Golf payout calculator

How it works

A league collects money in three places: the season prize fund, the weekly skins pot and the side contests such as closest to the pin. Each one is split differently, and mixing them up is how commissioners end up a few dollars short at the banquet. The calculator keeps them apart and shows money in, money paid and money left for each.

A prize fund is paid by place with a payout table, a list of percentages that adds up to 100. When golfers tie, they share the combined money of the places they occupy. Two golfers tied for second in a 50/30/20 table share the second and third place money, and nobody is paid for third on its own. A skins pot is paid by skins won: each skin is worth an equal share of the pot. Contest prizes go to the shortest measure for closest to the pin or the longest for long drive, and a tie shares the prize.

1. Pot = entry fee x number of golfers, in whole cents.
2. Prize fund: each place is paid its percentage of the fund. Tied golfers share the money of all the places they occupy.
3. Skins pot: payout = pot x (your skins / all skins won).
4. Contest prize: the best valid measure wins the whole prize. A tie shares it in equal parts.
5. Rounding: cents are split with the largest remainder rule, so the payouts always add up to the amount split exactly.

If a skins pot has no winner, or a contest has no valid entry, the money is unclaimed. The calculator shows it as left over so you can hold it for next week or add it to the season fund. Presets cover the tables leagues use most, and a custom table accepts any list of percentages that adds to 100.

Worked example: 16 golfers, three pots

A league of 16 golfers collects a $10 skins buy-in, a $5 contest buy-in and a $25 season prize fund entry from each golfer. That is a $160 skins pot, a $80 contest pot and a $400 prize fund.

The $400 prize fund pays 50/30/20: $200 for first, $120 for second and $80 for third. Two golfers tie for second, so they share the second and third place money, $200, and each takes $100. The winner takes $200. Everything is paid and $0.00 is left.

The skins pot of $160 is paid by skins won. 10 skins were won in all, so each is worth $16. The golfer with 3 skins takes $48.

The three contests pay $80 against a $80 pot. The closest to the pin, hole 7 was tied, so $30 is shared and each of the two golfers takes $15.

When to use it

• At the end of a league night, to settle the skins pot and side prizes before anyone leaves.
• At the end of the season, to turn the prize fund into a payout table for the banquet.
• When setting up a new league, to decide how much to collect so the prizes are worth winning.
• To settle a tie. Enter how many golfers tied and see what each one is owed.