holes and the full 18-hole round. Each contest has its own winner. So a player can still win some of the three points even after losing one half.
What is a Nassau in golf?
Nassau is not an official format from the rulebook but an agreement that golfers like to use in friendly rounds and at clubs. It belongs to the family of match play. Two players or two teams compete, each hole is scored separately, and the player with fewer strokes wins the hole. Equal scores halve it.
What is special about a Nassau is the split into three contests. The first nine holes are one match. The second nine holes are another match. And a third match runs over all 18 holes.
The idea is simple. A player who falls behind on the front nine gets a fresh chance on the back nine. The competition stays open for a long time, and nobody is out of it after a bad start. At the same time there is a separate overall contest that sums up the whole round.
Nassau rules: how the three contests work
Before the first tee the players agree how the Nassau is scored. The usual structure is:
- Contest 1: front nine (holes 1 to 9). Whoever has won more holes after nine holes wins this contest.
- Contest 2: back nine (holes 10 to 18). Again the player with more holes won takes it.
- Contest 3: the full round. All holes won across 18 holes are compared.
Each contest is won separately. If a contest is level after its holes, it is halved and nobody wins it. The overall winner can therefore be a different player from the winners of the two halves.
Each contest has the same value, usually one point. With three contests a player can therefore collect at most three points. The individual holes are scored under the rules of match play (Rule 3.2 of the Rules of Golf), including the possibility of conceding strokes or holes.
The press: a second chance in a Nassau
A typical part of the Nassau is the press. It is an additional contest that a player can call when trailing. Usually a player may press once two holes down.
How it works: the player who is behind says ‘press’ and a new match starts from the next hole within the running contest. That match lasts until the end of the half in which it began and counts as much as the original contest.
A variation is the automatic press. Then the new contest starts by itself as soon as a player is two holes down. That has to be agreed before the round.
The press changes the game. It gives the trailing player a fresh chance to score points, but it can also make the scoring hard to follow if several presses come into play. Some groups therefore allow only one press per half. Agree the rules in advance so that there are no arguments on the tee.
Practical example: a Nassau over 18 holes
Anna plays Ben in a Nassau with one point per contest.
Front nine: Anna wins holes 2, 4 and 7, Ben wins hole 5. The others are halved. After nine holes Anna is 2 up and wins the first contest.
Back nine: Ben plays well and wins holes 11, 13 and 16. Anna wins only hole 14. Ben is 2 up on the back nine and wins the second contest.
Overall: across 18 holes Anna has won four holes and Ben four holes. The overall contest is halved.
Final result: Anna and Ben have each won one point and one contest is halved. They finish level. Had Ben won just one more hole, he would have taken the overall contest and the Nassau as a whole.
The example shows why the format is popular: even after a poor start it is worth playing on, because at least part of the match stays open.
Handicaps and variations in a Nassau
Because each contest is match play, players of different handicaps can be matched fairly. As in normal match play, the player with the higher handicap receives strokes on the holes with the lowest stroke index. The World Handicap System recommends 100 per cent of the difference between course handicaps for singles match play. For two-person teams the four-ball match-play recommendation applies: 90 per cent of each player's course handicap, after which the lowest plays off zero. What counts is whatever the players agree beforehand.
There are many variations:
- Different weighting: some groups count the overall contest double, so the points are split 1 to 1 to 2.
- Team Nassau: two pairs play four-ball against each other and score the three parts.
- Nassau over nine holes: on a 9-hole course the round is played twice, the first loop as the front half and the second as the back half.
- Several presses: depending on the group, one, two or any number of presses are allowed.
Because Nassau is not an official format, the group’s agreements apply. The result does not count for your handicap because it is a private match.
Origin: the Nassau Country Club
According to the usual account, the name comes from the Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove on Long Island, New York. The format is said to have been invented there around 1900. The inventor is often named as J. B. Coles Tappan, a club member.
The story also gives the reason: dividing the match in three was meant to stop a player from losing everything in one bad round and being embarrassed in front of the others. If you lose one part, you can still win the others. The exact circumstances are not clearly documented, though.
From the USA the format spread across the golfing world. Today golfers play it everywhere, mostly in private games rather than official competitions. It is often mentioned together with skins or bingo bango bongo.
How it differs from match play, skins and stroke play
Nassau is often confused with related formats.
- Match play: a single match over 18 holes with one winner. A Nassau consists of three matches at once.
- Stroke play: all strokes are added up. There are no duels, just a total.
- Skins: each hole is valuable on its own, and a tie carries the value over to the next hole. Nassau scores holes in blocks.
- Bingo bango bongo: three points per hole for different achievements, regardless of the number of strokes.
- Wolf: a rotating player picks a partner after the tee shot or plays alone.
A Nassau suits friendly rounds of two to four players, because the rules are simple and every half offers a new chance. In English it is often called a Nassau bet. For the game itself points are enough, and many groups simply play for pride.
Try it at Golf Lounge
A Nassau can also be played on the 9-hole Black course at Golf Lounge Resort Hamburg in Moorfleet. Agree a shorter version, for example with separate contests for holes 1 to 4, holes 5 to 9 and the full round. The course is par 33 with par-3 and par-4 holes and can be played with the DGV Platzreife from April to December. You book your tee time online, with up to four players per booking.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Nassau in golf?
Nassau is a format based on match play with three contests: the front nine, the back nine and the full round. Each contest has its own winner. Each contest usually counts one point. It is a private agreement rather than an official competition format.
What does a press mean in a Nassau?
A press is an additional contest that the trailing player can call, usually when two holes down. A new match starts from the next hole and runs to the end of the current half. In an automatic press it starts by itself. That has to be agreed before the round.
Where does the name Nassau come from?
The name goes back to the Nassau Country Club in Glen Cove on Long Island, New York, where the format is said to have been created around 1900. J. B. Coles Tappan is often named as the inventor. The exact circumstances are not clearly documented.
How does a Nassau work with handicaps?
Each of the three contests is match play. The player with the higher handicap receives strokes on the holes with the lowest stroke index. For singles the World Handicap System recommends 100 per cent of the difference between course handicaps, and 90 per cent of each player's course handicap for a four-ball team Nassau. Players should agree this before the round.
As of: October 2026