When the Skins Game began about twelve years ago, all players played from blue tees and had a handicap of 10 or less. Over the years, as the players grew older, those whose combined age and handicap of 83 were allowed to play from gold tees. Players with a handicap of 18 or higher were also permitted to play, but only one stroke per hole was counted for Skins.
Today, over 40% of Skins Game participants would have a handicap of 18 or more on the white tees. Today players can play from a variety of tees, from blue to red and all combinations in between. Recently, combo tees were added, and new tees have been rated for men, which will allow over 90% of players to play with a handicap of 18 or lower using these newly rated tees.
After consulting with several Skins players over the past few weeks, it has been decided to try a new format for the Skins Game for one month. The goal of this change is to use a fairer format for players of different playing ability competing from different tees. For the month of January, we will use 100% of everybody’s handicap with a maximum of 36. Afterward, we will evaluate whether to continue or not with this format.
New rules effective January 1st
Skins
Only net scores will be considered for awarding a skin on each hole. The player with the lowest net score will be awarded a skin if he is the only player with that net score, regardless of his handicap.
Team games
As is currently the case, net scores will be considered for the team score.
When a team has only three players, instead of using Pepe, a player’s score from another team will be randomly selected to complete the foursome.
Scoring
The scores recorded on the golf cart screens will be considered the official score. Score cards will be used as a backup.