For many in the late 80s and early 90s, Thanksgiving was not just about turkey and family gatherings. It was also about indulging in the ‘silly season’ of golf, with The Skins Game on television. Watching Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson, among others, teeing off for a fun game, gave a nostalgia that one could look back to. Nearly two decades since its end, the memories still haunt. But not anymore. The Skins Game is officially making a comeback with a revised format.

As per the new reverse-purse format of the Skins Game, instead of playing for incremental gains, each player will start with a $1 million “bank,” which fluctuates with every hole. If they win a hole, their total rises. But if they lose, not only will their rival’s money rise, but theirs will fall equally. That means every stroke has a tangible cost. So, golfers don’t require an appearance fee to play, and this is exactly what is happening.

“We’re paying no appearance fees. There’s a $4 million purse. Each player starts on the first tee with a million dollars,” said Chad Mumm, co-founder and president of Pro Shop, on a new episode of the Skratch’s Vanity Index Podcast. “You could literally start with a million dollars and walk off the 18th green with zero dollars.”

“It’s one thing to start at zero and add it up, but it’s another thing to be like, ‘I’ve got a million dollars and now I don’t,’” Mumm said. “I think that’s going to get them really, really playing hard.”

Set to be broadcast on Amazon Prime on Black Friday, November 28, the new edition of Skin Game will touch upon that Thanksgiving nostalgia. But also, with the new twist, the game format will push the players to actually put themselves out there, rather than just bringing their faces for the sake of it.

“They’ve [the players] been paid appearance fees… it just feels like the guys are maybe going through the motions a little bit. So, we wanted to find a way to make it feel actually competitive,” explained Mumm.

The competition will be felt nonetheless, as the star power on the course will be hard to look away from. Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele, and Keegan Bradley will be the ones competing against one another. It will be a high-powered foursome, with a combined total of 34 PGA Tour wins and five major triumphs. And of course, the Ryder Cup drama is still fresh.

Fleetwood and Thomas will face off again after their singles match. The Englishman, who was the dominant European force on Bethpage, suffered his only loss to Thomas (1-up), bringing his otherwise perfect score to a 4-1-0 record. Then there will be Captain Bradley, who did not play the Ryder Cup but will be looking to “settle some scores.”

“In a world where golf is full of so much money and these guys are playing for such big purses, you know, we wanted to find a way to give stakes and make it feel really, actually competitive,” added Mumm.

The course adds extra value. The new Skins Game will be played at Panther National, which is a private club in Jupiter, Florida. It is designed by Jack Nicklaus and Thomas (bringing an advantage of familiarity to him), and has never been shown on TV before. Hence, this Thanksgiving will be a memorable one for golf lovers.

And that holiday connection is what made the Skins Game special during its original run from 1983 to 2008.

Its debut featured Nicklaus, Palmer, Watson, and Gary Player — with Vin Scully on commentary. People still remember Lee Trevino‘s iconic hole-in-one in ’87, which made headlines during the NFL Today halftime. Or Fred Couples‘ domination with five victories, earning him the title of Mr Skins. But by 2009, declining TV ratings and rising production costs led LG, its sponsor, to pull out, effectively ending its run.

Efforts to fill the void did come in the form of The Match. Starting in 2018 with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, the first edition drew 5.8 million viewers, but that was all, as it kept declining from thereon. By The Match IX in early 2024, viewership had dropped to a staggering 511,000 — and no new editions have aired since.

“My knock on The Match historically has been like it just feels like they’re not trying that hard. You know, they want to win. It’s kind of for bragging rights. There’s some crypto money or something that they can win or something for charity,” Mumm remarked. The format’s reliance on hefty appearance fees and low-stakes “for charity” arguably left fans craving the intensity that once defined the Skins Game.

But now with the new edition round the corner, Mumm and co will be looking to not repeat the same mistakes. Yet, the reviews have so far been mixed.

The Skins Game early buzz

Not everyone in golf’s old guard is convinced that the Skins Game should have made a comeback. When Sports Illustrated revisited the event’s legacy last year, some of its original participants could not help but be skeptical.

“I would hate to see them try to re-invent the Skins Game,” two-time champion Curtis Strange said. “It was a great show while it lasted. Those sequels never work, do they?”

At the same time, the contesting players seem more than ready to embrace the revival. Justin Thomas has already begun stoking excitement with a mix of friendly rivalry. On SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio, he teased, “I think Xander [Schauffele], he’ll be talking. He may talk to himself, or he might be talking when no one is listening, but he will definitely, probably bring the most volume of chatter and trash-talking.”

Meanwhile, Tommy Fleetwood has kept it quite simple on social media. On his X account, he wrote, “Excited for the Skins Game to be making a return and being part of it! See you there!”

With the days closing in, fans can expect more reactions to pour in. What do you think of the Skins game? Are you excited for it?