Closest to the Pin

Oyeses is what much of Latin America calls closest to the pin: the bet on leaving it nearest the flag on a par 3. It is probably the oldest social bet in golf and the easiest to explain on the tee: whoever gets closest, collects.

On Teezr it is one of the units, but it earns its own guide because it has two modes whose details completely change how much money moves.

The base rule

• It is played only on the course’s par 3s. On a normal layout that is four holes.
• On each par 3, every player’s position is recorded by how close they finished to the flag.
• Only first place collects. There is no prize for second.
• The winner collects the amount from each of the other players who recorded a position on that par 3.
• If first place is tied, that par 3 is voided and nobody collects.

The second-place detail is what surprises people most: second does not collect from third. There is exactly one payment per par 3, from first place against everybody.

The usual convention is that the ball has to finish on the green to count. Because position is recorded by hand, the group sets the criterion — agree it on the first par 3, not on the last one.

A simple example

Four players, $200 per par 3, four par 3s on the round:

Par 3	Result	Payment
Hole 3	Ana wins	Ana +$600 (200 from each of the three)
Hole 7	Beto wins	Beto +$600
Hole 12	Ana and Caro tied	Voided, nobody collects
Hole 16	Ana wins	Ana +$600

Ana finishes on $1,200, Beto on $600, and Caro and Dani paying. Four par 3s, three payments.

Amounts are configured per game. The numbers in this guide are examples used to explain the mechanic, not prices.

Accumulated mode

This is where the bet gets interesting. In Accumulated mode, a par 3 that is not decided is not lost: it rolls into the next one.

A par 3 rolls over when:

• Nobody recorded a position.
• First place was tied.

And the effect is multiplicative: the next par 3 that does get decided pays the amount for everything banked, plus its own.

Par 3	What happened	Value of that par 3
Hole 3	Tied	Rolls over
Hole 7	Nobody recorded it	Rolls over
Hole 12	Beto wins	Worth three par 3s
Hole 16	Ana wins	Worth one

On the 12th, Beto collects three times the amount from each rival. At a $200 base with four players, that is $1,800 off a single 7-iron.

Three rules to keep straight:

• The rollover has no cap. If the first three par 3s are tied, the fourth is worth four. It keeps growing on courses with more par 3s.
• The rollover resets the moment it is collected. After the 12th, the counter starts again.
• If the round ends with a rollover still pending, that money is voided. It is not split and it does not carry to another round. Tie all four par 3s and nobody collects anything.

That last rule is what puts tension on the last par 3 of the round: it can be the most expensive hole of the day, or it can be worth absolutely nothing.

Shoe mode

Shoe is the other mode, and it is mutually exclusive with Accumulated: you play one or the other, never both.

Here the ledger is not kept par 3 by par 3 against the whole group but one on one against each rival. Against each player you compare only the par 3s where both of you recorded a position, and see who won more of them.

The difference in wins is what settles, exactly as it does in the other units.

But there is one rule that changes everything: beat a rival on EVERY par 3 you both played and you have put the shoe on them. And the shoe carries its own fixed price, which replaces the unit-by-unit ledger against that player.

In other words, sweeping does not pay a bit more. It pays something else entirely.

Situation against a rival	What settles
You beat them 3 of 4	The difference in wins × the amount
You beat them 4 of 4	The fixed shoe amount

It is the mode for groups who already know each other. The goal stops being collecting on a single par 3 and becomes not letting anybody sweep you, even if all you manage is winning one par 3 out of four.

Strategy

• In Accumulated, save the good iron for the end. The last par 3 can be worth the whole round if the earlier ones were tied.
• In Accumulated, recording costs nothing. A par 3 where nobody records a position does roll over, but it also brings the pot closer to being voided at the end.
• In Shoe, one par 3 saves you. At 0 for 3 against somebody, the fourth par 3 is not about money: it is about not paying the shoe.
• A tie is your friend when you are behind. It voids the par 3 and, in Accumulated, pushes the decision further down the round.
• Closest to the pin is not the same as on the green. Define the criterion before the first par 3.