How to Run a Masters Pool With Friends

Every April, someone in the group chat volunteers to "run a quick Masters pool." By Sunday they're updating a Google Sheet on their phone behind the 12th green while three people argue about the cut line. Running a Masters pool with friends isn't hard. It just requires deciding a few things before you send the invite — and refusing to be the league's full-time scorekeeper.

The format that works for most groups

Tiered picking is what most people mean when they talk about a golf pool. You split the field into groups — four or six tiers — and everyone picks one golfer from each. Nobody gets to load up on the entire top ten.

The version I see work best for friend groups: six tiers, pick one per tier, count your best four scores. Two bad picks won't ruin your week. Snake drafts and salary-cap formats exist, but they're for smaller crews who already argue about WAR in baseball. If you've got eight to twenty people and half of them watch golf mainly in April, keep it tiered.

Write the rules down. Seriously.

The fights on Sunday night are never about golf. They're about a rule someone thought was obvious.

Before picks open, send a short note covering scoring (combined to-par, lowest wins), what happens when someone misses the cut (a flat +10 stroke penalty is common and easy to explain), how you break ties (best Sunday round among your picks is fine), and whether money is involved. The Money List doesn't touch prize pots — if your group runs $20 Venmo, say that upfront and collect it yourself.

A timeline that won't leave you scrambling

You don't need to launch in January. You do need more than twelve hours' notice.

Two weeks out: announce the pool, name the format, mention the buy-in if there is one. One week out: open picks and send the link. Wednesday at 11:59pm Pacific is the lock time most groups use — late enough for procrastinators, early enough that nobody's picking after Thursday pairings drop. Wednesday afternoon: one reminder to the people who haven't submitted. Thursday through Sunday: you're a spectator. Sunday night: pay the winner, post the standings screenshot, done.

Getting people to actually join

One link or short code beats a PDF every time. On The Money List, you set the lock time, pick how many scores count, choose the missed-cut penalty, and share a code. Friends join free at moneylistgolf.us/join. They need an account to submit picks, but they can browse the pool without one. First submitted lineup copies to The Field — the national board — if anyone in your group wants to see how they stack up beyond the friend pool.

Pools that come back year after year aren't the ones with the cleverest format. They're the ones where the organizer didn't hate the experience. Nail the rules once in April and you're mostly just changing the invite link next year.