Low Putts is the simplest side bet in golf. Count your putts. Lowest total wins the pot. Simple as that but there are varations worth knowing.
You can layer Low Putts on top of any main game like Nassau, Skins, Stableford, or plain Stroke Play without changing how anyone plays the course.
Below you’ll find the rules, how scoring works, a little strategy, and the variations groups actually run.
OTHER SIDE BETS WORTH STACKING
Run these alongside or in place of Low Putts:
- Snake — Three-putt and you hold the snake. Last person holding it at the end of 18 pays out. The putting cousin to Low Putts.
- Murphys — Call a chip from off the green. Get up and down to win the bet, fail and you pay. The short-game side bet that rewards exactly the chip-aggressive strategy that wins Low Putts.
- Flaps — Call “flap” while your chip is in the air and bet you’ll hole the putt. Make it, collect. Miss, pay out. Pure confidence side bet.
Game Setup
Before the first tee, agree on four things: who’s in, how much each player pays in, what counts as a putt, and how ties are settled.
Players Needed
2 to 4 is ideal. Bigger groups can play, but tracking putts across six golfers without a dedicated app gets messy. Low Putts is a natural addition to most golf games for 4 players since most apps already track putts on the scorecard.
Setting the Stakes
Three common betting formats are used:
- pot-style — Everyone antes the same, winner takes all. Ties split.
- per-putt — Each putt has a fixed dollar value, settle differences at the end. The player with 28 putts collects $4 from the player with 32 at the end.
- hole-by-hole — A small unit goes to the fewest putts each hole)
Handicaps (net) or Gross?
This is optional, and most groups play straight up. If your group has a big putting skill gap, Net Low Putts works — see Variations below on how to handle it. It’s different than normal course handicap calculations.
Handling Tiebreakers
Split the pot, count back from the 18th hole, or run a one-hole putting playoff. Pick a method before the round so nobody argues about it in the parking lot.
How to Play Low Putts (Rules & Scoring)
Low Putts runs in the background while you play your normal round. After every green, each player notes how many putts they took. At the end of 18, add them all up. Lowest total wins.
What Counts As a Putt
A putt is a stroke taken with a putter from on the putting surface.
Strokes with a putter from the fringe, collar, or fairway do not count as putts, they’re scored as regular strokes for your overall score but ignored for the Low Putts bet. Chip-ins count as zero putts on that hole. This is the standard PGA stat definition and the cleanest rule to settle on.
STRATEGY TIP
Chip aggressive when you miss the green. A first putt inside three feet is two-putt insurance and one-putt money. Get the chip close and your putt count for the hole drops to one. That’s how you improve your chances of winning.
Common Variations
Low Putts has a fairness flaw groups notice fast: a player who misses every green but chips it tight can post a lower putt count than someone who hits 12 greens and three-putts every one. These variations fix it or lean into it.
Net Low Putts
Apply a putting handicap based on each player’s typical putts per round. A 36-putt golfer gets strokes from a 28-putt golfer.
Putts per GIR
Only count putts on holes where the player hit the green in regulation. This is the cleanest fairness fix. It neutralizes the chip-and-one strategy entirely. Trade-off: high-handicap players who rarely hit greens can’t realistically win this version. Note that this becomes a percentage instead of a tally.
Team Low Putts
Two-person teams combine their cumulative putts. Common in tournament settings, since it stacks pressure on long putts without changing the main game.
COMMON MISTAKE
Going for the make on every long putt. A 30-foot bomb feels like the only way to gain ground, but lip-outs leave six feet coming back. That’s a guaranteed two-putt and sometimes a three. Two stress-free lag putts that die at the hole wins this bet more often than one hero putt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. A chip-in means you holed out before putting, so your putt count on that hole is zero. This is the standard PGA stat definition and almost every group plays it this way.
No, not by the standard rule. A putt is a stroke taken with a putter on the putting surface. Putts from the fringe, collar, or fairway are scored as regular strokes, not putts. Some casual groups count every putter stroke regardless of position. Decide which version you’re playing before the round.
Yes. The Net Low Putts variation applies a putting handicap based on each player’s average putts per round. It’s the standard fix for groups with a skill gap. Tournament settings usually skip handicaps and run gross Low Putts as a side pot.
PGA Tour players average around 29 putts per round, with the best putters dipping into the 27 range. Decent recreational golfers typically take 32 to 36. Anything under 30 is a strong day for most weekend players, and under 28 means you stole somebody’s money.
Final Thoughts
Low Putts is the side bet you can run in your sleep. No setup. No math during the round. Just a column on the scorecard and a winner buying rounds at the bar.
Add it next weekend. It costs nothing to try and pays for itself the first time you make a 25-footer with the whole group watching.
