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November 25, 2025
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Jim Gorant
He’s sketchy on the main points, however when Fred {Couples} says he misses the Skins Sport there’s little doubt his reminiscence is working simply wonderful. The person dubbed “Mr. Skins” recollects taking part in in at the least “5 – 6” editions of the four-player, 18-hole exhibitions that ran from 1983 by 2008. When knowledgeable he teed it up 14 instances and received 5, he merely says, “Wow.” After a pause he provides, “Significantly, I imply, it goes by so quick.”
Picture Credit score: Fred {Couples} tees off throughout the 1996 Skins Sport at Rancho La Quinta Nation Membership in La Quinta, California. {Couples} received the Skins Sport ending with 9 Skins and $280,000. (Craig Jones/Allsport)
It provides up shortly too. The occasion provided a money prize per gap (expressed as the worth of a fur pelt or a “pores and skin”). If no person received the outlet, the prize would roll over to the following one. 4 or 5 ties in a row might result in weighty sums and heavy drama driving on a single putt. {Couples} made his share. Over time, he took a complete of 77 skins and pocketed $4.2 million, which works out to one thing like $20,000 per gap (not together with playoff holes). Nonetheless, he factors out, “the 4.2 right this moment, don’t snort, that’d in all probability be like $40 million.”
Possibly we’ll discover out over the following dozen or so years, as a result of after a 17-year hiatus, the Skins Sport returns. Keegan Bradley, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Xander Schauffle will battle it out on Panther Nationwide in Palm Seaside Gardens, Florida, for a complete purse of $4 million on Nov. 28. Just like the outdated days, everybody might be mic’d up and having enjoyable, however there might be a twist. This time, every participant will begin with a $1 million pot, and so they’ll should pay a portion of it to whomever wins a gap. Win all 18 and take residence the whole 4M; fail to win any holes and go away with zip.
“I’m wanting ahead to watching it,” {Couples} says. “It’s Thanksgiving weekend. It was all the time on early right here in California, and any time you get these type of guys collectively, it’s gonna be present. It’s arduous to tug off. Again after I performed, everyone wished to play, however these days, everybody asks for a pile of cash, and so they don’t go throughout the road except they get it. So, I feel this format is healthier, the place you begin out with a sure pool of cash and attempt to hold onto it.”
RELATED:
A Brief History of The Skins Game
The unique may need been much less artistic, however it had different issues going for it. For starters, it occupied area on one of many three networks in a time earlier than cable reigned and it featured legends of the sport taking part in for greenback quantities that impressed even them. The primary yr, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Participant and Tom Watson confronted off, and on one gap Palmer sunk a putt value $100,000. As much as that time in his profession, he’d by no means received greater than $55,000 in any match. The 1983 Masters champion (Seve Ballesteros) solely made $90,000. Arnie’s putt meant one thing to viewers, as a result of it meant one thing even to Palmer.
In 2025, seven PGA Tour occasions paid out at the least $4 million simply to the winner, so despite the fact that “a few ties might result in a $1 million gap,” the brand new Skins Sport wants greater than money to attract viewers. {Couples} doesn’t suppose that might be a problem. “They had been a lot enjoyable to play in that I by no means seemed on the greenback indicators,” he says. “Don’t get me fallacious, we made some huge cash on the common tour within the ‘90s, however then you can go within the offseason, and in case you had a pleasant couple of tournaments, you can make a verify. However a part of it was I actually loved taking part in with a few of my buddies. You’ve obtained to snort at your self on this factor. You recognize, you would possibly miss a putt, and, okay, possibly it prices you some cash, however you bought to have enjoyable. That that's the important thing, not that I did it on a regular basis, I used to be not a comic, however you bought plenty of smiles and also you interacted with the followers in case you received a gap. You confirmed off just a little bit. That's what the Skins Sport is all about.”
He has examples. He remembers taking part in with Palmer at Bull Run in ‘93. They got here to a par 5 with a mogul-lined fairway. His shot ended up on a sidehill, the place “I had 230 yards and the ball was in all probability chin excessive,” he says. “You’re within the Skins Sport, so I stated, Why wouldn't I? I made this baseball swing, and I knocked it on the inexperienced to about 25 ft.” He doesn’t keep in mind if he received the outlet, however he recollects really feel of it. “You would play a manner you by no means would in a match,” he says.
He notably loved taking part in with Payne Stewart, Paul Azinger and Davis Love III. “Azinger was all the time humorous. One yr we had been taking part in, and there’s solely 4 of you within the locker room, and Azinger seems to be into Payne’s locker. He says, ‘We're taking part in two days, and also you've obtained like six pair of footwear right here. What the hell are you doing?’”
In 2005, {Couples} performed with Tiger Woods, Annika Sorenstam and Fred Funk. When Sorenstam outdrove Funk on the third gap, she made him repay a wager by sporting a pink skirt for the remainder of the outlet. “On the inexperienced he bent over to learn his putt and Tiger’s studying it too, and he says, ‘Seems to be prefer it’s two balls out,’” {Couples} says. “That was comical however just a little dicey to say on TV.”
Picture Caption: Followers on the primary tee maintain photographs of gamers Fred Funk, Fred {Couples}, Tiger Woods and Annika Sorenstam throughout last spherical of the 2005 Merrill Lynch Skins Sport at Trilogy Golf Membership at La Quinta in La Quinta, California November 27, 2005. (Picture by Steve Grayson/PGA)
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He thinks this year’s group will ship on that a part of the occasion. He calls Fleetwood “in all probability the No. 2 participant on this planet proper now,” who “could also be hilarious.” Bradley, in the meantime “is energetic and when one thing good occurs, you’ll find out about it.” Lowry, a last-minute replacement after Justin Thomas bowed out following again surgical procedure, “has type of obtained that happy-go-lucky look, and he’s an awesome, nice participant who'll in all probability do some injury on this factor.”
He likes the “X-man” as an X issue. {Couples} performs usually with fellow SoCal homies Patrick Cantlay and Schauffle, who he calls the quiet little murderer. “If you happen to've been round X-Man, he's one of many funniest guys round. You don’t see him smiling and laughing loads, however he's obtained that manner of claiming one thing, and he doesn't snort, however it's very, very humorous. I feel he may very well be the chief of the band of these three guys, somebody who can stir the pot.”
As he’s speaking, {Couples} remembers that he additionally performed within the Canadian Skins Sport “six or seven instances.” A fast reality verify reveals he performed 11 instances north of the border, successful 5 for an additional $1.2 million in Canadian {dollars}. That revelation results in an apparent query. Does Mr. Skins suppose he ought to have gotten the nod for this yr’s reboot? “When Justin had his surgical procedure, I used to be like, the place was my name?” he says, laughing. “I used to be disillusioned. I nonetheless play fairly effectively.”
There was once a senior skins sport. That died in 2011, but when the younger weapons model does effectively, who is aware of what they’ll resuscitate subsequent yr.
*The Skins Sport will stream on Amazon Prime beginning at 9 a.m. ET on Nov. 28. Skratch’s father or mother firm, ProShop Inc., is a co-owner and co-producer of the occasion.
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