This new golf app helps you track and solve your money games

We've all been there: standing on the first floor and trying to find a three-player cash game.

If you're in a group of two or four, a simple match-play game of singles or best ball is usually easier to supervise. You don't even need a scorecard for it.

But threesomes make everything more difficult.

My go-to game is Nine Point (aka 5-3-1). If you're unfamiliar, each hole is worth nine points, and those points are distributed based on how each player hits the hole. For example, if all three players are tied, everyone gets three points, but if one person beats the other two (ie birdie vs. two pars), then that player gets five points while the others only get two.

Where the game gets complicated is remembering all the different situations and distributions and keeping track of the totals. There is no over-par/under-par, so you have to calculate the total points on the scorecard, which, if you're playing for small amounts, say, 50 cents per point, can be tedious.

For some golfers, the headache of counting often leads to playing the easy game (like skins or $5 birdies), or not playing money at all.

Ryan Morrison felt that frustration, even when he had four full games like Banker, Wolf or Lowman.

“A lot of guys didn't know the rules of the game,” Morrison said. “Or they didn't know where they were when they were betting, and it was really hard to follow the scorecard.

“I thought it caused more problems than anything else.”

So Morrison did something about it. Last July, he launched a cash game management system called Skins.

Skins App

It's free

It is named after the golf betting game we all know and love… Skins. You know, when you bet money to win a hole and the winner gets the whole pot? This app takes friendly betting on the course to a whole new level. And with the Skins App, you can not only keep up with your betting game, but it also provides a list of betting games and their rules and allows each player in the game to keep up with the game from the palm of their hand. . Just download the game to your phone to start playing with your friends. You will first need to create a profile that lists your disability and your home study, and it only takes about 30 seconds to get started. It uses GPS to locate players near courses, guide you to wagers, and simplify team scorekeeping. You can even invite friends who are away to watch your round being played. This app turns golf betting into a friendly one. Features: Friendly betting, list of betting games + instructions, peer/player interaction | Registration fee: No | Additional equipment: No

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“It's really the love of the game, the love of competition, and wanting to build something that will improve the game and give back to it,” Morrison said.

Skins allow golfers to track their games and play money on their mobile devices. It currently supports 13 games, from the classics like Stroke Play, Match Play and Nassau to more involved games like Nine Point, Banker, Wolf and Hammer, with more on the way.

In just a few weeks, Skins will have the ability to manage competition between friends, say as a friend trip, in addition to all other games in your group. You can manage a skin game of up to 100 players with the ability to manage the stroke play tournament that comes later.

“Skins is our company name, so we'd be remiss if we didn't allow our biggest team skins competitions,” said Morrison. “We want to empower golfers to have the full game experience they want. OK? Place as many games as you want while in the tournament.”

It's simple: One player in your foursome needs to choose a format and track the game. Some players can join the game with a code if they want to track or keep score on their devices, but that's not required.

Once you've set up the game, add players and select the game variant you'd like to use. You can then create groups and adjust tee selection. This becomes especially important when handicap strokes are involved as the app will automatically allocate strokes based on your handicap index, tee selection and hole handicap.

After your round starts, you have two holes to make changes to the format before it is locked for the rest of the game. So no one can play, say, 13 holes and try to change the rules.

When your game is over, the app immediately calculates any wagers you established at the beginning of the round. There's even integration that lets you and your teammates settle using Venmo, CashApp, PayPal or Zelle.

While Skins makes playing your favorite coin games easy, it also introduces you to new formats and games, in the form of tutorial videos within the app.

“I would encourage people to step up their game a little bit,” he said. “Try a club team, try something different, because a lot of the true joy and excitement and fun on the golf course competitively is when you try something new.”

Jack Hirsh

Golf.com Editor

Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A native of Pennsylvania, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was the captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as the head coach. Jack is also *still* trying to stay competitive with the local novices. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a reporter/multimedia reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting weather. He can be reached at [email protected].