St. James Roll is a per-hole points golf betting game for 3 to 4 players. The premise is simple: you earn points by beating any other player on the hole. If you’re in last place, you get nothing.
Every golfer plays their own ball, and the player who stacks the most points over 18 holes collects from everyone else.
The twist that gives the game its name is Roll Call, a live doubling call that can turn one clean par into a pile of points.
Below is the full rundown: the rules, the scoring, the Roll Call mechanic, and how to settle up before you reach the parking lot.
MORE PER-HOLE MONEY GAMES
If St. James Roll is your speed, run one of these next:
- Dots — The points-per-hole side game St. James Roll borrows its currency from.
- Split Sixes — Three players, six points a hole on a fixed scale. The closest cousin in the family.
- Nines (5-3-1) — Three-player points game scored by finishing order every hole.
Game Setup
Players and Order of Play
Run the game with 3 or 4 players. Everyone plays their own ball and keeps their own score, the same as stroke play.
On the first tee, set the order by handicap, with the lowest handicapper hitting first. After that, honors go to whoever made the low score on the previous hole, standard golf.
Gross or Net (Handicapping)
Playing without handicaps is fine when everyone plays to a similar level. For mixed groups, play it net by applying strokes based on the handicap difference with the best player.
If you are not sure how many strokes each player gets, run the numbers through our free golf handicap calculator and read up on how your course handicap is calculated before you tee off.
Set the Bet
Agree on a value per point before the round. A dollar a point keeps the math easy and the round friendly.
BEHIND THE NAME
St. James Roll is not some old Scottish tradition. It started as a reader-submitted format for GOLF.com, dreamed up by a group on a buddies trip to St. James Plantation in Southport, North Carolina. The course gave it the name. The momentum gave it the staying power.
The setup is easy. The scoring is where new players get tripped up, so read this part twice.
How to Play St. James Roll: Rules & Scoring
The core rule is one line: you earn one point for every player you beat on the hole. Every scenario below follows from that.
Four Player Scoring
In a four-player game, up to 6 points (it’s not always 6) are on the table each hole. When all four players post different scores, they split exactly that way:
| Finish on the hole | Points (“Dots”) |
|---|---|
| Low score (1st) | 3 |
| 2nd | 2 |
| 3rd | 1 |
| High score (4th) | 0 |
A tie is not a win, so you only score the players you actually beat. That changes the count:
- Two tie for low: each low scorer beats the bottom two, so each gets 2. The next player gets 1, the last gets 0.
- Two tie for high: the low score beats all three for 3, second beats the tied pair for 2, and both high scorers get 0.
- Two tie low and two tie high: each low scorer beats both high players for 2 apiece, and the high pair gets 0.
- Two tie in the middle (a birdie, two pars, a bogey): the low score gets 3, the two middle players get 1 each, the high score gets 0.
Notice that ties shrink the pot. Six points is the maximum each hole, not a guarantee.
Three-Player Scoring
With three players, up to 3 points are live each hole: 2 to the low score, 1 to the middle, 0 to the high.
- Two tie for low: they each beat the high player, and get 1 apiece. The third gets 0.
- Two tie for high: the low score takes 2 and the tied pair gets nothing. It is the same rule with one fewer player to beat.
Roll Call (The Doubling Twist)
This is the mechanic that gives the game its name and its teeth.
Before their own tee shot, any eligible player may call “Roll Call.”
A single Roll Call doubles every point on that hole. If a second player also calls it, the hole triples. A third makes it quadruple, and so on. Two hard rules govern it:
- A Roll Call must be made before that player hits, never after seeing where the shot goes.
- The player holding honors (the low score from the last hole) cannot call it. They earned the tee, so they are the one left exposed.
STRATEGY TIP
Roll the par 3s. The field bunches on short holes, and the player holding honors cannot protect themselves. One chunked tee shot from the leader can snowball points in a single swing.
Handling Penalties
St. James Roll is scored on your real strokes, so every penalty is likely a point you hand your opponents.
Out of bounds, a ball in the water, an unplayable lie, they all land on the scorecard and affect your dot count.
If you are ever fuzzy on what penalties costs what, our guide to how golf penalties work includes a great image to download and keep handy on your phone.
Winning and Settling Up
Add every player’s points across all 18 holes. Most points wins. Then settle pairwise: each player pays everyone who finished better than them. The payout is the points difference, times the dollar value.
Here is a clean example with four players at $1 a point. Final totals: Sam 34, Pat 26, Jordan 20, Lee 12.
- Sam beat Pat by 8, Jordan by 14, and Lee by 22, collecting +$44.
- Pat paid $8 to Sam but beat Jordan by 6 and Lee by 14, netting +$12.
- Jordan beat Lee by 8 but paid Sam and Pat, landing at -$12.
- Lee finished last and pays everyone, for -$44.
The money always nets to zero. One scorecard, four settlements, done before you load the clubs.
Most groups bend St. James Roll to fit their crew. These are the versions that actually get played.
Game Variations
Net St. James Roll. Apply handicap strokes per hole and compare net scores instead of gross. This is the move for groups with a real spread in ability, and it keeps the high handicapper in every hole instead of mailing it in at the turn.
Capped Roll Calls. Limit each player to one or two Roll Calls per nine. It stops a single blow-up hole from deciding the round and keeps the trailing player from doubling everything out of desperation.
Let it rip. The opposite house rule: no cap, stack as many Roll Calls as players are brave enough to make. Holes can hit quadruple points. Big swings, not for the faint of wallet.
Carryover ties. If every player ties a hole and zero points are awarded, roll those points forward to the next hole, like a Skins push.
Three-player Roll. Drop to a threesome and play for 3 points a hole. The math tightens and every single dot matters more.
COMMON MISTAKE
Rolling to chase. Down twenty points, players start calling Roll Call every hole to claw it back. But doubling the stakes while you are the one getting beaten just doubles the bleed. Roll when you are playing well, not when you are losing.
A few things come up the first time a group plays St. James Roll.
Frequently Asked Questions
The original rules score each hole on gross strokes and only use handicaps to set the first-tee order. That works when everyone plays to a similar level. If your group has a wide skill gap, switch to net scoring by applying handicap strokes, so the game stays competitive for everyone. Decide before the round, not during it.
Yes, and it runs great as a threesome. Instead of 6 points a hole you play for 3: the low score gets 2, the middle gets 1, and the high score gets nothing. The one-point-per-player-you-beat rule is identical, there is just one fewer player to beat.
All three are points games, but the scoring differs. Split Sixes is a three-player game that splits six points every hole on a fixed 4-2-0 scale. Dots awards points for specific feats like birdies, sandies, and greenies rather than for beating players outright. St. James Roll’s hook is Roll Call, the live doubling call that neither of the others has.
That is a group decision. Many groups cap it at one or two per player per nine to keep the math sane. Others let it rip with no limit, which means a single hole can stack to triple or quadruple points if more than one player rolls it. Set the cap on the first tee.
If every player makes the same score, nobody beats anybody, so zero points are awarded. Most groups simply move on. If you want more drama, use the carryover variation and push that hole’s points onto the next one.
Final Thoughts
St. James Roll earns its spot in the rotation because it does two things at once: it lets every player play their own ball, and it makes every single hole worth something.
The Roll Call gives the bold a way to press and the leader something to sweat. Play it net the first time so nobody checks out by the turn, keep the point value friendly, and watch how fast everyone starts caring about a five-foot par putt.
Run it this weekend with your regular group, set the point value low, and let the Roll Calls fly. The leader never gets to coast, and that is the whole point.
