Golf Junk Rules (Dots & Garbage)
Players: Any group
Junk — also called dots or garbage — is a stack of tiny side bets riding on top of your round for one-off feats: a greenie for closest on a par 3, a sandie for getting up and down from a bunker, a barkie for a par after hitting a tree. The names change group to group, and that is the point: none of it matters except the value. Set what each junk is worth, award it when someone earns it, and total it up.
Try the free Junk calculator →It is all just a value
Every foursome invents its own junk and its own names. Polie, arnie, oozle, snake, wolf, hogan — the vocabulary is endless and half of it is inside jokes. Do not get lost in it.
Treat every junk the same way: it is a named value. Decide what a greenie is worth, what a sandie is worth, and so on, then award a dot to whoever earns one. The name is just a label on a number.
The common ones
Greenie: closest to the pin on a par 3 (usually must make par to keep it). Sandie: par or better after being in a bunker. Barkie: par after hitting a tree. Birdie or better: often its own dot.
Polie: a putt inside the length of the flagstick. Chip-in: holing out from off the green. Arnie: a par without ever being in the fairway. Add whatever your group plays — the list is yours.
Settling up
Count each player's dots, multiply by the value, and net it out. Because junk rides alongside the main game, it is easy to lose track by the back nine, which is exactly where a live tally earns its keep.
Common questions
What is junk in golf?
Junk is a set of small side bets for one-off feats during a round — greenies, sandies, barkies and the like. It is also called dots or garbage.
Do the names of junk bets matter?
No. Groups call them all sorts of things. All that matters is the value you attach to each one and who earned it.
What is a greenie, sandie, and barkie?
A greenie is closest to the pin on a par 3, a sandie is an up-and-down from a bunker for par, and a barkie is a par after hitting a tree. Values are whatever your group sets.
How does Skins Golf handle junk?
Name any junk, set its value, and tap a dot onto the player who earned it. Every dot lands in the live game feed and the totals settle themselves.
Keep reading
In the app
Skins Golf scores it for you
Set it up once and Skins Golf scores it live, applies handicap allowances, and keeps the leaderboard current every hole. Skins Golf tracks results for reference only and never handles funds.