Find the Challenge Option

From the Tournament Lobby, tap any group and select Challenge. You can also initiate a challenge directly from your own group's scorecard in the Bets view.

Cross-group challenges are available in Standard and Scramble tournaments. In Pairs tournaments, you can challenge pair-to-pair across groups.

Who can challenge? Any participant in the tournament can initiate a challenge — not just the host. One group challenges, the other accepts or declines.

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Pick the Opposing Group

A list of all groups in the tournament appears. Tap the group you want to challenge. In Pairs format, you can pick a specific pair rather than the whole group.

The app shows each group's current score so you can see who you're actually taking on before committing to the wager.

Multiple challenges: Your group can have more than one active cross-group challenge at the same time. Stack them up — Nassau with Group 2 and stroke play with Group 4 simultaneously.

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Set the Wager and Scoring Mode

Enter the wager amount per player (or per group — your choice). Then choose the scoring mode: Gross, Net, or Off-the-Low (OTL).

Pick the format: Stroke Play (low total wins), Nassau (front/back/overall), or Match Play (hole-by-hole). Nassau and Match Play challenges track hole by hole in real time.

OTL scoring: Off-the-Low adjusts all handicaps relative to the best player in the challenge — useful when the groups have very different average handicaps and you want a fair fight.

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Other Group Accepts

The opposing group's players get a notification — "Group 3 wants to challenge you." Their group host can accept or decline from the Bets view or the notification.

If declined, no hard feelings — the challenge disappears. If accepted, it goes live immediately and appears on both groups' Bets views.

Pre-round challenges: Set challenges up before anyone tees off for the cleanest experience. Challenges can also be created mid-round — scores from completed holes count retroactively.

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Track Live P&L

The challenge card appears in both groups' Bets view. For Nassau and Match Play, you'll see hole-by-hole status updates — who's up, who's down, and whether anyone's dormie.

For stroke play, the running total updates after every hole as scores come in from both groups. When the last hole is finished, the result locks in and flows into the final Settle Up sheet.

Settlement: Cross-group challenge payouts are included in the overall Settle Up sheet alongside all other games. One screen shows everything owed at the end of the tournament.

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More Guides

Tournament Guide Side Bets Guide View All Guides →

When the Tournament Leaderboard Isn't Enough

Group v. Group challenges are one of the best parts of a large tournament — the trash talk starts on the first tee, the wager gives both foursomes something to fight for beyond the overall standings, and the whole thing settles automatically at the end.

Cross-group challenges in Settle Up Golf run alongside the main tournament without disrupting it. Your group can have a Nassau going with one group and stroke play against another, while the tournament leaderboard keeps running normally. All the payouts roll into one settlement at the end.

For more on side bet formats, see the Side Bets guide. For full tournament setup, start with the Tournament guide.

How to Set Up Cross-Group Challenges