Best Golf Betting Games
for 4 Players

The foursome is the sweet spot for golf side bets. Every major format — Wolf, Nassau, skins, Vegas, match play, Sixes — was designed for four. Here are the best games, stacks, and stakes for your group.

The best golf betting games for 4 players are Wolf, Nassau (2v2), skins, and Vegas. A foursome unlocks every major format in golf because four divides into teams of two, allows a proper Wolf rotation, and gives skins enough players to create regular carryovers without too many ties. If you have four players, you have the full menu.

Why Four Players Is the Perfect Number

Golf side bets were built around the foursome. The reason is mathematical: four players create the cleanest team splits (2v2), the best rotation mechanics (Wolf's A-B-C-D cycle), and enough independent scores per hole to keep ties from dominating (skins get decided more often with four than with two or three).

With four, you can run head-to-head formats, team formats, rotating-alliance formats, and per-hole side pots — all at the same time. A typical Saturday foursome might run Wolf as the main game, skins on the side, and closest-to-pin on par 3s. That three-layer stack keeps every single shot meaningful without overcomplicating anything.

Wolf — The King of Four-Player Games

Wolf is the most strategic, most dramatic, and most talked-about betting game for four players. One player is the wolf on each hole. The wolf watches the other three tee off and decides — in real time, immediately after each shot — whether to pick that player as a partner or pass. If the wolf passes on everyone, they go lone wolf against the field.

The rotation ensures each player wolves 4–5 times per round. On wolf holes, you are in the driver's seat — reading tee shots, calculating risk, deciding whether to pair up or take on three opponents alone for double stakes.

Wolf creates more stories than any other format. The partner pick that backfired. The lone wolf call on 16 that swung the entire round. The blind wolf on 18 that nobody saw coming. These are the moments your group will talk about at the bar and in the group chat all week.

Recommended stakes: $1/point for casual, $2/point for standard, $5/point for competitive. A $2/point Wolf game typically settles $20–$50.

Nassau — The Backbone

The Nassau is three bets in one: front nine, back nine, and overall. For four players, you have two options:

Team Nassau (2v2)

Two teams of two play best ball (lower net score of the pair counts) in match play across the three segments. Team Nassau is the most common four-player format in America. It creates natural partnerships, encourages aggressive play (if your partner is safe, you can go for the pin), and the press mechanic keeps losing teams in the fight.

Individual Nassau

Each player has a separate Nassau running against every other player — six total Nassau bets (A vs. B, A vs. C, A vs. D, B vs. C, B vs. D, C vs. D). That means eighteen separate match-play segments plus presses. It is a lot of action, and tracking it manually is virtually impossible. bagboy runs all six simultaneously and shows each player their status in every matchup.

Recommended stakes: $5-5-5 per Nassau. For team Nassau, that is $15 max per player before presses. For individual Nassau, it is $15 max per pairing (×3 opponents = $45 max exposure before presses).

Skins — Every Hole Matters

Four-player skins is the classic. Each hole is worth one skin. Lowest net score wins; any tie means the skin carries over, increasing the next hole's value.

With four players, roughly 40–50% of holes produce a tie, which means carryovers happen regularly but not every hole. You will typically see three or four carryover sequences per round, with one or two multi-skin pots that get everyone's attention. The balance is perfect — enough wins to keep the game from feeling stuck, enough carryovers to create those "this putt is worth four skins" moments.

Recommended stakes: $2–$5 per skin. A $3/skin game with four players usually settles $25–$50 total.

Vegas — The Big-Swing Game

Vegas is a team game for exactly four players, split into two pairs. On each hole, each team combines their individual scores into a two-digit number, lower score first. If one player shoots 4 and the other 5, the team number is 45. The difference between the two teams' numbers is the point swing.

The birdie flip is what makes Vegas wild. When one team has a player make birdie, the other team's number gets reversed — a 46 becomes 64. The point swings from a birdie flip are enormous, which is why Vegas is the game for groups that want maximum volatility and celebration.

Recommended stakes: Start low. $0.10/point for a first-time group (seriously — Vegas points accumulate fast). $0.25/point for experienced groups. A $0.25/point game can easily produce $50–$100 in total payouts. If that number makes someone uncomfortable, go smaller.

Match Play — Pure Competition

Four-player match play runs as a 2v2 team match. Each hole is won by the team with the lower best-ball score. The match is tracked as up/down through eighteen holes. It is the simplest team format — no separate bets, no presses (unless you add them), just one continuous match.

For groups that want straightforward competition without multiple layers, 2v2 match play is clean and satisfying. Add a closest-to-pin side pot on par 3s to keep things interesting on holes where the match gets lopsided.

Sixes — The Fairest Format

Sixes (also called Round Robin) rotates partners every six holes. Over eighteen holes, you play with each of the other three players for exactly one six-hole segment. Each segment is scored as a 2v2 match.

Sixes is the fairest team format because your results do not depend on one partner for the entire round. If your partner in the first segment plays terribly, you get two different partners for the remaining twelve holes. It also eliminates the "we got stuck with bad teams" complaint — everyone partners with everyone.

Recommended stakes: $5 per six-hole segment. Three segments = $15 maximum.

The Best Game Stacks for 4 Players

Most experienced foursomes do not play just one game. They stack two or three games on top of each other so every shot has multiple things riding on it. Here are the best combinations:

How to Set Stakes for 4 Players

The right stakes depend on your group. The goal is "enough to care, not enough to hurt." Here is a framework:

Agree on stakes before the first tee. No changing mid-round. And if someone in your group is uncomfortable with the number, go lower — the game is about competition, not pressure.

Handicap Strokes for Mixed-Skill Foursomes

When a 5-handicap and a 24-handicap are in the same foursome, raw scores will not produce fair competition. Apply handicap strokes using the course's stroke index. Subtract the lowest handicap from all four players, then distribute the remaining strokes to the highest-indexed holes.

bagboy calculates this automatically. Enter each player's handicap and the app assigns strokes to the right holes, adjusts net scores in real time, and keeps match-play status accurate across every game.

How bagboy Runs a 4-Player Round

Add four players, pick your games, set stakes, enter handicaps. bagboy tracks everything simultaneously — Wolf rotation and partner picks, skins with carryovers, Nassau match-play status and presses, Vegas team numbers and birdie flips. At the end, the settlement screen shows exactly who owes who and how much.