The Skins Game: Players, Format And What To Know

There's plenty of great Black Friday golf deals to browse and the shopping bonanza also marks a return for the iconic Skins Game this week, which takes place for the first time since 2008.

Players like Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, John Daly and Fred Couples have competed in The Skins Game since its inception in 1983.

This time the competitors will be Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood, Keegan Bradley and Shane Lowry taking to the stage on the Big Cat course at Panther National.

The new private course in South Florida was designed by Jack Nicklaus and Justin Thomas, who made his design debut, and is said to feature 'steep elevation changes and dramatic vistas'. It can play up to 8,000 yards long with water on 14 of the holes including two island greens and two island tee boxes.

Justin Thomas was due to take part but has been replaced by Lowry after undergoing back surgery.

The event begins at 9am ET on Amazon Prime and the format has been slightly shaken up compared to the past in what it being called a 'reverse purse', where the four players begin with $1m this time around vs $0 in previous editions.

As per the original skins format, each hole carries a dollar value, and ties see the money roll over to the next hole. It is currently unknown as to how much money each hole is worth.

The Skins Game will make the start of a big sporting Black Friday with the third annual 'Black Friday Football Game' following before a brand new 'NBA on Prime' doubleheader.

The event has been brought back by Pro Shop, the company behind Netflix's Full Swing docuseries as well as Propagate Content and PGA Tour Studios.

“We’ve taken up the mantle to bring back The Skins Game, and we’re proud to work alongside PGA TOUR Studios, Prime Video and Propagate Content to reintroduce this iconic event and reclaim its rightful place on the sports calendar,” said Chad Mumm, Co-Founder and President of Pro Shop.

“By keeping the traditional format intact and adding some creative twists, we’re giving fans an experience that honors the past while delivering pure, high-stakes competition where the pressure builds with every shot.”

How skins works in golf

Skins is one of the best golf formats, and it can be played by three or four golfers.

There are 18 'Skins' up for grabs in an 18-hole round, and the winner of a hole wins a Skin - which can also be equivalent to a sum of money agreed by the competitors.

The name of the game comes from the leather pouches – ie the Skin – which money was kept in.

If a hole is won outright, then the player winner wins the Skin.

If a hole is tied by two or more players, the Skin is carried over to the next hole and all the players in the game can compete for that Skin regardless of how well they had done on the previous hole.

This carrying over continues until a hole is won outright, so a hole can have many Skins riding on it.

The winner is the player with the most Skins at the end of the round.