Definition: 'Two Tie, All Tie'
The concept of "two tie, all tie" is probably most-familiar within the context of a skins game. In a skins game, a group of golfers — let's call them Golfer A, Golfer B, Golfer C and Golfer D — are playing each hole for money. Each golfer in the group puts up the agreed-upon amount per hole. And if one of them wins the hole outright, that golfer wins the pot for that hole. If our golfers each put up $1 on the first hole, and Golfer B wins the hole with a birdie, then Golfer B wins the $4 pot for Hole 1.
But if there is a tie? Well, if two tie, all tie: Nobody wins money on that hole, and, in a skins game at least, the pot is carried over and added to the pot for the next hole. If Golfers A and B tied for low score on Hole 1, the pot carries over to Hole 2. And Golfers C and D, despite "losing" the first hole, can still win all of that combined pot because if two tie, all tie. Nobody is eliminated from playing or from contention.
Imagine playing for points or cash, and on another hole in a different game on a different day, Golfer A and Golfer B tie for low score. But Golfer C beat Golfer D on the hole. Does D owe C any money, or does C earn any points? Not if "two tie, all tie" is in effect. And in these types of games — golf games that are contested hole to hole and based on low score — most golfers always play two tie, all tie. Ties in that setting result in either nobody winning any points or cash (the bet for that hole being canceled by the tie, essentially), or the pool for that hole carries over to the next.
Another meaning of "two tie all tie" can be found in elimination settings, like, say, a playoff, or a game in which a golfer drops out if she doesn't avoid being the high scorer.
The standard sudden-death playoff format is that a golfer who doesn't match the low score on a hole drops out. If Golfer A, B and C are in a sudden-death playoff and on the first hole A and B score 4 while C makes 6, then C is eliminated from the playoff. But not under "two tie all tie": if a group agrees to a playoff under two tie, all tie, then Golfer C, in that playoff, would continue to the next hole along with A and B. Unless the hole is won outright, nobody wins the hole, and nobody is eliminated as a result of losing the hole.
Further reading:
- Scorecard playoffs: How to break ties
- What is a 'halve' or 'halved match'?
- Golf games, formats and side bets explained
Gallian, Joseph A. Mathematics and Sports, American Mathematical Society, December 31, 2010.
McCord, Gary. Golf for Dummies, Wiley Publishing Inc., 2011.