Here’s how it works:
Each golfer is assigned a number in a rotation that determines the hitting order, not only off the tee but for every shot through the hole.  The ante starts at $100 per hole then doubles every three holes, meaning holes 16 -18 require an ante of $3,200 per player. 

In this hit-and-bet format, once the players have hit their tee balls the player who led off the golf leads off the betting.  He can check, raise, fold, or go “all-in” depending on how he likes his chances.  The betting follows the same rotation, same as in poker.  Just like a bad poker hand, if a player is having a bad golf hole he can fold, and by dropping out, he loses only what he has bet so far on that hole.  Should the player in first position fold the next player in the rotation then leads the wagering.  New bets can be placed before every shot.

The second player in the rotation leads both the golf and the betting on the second hole, the third player on the third hole, and so on.  The rotation continues even on the putting green, where the player who is leading off could putt first even if he is closest to the hole.  There is a conclusion to every hole, as players who tie split the pot.  Players are eliminated when they do not have enough left to ante up, and the game continues until one golfer has won the pot.

“Wagering strategy becomes as important as golf skill,” says World Series of Golf CEO Terry Leiweke.  “Players have to make certain they keep enough — or win enough — to afford the ante on the next hole.”  Each player will be allowed to bring one caddie/counselor on the course during the tournament.  Unlike televised poker, where viewers cannot know what the players are thinking, NBC Sports will take viewers inside the minds of the combatants as they talk with their caddie/counselor to try and sort out the next, best move.

This ingenious “Texas Hold ‘em of Golf” format is the brainchild of a couple of Las Vegas golfing buddies named Ken Maul and John Slitz, who, through a mutual friend, connected with Leiweke, an experienced sporting event and television entertainment entrepreneur. 

“Looking ahead, the hope is to build interest in both our format and our event, and to draw high rollers and heavy hitters from all over the globe to compete for the biggest, richest pot in golf,” says Leiweke.  “Every golfer has thought, either aloud or to himself, ‘I’d bet anything I can make this shot.’  Well, now is their chance to prove it.”