Hussein (bomb hole): rotation and pot rules

Hussein — often called the bomb hole game — nominates a single designated player for each hole. That player is playing against the entire field for a pot everyone has contributed to. Win the hole outright and the designee collects the lot. Fail, and the pot survives into the next hole with a new designee, growing every time it rolls.

The tension comes from the asymmetry. On a normal hole a par is fine. When you are the designee on a pot that has already doubled twice, a par is probably a loss, and everyone in the group knows it while you are standing over the tee shot.

Choosing the designee

There are three common rotation methods, and they produce noticeably different games:

• Fixed order — players take the bomb in a set rotation. Simple and predictable, but it means the bomb sometimes lands on a player at random relative to how they are actually playing.
• Winner carries — whoever won the previous hole becomes the designee. Punishes the player in form and tends to level the round.
• Second-best carries — the player who finished second on the previous hole takes the bomb. This is the default we recommend, and the app's default: it keeps the bomb near the front of the field without repeatedly loading it onto the same hot player, and it gives the runner-up on every hole something to think about.

Whichever you choose, agree that the group may override manually. Real rounds throw up situations — a player picking up, a hole abandoned for a lost ball — where the automatic rotation produces something nobody wants.

Total pot vs per-player fee

Two ways to size the money, and it is worth being explicit about which you are playing:

1. Per-player fee — each player contributes a fixed amount every hole. With a $3 fee and four players, each hole adds $12 to the pot. The pot size scales with the number of players, so a six-ball plays for considerably more than a four-ball at the same fee.
2. Total pot — you set the hole's pot directly, say $20, and it is divided among the contributors. The stake is stable regardless of group size, which most groups find easier to reason about. This is the mode we suggest for mixed or changing groups.

Worked example

Four players, $3 per-player fee, so $12 enters the pot each hole. Holes 3 and 4 both pass without the designee winning.

• Hole 3 — designee fails. $12 carries.
• Hole 4 — designee fails. Pot now $24 carried.
• Hole 5 — $24 carried plus $12 for the current hole = $36 pot. The designee wins the hole.

The designee collects the full $36, but $3 of that was their own contribution to hole 5, so their net gain on the hole is $33. Each of the other three players is $3 down for the hole, and they also forfeited their earlier contributions on the two carried holes. That is exactly the kind of number that looks wrong on a scorecard until you trace the carry-over back.

Variations worth knowing

• Doubling — instead of adding a flat amount, the pot doubles on each carry. Escalates quickly; cap it at three carries unless everyone is comfortable.
• Net Hussein — apply handicap strokes so a higher handicapper carrying the bomb on a stroke hole actually has a chance. Recommended for mixed groups.
• Tie handling — most groups require an outright win by the designee. A tie means the pot carries, same as a loss.

Comparing carry rules

Flat and doubling carries behave very differently once a pot starts rolling. The table below tracks a four-player game with a $3 per-player fee ($12 added each hole) across three consecutive failed holes.

Doubling looks harmless for one or two carries and then escalates fast. A capped version — doubling up to a fixed ceiling, then flat additions after that — gives you the drama of an early double without the risk of a single hole deciding the whole round's money.

Common disputes and how to settle them

Who exactly was "second best" on the previous hole?

With handicap strokes in play, "second best" should mean second-best net score, not gross. Decide this before the round — switching definitions mid-round because it produces a more favorable designee for someone is the single most common argument in Hussein games.

A player picks up mid-hole

A pick-up should count as the worst possible outcome for that player on that hole for rotation purposes, but most groups exclude a picked-up player from being eligible to become the next designee — being handed the bomb as a "reward" for quitting a hole feels wrong to everyone else.

The group disagrees on whether the pot should have carried

This almost always traces back to an ambiguous tie rule. Write down, before the round, whether a tie counts as a designee win, a designee loss, or a push that voids the hole's contribution — pick one and stick to it.

Frequently asked questions

Related reading

• Skins — the other major carry-over game, without a designated player.
• Gangster (조폭) — a per-hole game where the winner collects from everybody.
• Net scoring and handicaps — how to run a fair Net Hussein.