MATCH PLAY · 3 MATCHES IN 1

Nassau

The clubhouse classic: three separate matches running at once — the front nine, the back nine, and the whole eighteen. Lose a nine and you can always press to win it back.

2–4 playersMatch play3 matches in 118 holes

HOW IT WORKS

One round. Three matches. Endless comebacks.

A Nassau is really three matches stacked on top of each other. You play match play — win a hole and you go one "up," lose one and you fall "down." Whoever’s ahead when a nine finishes wins that match, and the overall 18 is its own separate prize.

  1. Set three equal amounts

    Agree on an amount — say $20 — that rides on the front nine, the back nine, and the overall 18. Three matches, one round.

  2. Play it as match play

    Forget stroke totals. Win a hole outright and you go 1 up; lose it and you’re 1 down. Halved holes leave the match where it is.

  3. Close out each nine

    Whoever’s ahead when the 9th and 18th holes finish wins that nine’s match. The overall match is decided across all 18.

  4. Press when you’re down

    Fall two holes behind and you can "press" — start a brand-new match for the remaining holes to claw it back.

  5. Net it at the 18th

    GoLo tallies all three matches and reduces them to a single amount each player owes or is owed. It doesn’t take presses on a Nassau, so those still go on the card.

WATCH IT PLAY OUT

A $20 Nassau, front to back.

You and Tom play $20 on each match. Here's how a full round shakes out — three matches, one net number at the end.

  1. F9Front nineYou closed it 2 up through 9+$20
  2. B9Back nineTom clawed it back, 1 up−$20
  3. 18Overall matchYou held on, 1 up on 18+$20
NET · YOU’RE OWED
Every match rolled into one number
+$20

PRESSES & VARIATIONS

The press is where Nassau gets dangerous.

Down bad on a nine? Open a new match for the holes that are left. GoLo's Nassau doesn't take presses; in the app, presses are on the Overall Match game.

  • The press

    Down two on a nine? Fire a new match for the holes that remain. Win it and you cancel out the damage — lose it and you’re in deeper.

  • 2-down auto-press

    A common house rule: a new press opens automatically the moment anyone falls two behind, so nobody has to remember to call it. GoLo doesn’t do automatic presses yet.

  • Presses stack

    Each press is its own mini-match. On a wild nine you can have two or three running at once, which is where the card usually stops adding up.

  • Escalating amounts

    Play a "2-2-2" that becomes a "4-4-4," or a team Nassau with best-ball. Set the amount and format up front and let the app score it.

PLAY SMART

When to press — and when to shut up.

A Nassau rewards momentum. Read your own game before you throw another match at a nine you're spraying all over the lot.

  • Press with the momentum

    If you’ve steadied your ball-striking and your opponent is leaking oil, a press turns a lost nine into found money.

  • Don’t chase a bad swing

    Pressing while you’re spraying it everywhere just doubles the bleeding. Sometimes the smart press is no press.

  • Mind the overall

    The nines reward hot streaks, but the overall 18 rewards consistency. A steady round can lose both nines and still bank the total.

Deeper reading: the $2 Nassau, presses and house rules →

TALK THE TALK

The terms you'll hear on the tee.

Nassau
A three-part game: separate matches on the front nine, back nine, and the total 18 holes.
1 up / 2 down
Your match standing. "2 up" means you’ve won two more holes than your opponent so far.
Press
A new side match opened mid-nine by the player who’s behind, covering only the holes that remain.
All square (AS)
The match is dead even — nobody is up.
Halve
A tied hole. It counts for nothing and the match standing stays put.
Dormie
You’re up by exactly as many holes as are left — you can’t lose the match, only win or tie it.

NASSAU, ANSWERED

Before you tee it up.

Three. A "$20 Nassau" means $20 on the front nine, $20 on the back nine, and $20 on the overall 18 — so the most you can win or lose (before presses) is $60.

When you fall two holes down, you can start a new match — same amount — that only covers the holes still to play on that nine. It’s a fresh chance to get even on a nine you’ve already lost. GoLo doesn’t take presses on a Nassau; in the app they’re on the Overall Match game.

In a lot of groups, yes: "2-down automatic" opens a new press every time someone falls two behind, without anyone calling it. GoLo doesn’t do automatic presses yet. Its Nassau takes no presses at all, and on the Overall Match game the side that’s 2 down calls each one.

They can. Enter each player’s index and GoLo allocates strokes hole by hole using the course stroke index, so a net Nassau plays fair between a 5 and a 20. You can also run it straight-up gross.

STACK IT WITH

Crews that run Nassau also play…

Run any of these alongside your Nassau in the same round — GoLo nets the whole stack into one number.

Set up your Nassau in ten seconds.

Pick the amount, tap the players, and let GoLo track all three matches to the last putt.

Get it onGoogle Play
Coming soon to theApp Store

Android on Google Play today