4 players (2 v 2)
🎰Vegas golf game: rules, the birdie flip, and a calculator
Vegas is a 2 v 2 game where one hole can move a lot of money. Each team turns its two scores into a two-digit number, low score first, so a 4 and a 5 make 45. The lower number wins the hole by the difference.
Vegas calculator ↓The rules
Partners play their own ball. On each hole, write your team’s two scores side by side, the lower one first: a 4 and a 5 make 45, a 5 and a 6 make 56.
The lower number wins the hole, and the difference is the points. 45 against 56 is 11 points to the team with 45. Agree what a point is worth. At $1 a point, each golfer on the losing team pays $11 and each golfer on the winning team collects $11.
If both teams make the same number, the hole is even and no money moves.
The birdie flip
A birdie flips the other team’s number, so their higher score goes first. Your partner birdies, the other team has a 4 and a 5, and their 45 becomes 54.
If both teams make a birdie, they cancel and neither number flips. Only a real birdie flips. A net birdie on a hole where you get a stroke does not.
The 10 rule
Make a 10 or worse and your own team’s number flips. A 4 and a 10 is 104, not 410.
Swilkin plays the birdie flip and the 10 rule on every Vegas game. They are part of the game, not options.
Pick-ups
Vegas needs two scores from each team on every hole, so a pick-up counts as a double bogey, or a net double bogey in a net game. Pick up on a par 4 and you made a 6.
A worked round
Ana and Ben play Cal and Dee for $1 a point.
| Hole | Par | Ana & Ben | Cal & Dee | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 4, 5 → 45 | 5, 6 → 56 | Ana & Ben +11 |
| 2 | 4 | 4, 6 → 64 | 3, 5 → 35 | Cal & Dee +29 |
| 3 | 3 | 2, 4 → 24 | 2, 3 → 23 | Cal & Dee +1 |
| 4 | 5 | 5, 5 → 55 | 6, 10 → 106 | Ana & Ben +51 |
On the 2nd, Cal’s birdie flips Ana and Ben’s 46 into 64. On the 3rd, both teams birdie, so nothing flips. On the 4th, Dee’s 10 flips Cal and Dee to 106.
Ana and Ben finish 32 points up. Cal and Dee each pay $32, and Ana and Ben each collect $32.
Stakes and variations
A single hole can swing 50 points, so pick a point value you won’t mind paying 50 times. Vegas has no fixed worst case, and Swilkin says so on the round’s Matches page.
Play it net if your handicaps are far apart. Each golfer’s strokes come off before the scores pair up, and only a natural birdie flips.
Vegas calculator
Set your terms, enter the card, and it settles as you type. A blank on a hole somebody else finished counts as a pick-up.
Swilkin keeps the score and settles it while you play, and puts every bet on the receipt.
Start a round on SwilkinHow Swilkin runs it
Swilkin pairs the numbers, applies both flips, knows a natural birdie from a net one, and puts every hole on the receipt with both numbers and any flip. You enter scores and it does the arithmetic.
Questions golfers ask
How do you score Vegas in golf?
Each team pairs its two scores into one number, lower score first. The lower number wins the hole by the difference, and each point is worth the agreed amount to every golfer on the team.
What is the birdie flip?
A birdie by one team flips the other team’s number, higher score first. A 45 becomes 54. Birdies on both teams cancel.
What happens with a score of 10 or more?
Your own team’s number flips. A 4 and a 10 make 104.
Can you play Vegas with three or five golfers?
No. Vegas is two teams of two, and Swilkin only plays it that way.
How much can you lose at Vegas?
There is no fixed limit. One hole with a 10 against a birdie can cost more than the rest of the round, so set the point value with that in mind.