Question 1

How do I set the stakes for a round?

Accepted Answer

When you create a round, switch to the Betting tab and add the bets you want - match bets, skins, side bets like CTP/LD, or a Stableford pool. Set the stake amount per player and currency.

You can add or change bets later from the round's Betting tab as long as the round isn't completed. Stakes are between you and your group - the app tracks who owes who, but it doesn't move money.

Question 2

What's the difference between per-hole and match-total bets?

Accepted Answer

Per-hole bets (like Skins, CTP, Longest Drive, Bingo Bango Bongo) settle one hole at a time. Each hole pays out independently.

Match-total bets (like a Match Play bet, Nassau, or Stableford pool) settle once the whole match or round is done. Nassau is a hybrid - three independent matches (front 9, back 9, overall 18) that each pay out at the end.

Mixing both is fine and common.

Question 3

How do side bets like CTP and Longest Drive work?

Accepted Answer

On the Betting tab, add a CTP (Closest to the Pin) or LD (Longest Drive) bet, set the stake per player, and pick which holes it's played on.

During the round, each ball/group claims their best attempt. The host confirms the winner per hole (the app suggests the likely winner based on submitted measurements). Settlement updates as winners are confirmed.

Question 4

How is settlement calculated?

Accepted Answer

After every score and confirmed winner, the app sums each player's wins and losses across every bet in the round. Then it nets payments down to the smallest set of transfers - so if A owes B €10 and B owes A €4, you'll just see A owes B €6.

The Round Summary shows projected settlements live during the round and final settlements once the round is marked complete.

Question 5

Why does the host need to approve some things?

Accepted Answer

For side bets like CTP and Longest Drive, the host (or a co-host) confirms the winner per hole. This avoids accidental double-claims and keeps payouts tidy.

Until winners are confirmed, payouts show as "projected" so the group knows they're not final yet. The host can still change a confirmed winner if needed.

Question 6

How do we split payments after the round?

Accepted Answer

Open the Round Summary. The Settlement section shows the simplified list of who owes who and how much.

Settle outside the app (Swish, Venmo, cash, beer at the bar - whatever your group prefers), then tap "Mark Paid" on each line so the record is kept tidy. Golf with Mates does not process payments itself.

Question 7

Can I edit bets mid-round?

Accepted Answer

Yes. As host, open the round's Betting tab and tap "Edit bets". You can change which holes a bet covers, adjust the stake, or remove a bet entirely.

Warning: removing a bet deletes its claims and projected payouts. Adjusting holes for an in-progress bet is fine and recalculates instantly.

Question 8

Why didn't my bet settle?

Accepted Answer

A few common reasons:
Side-bet winners haven't been confirmed by the host yet - payouts stay projected until they are.
A player picked up the hole, voiding their claim for that hole.
Match-total bets (Match, Nassau) only settle once the round is marked complete.
In Skins, carried-over skins still unclaimed at the end of the round are absorbed into the pot and split proportionally among players who won any skins — they're not voided.

If something still looks wrong, send us feedback from the app and include the round name.

Question 9

What is Smart Settlement?

Accepted Answer

Smart Settlement looks at every bet result in the round and figures out the smallest set of payments needed to settle everyone up.

Example: if A owes B £5 and B owes C £5, Smart Settlement just asks A to pay C £5 - instead of two separate transfers. With four or more players this can collapse a dozen tiny payments into two or three.

You'll see one row per payment with the from/to/amount. Each person marks their own row as paid (cash, Swish, Stripe - whatever you used).

Question 10

How do I mark a bet as paid?

Accepted Answer

On the round summary, open the Settlement card. Each row shows who owes whom and how much. Tap Mark as paid on a row once the money has actually changed hands (cash, Swish, bank transfer, or Stripe).

Only the payer or payee can mark a row paid. The host sees everyone's rows for visibility but can't mark someone else's payment for them.

Beer/drink bets are tracked separately and don't need to be "paid" to lock the round.

Question 11

When does a round lock, and what does that mean?

Accepted Answer

A round locks automatically once everything is settled:
All scores are in and the round is completed.
Closest to Pin and Longest Drive winners (if used) are confirmed by the host.
Every money debt in Smart Settlement is marked paid (beer bets don't count).

Once locked, the leaderboard, bet results and settlement are frozen - no more edits. You'll see a 🔒 Locked badge. If something genuinely needs fixing after that, an admin can unlock the round.

Question 12

How do predictions ("calls") work?

Accepted Answer

When the host enables predictions on a round, mutual friends can call who they think will top the leaderboard. Here's the full picture:
Pot: every call adds your stake to a shared pot. The bigger the stake, the bigger your share of the winnings.
Winners: when the round ends, whoever picked the player who actually won splits the pot — proportional to what each predictor put in.
Ties on the leaderboard: if two or more players tie for first, the pot splits across everyone who backed any of the tied players (still pro-rata by stake).
Nobody picked the winner: if no caller backed the player who actually won, the entire pot goes to the round's players, split equally between them. The gallery underestimated the field — the field gets paid.
Everyone on the same horse: if every caller picks the same player, there's nothing to predict — the market is voided and all stakes refund.
When calls lock: the host picks the lock point when enabling predictions — tee-off, after hole 3, or after the front 9. Once locked, no more calls.
Money: Golf with Mates never holds funds. After the round, you'll see who owes who — settle directly between friends (Swish, cash, beer, whatever works).

💰Betting & settlement

Betting & settlement