Banker Golf Game Rules

Banker (sometimes called Defender or Money Ball) is the ultimate one-against-the-field game: every hole, one player becomes the Banker and takes on everyone at once. Beat the Banker and collect — lose, and you pay the house.

The setup

1. Agree on a bet range — a minimum and a maximum per hole (say $1 to $50).
2. One player is the Banker for the hole and plays a separate bet against every other player.
3. The Banker rotates: whoever shoots the low score on a hole becomes the Banker on the next one. The hot hand has to defend.

How a hole plays

1. Before or during the hole, each non-Banker sets their bet against the Banker (within the agreed range).
2. Feeling good after a great drive or approach? Press to double your bet. The Banker can press back to double it again — up to four times the original.
3. Scores are settled on net score (handicaps count). The Banker's score is compared to each player individually.
4. Low score wins the bet. A tie pushes — no money moves.

The payouts

A worked example

Four players, $1 minimum. Cole shot the low score last hole, so he's the Banker. On this par 4 (net scores):

• Amy bets $5. She nets a 4 to Cole's 5 — Amy wins, the Banker pays her $5.
• Ben bets $2 and presses after a great drive (now $4 at stake). He nets a 6 to Cole's 5 — Ben loses, paying the Banker $4.
• Dee bets $1 and nets a 5 — same as Cole. Push.

Cole the Banker nets it out: −$5 to Amy, +$4 from Ben, $0 from Dee = down $1 on the hole. One bad matchup can cost the Banker even when they win the others — that's the tension of defending the field.

Strategy

As a bettor, the press is your weapon: bet small, then double down only when you've put one close. As the Banker, you can't win the hole once — you have to beat everyone, so play the percentages and use the press-back to punish a long-shot challenger. Because the low scorer becomes the next Banker, going on a heater is a double-edged sword: great for your wallet now, a target on your back next hole.

Who Banker is for

Great for groups who want one player in the hot seat every hole and love a comeback mechanic. It works with three players or more, scales to a full foursome, and pairs naturally with Skins or Wolf running at the same time.

Keeping the books straight

Banker is a bookkeeping nightmare by hand: a rotating Banker, a different bet for every player, presses and press-backs doubling individual matchups, all on net scores. By the turn, nobody can reconstruct who owes what. SideAction Saloon tracks the Banker rotation, every bet, every press, and settles all of it live — then ends the round with one screen: who owes who.