Cinco: A Golf Game for Five Players

The Problem With Five

Almost every classic golf bet assumes four players. Nassau matches pair up two against two, Sixes rotates three partnerships of two, and Vegas needs two even teams. Add a fifth player and the teams stop working, so most groups fall back on Skins. Skins is fine, but it's every player for themselves, and it can go several holes with nothing happening.

Cinco was designed to fix that. It keeps the fun of team golf with five players by making the teams uneven, two against three, and then balancing the money so the uneven teams are still a fair fight.

How Cinco Works

• Two against three. On every hole, a duo plays against a trio.
• Teams rotate every three holes. Over eighteen holes there are six three-hole segments, each with a different duo, so you partner with everyone during the round.
• Best ball decides the hole. Compare the duo's best score with the trio's best score, net if your group plays with handicaps. For a tighter game, use each team's best two scores added together instead.
• Ties push or carry. A tied hole is a push by default. If your group likes bigger swings, turn on carryover and the next decided hole is worth one more pot.

Balanced Stakes: Why Two vs. Three Is Fair

The trio has an obvious edge: three chances at a good score instead of two. Cinco balances that with money, not with strokes. With a $1 unit, each duo member plays for $3 and each trio member plays for $2, so each side has $6 riding on every hole.

• The duo wins the hole: each duo member collects $3 and each trio member pays $2.
• The trio wins the hole: each trio member collects $2 and each duo member pays $3.

Put another way, every duo player has a $1 bet against each of the three trio players, and every trio player has a $1 bet against each of the two duo players. The money always balances, and being in the duo is a riskier, bigger-payout role, which is part of the fun when it's your turn.

A Worked Example

Five players, $1 unit, best ball net. On holes 1 to 3, Amy and Ben are the duo against Cal, Dee and Eve.

• Hole 1: the duo's best net is 4, the trio's best is 5. The duo wins: Amy and Ben collect $3 each, Cal, Dee and Eve pay $2 each.
• Hole 2: both teams' best is a net 4. Push.
• Hole 3: the trio's best net 3 beats the duo's 4. Cal, Dee and Eve collect $2 each, Amy and Ben pay $3 each.

After three holes everyone is even, and on hole 4 a new duo takes over.

Dealing the Teams

With five players and six segments, every player is in the duo at least twice, and two players get a third turn. Deal the schedule before the round (random is fairest) and write it down so nobody argues about whose turn it is. On a nine-hole round there are three segments, so some players only see the duo once.

Variations

• Best two: the duo adds both scores; the trio adds its best two. It rewards the whole team rather than one hero.
• Carryover: tied holes build the next pot.
• Off the low: handicap strokes relative to the lowest player, if your group plays that way.

Playing Cinco in Settle Up Golf

Add five players to a round and Cinco appears with the other games. The app deals the rotation when you add the game (you can re-deal it), shows the current duo and trio on every hole, handles best ball or best two, push or carryover, and nets, and settles every hole at the end with everything else your group is playing.