Nine point: the threesome's game
Most golf games are built for four players and fall apart with three. Nine point is built for exactly three, and it keeps all three in every hole.
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Nine points are on offer each hole, split by finishing order: 5 to the best score, 3 to the middle, 1 to the worst. Over eighteen holes there are 162 points in play, and because even the worst score on a hole collects something, nobody is ever out of it.
The format is also called split sixes, which uses 4-2-0 instead of 5-3-1. The arithmetic is identical in spirit; nine point is more common because the guaranteed single point for last place keeps the totals closer and the game friendlier.
Tie splits
This is the only genuinely fiddly part, and it is worth knowing all four cases cold:
- All three tie — 3 points each.
- Two tie for best — they take 5 and 3 and split them: 4 each. The third player gets 1.
- Two tie for worst — they split 3 and 1: 2 each. The winner takes 5.
- One player wins outright, two tie behind — same as above: 5, 2, 2.
The totals always add to nine, which is a useful self-check. If your hole does not add to nine, you have made a mistake.
| Outcome | Player A | Player B | Player C |
|---|---|---|---|
| No ties, clean order | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| A and B tie for best | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| B and C tie for worst | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| All three tie | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Every combination sums to nine — use that as a running check while you settle the card.
Gross or net
Use net scores unless all three players are within a shot or two of each other. Allocate handicap strokes by stroke index as usual — the difference method works well here: the lowest handicap plays off scratch and the other two receive the difference. With a 7, a 13 and a 19, the middle player gets 6 strokes and the third gets 12, on the hardest holes first.
Worked example
Three players at $1 a point, net scoring.
- Hole 1 — nets of 4, 5, 5. Points: 5, 2, 2.
- Hole 2 — nets of 3, 3, 5. Points: 4, 4, 1.
- Hole 3 — nets of 4, 4, 4. Points: 3, 3, 3.
Running totals after three holes: 12, 9, 6. At $1 a point the leader is up $3 on the middle player and $6 on the last, and every hole moved the ledger — which is the whole appeal compared with a three-way Skins game where ties produce nothing at all.
Settlement options
- Pairwise difference — each player pays the difference in totals to anyone above them. Fully zero-sum and the standard method.
- Winner takes the spread — only the leader collects, from both others.
- Nine-hole settlement — reset and settle at the turn, Nassau style, so a bad front nine does not decide the day.
Strategy
Second place matters here in a way it never does in Skins. The gap between 5 and 3 is two points; the gap between 3 and 1 is also two. So a safe par that guarantees you are not last is worth exactly as much as the risk that would have won you the hole outright. That makes nine point the most conservative of the common betting games — grind, avoid the worst score, and let the aggressive players in the group hand you points.
The exception is late in the round when you are behind. Then the only points that help are the fives, and you need to take on pins.
Playing it with four
If a fourth joins, you can extend to a 6-4-2-0 split, but the tie arithmetic gets tedious fast. Most groups switch to Wolf or Skins instead and keep nine point in reserve for the days someone cancels.
How the total points shake out over a round
Because the spread between finishing positions is fixed at two points a rung, nine point rewards consistency more than any other common format. A player who never wins a hole outright but is never last either can accumulate a competitive total purely on 3s and the occasional 4. Compare two players over eighteen holes: one wins six holes outright and loses six outright (a wide, streaky round), the other is steadily in the middle on almost every hole. The steady player often finishes ahead, because six wins at 5 and six losses at 1 average to 3 per hole across those twelve holes — identical to just sitting in the middle the whole time, but with none of the downside variance on the other six holes.
Card-keeping tips
- Record raw net scores per hole first, then apply the points table afterward — this avoids arguments mid-round about who is "up".
- Keep a single running total column rather than three separate tallies; it is much easier to sanity-check against the rule that every hole sums to nine.
- If a player picks up, treat their score as worse than anyone who finished, so they take last-place points (or zero, if your group prefers) — agree this before the round.
Frequently asked questions
Why is nine point better than Skins for a threesome?
Skins carries a value forward whenever a hole ties, which with only three players happens often and can leave a huge, all-or-nothing pot riding on the last few holes. Nine point pays out every single hole regardless of ties, so the game stays engaging and the money moves steadily instead of in one enormous swing.
What is the difference between nine point and split sixes?
They are the same format with different point values: nine point uses 5-3-1 for first, second and last, while split sixes uses 4-2-0. Nine point's guaranteed single point for last place keeps totals closer over a round, which is why most groups prefer it for money games.
How do you allocate handicap strokes for three players?
Use the difference method: the lowest handicap in the group plays off scratch, and the other two receive the difference between their handicap and the lowest player's, applied to the hardest holes first using the course's stroke index.
Do points ever not add up to nine on a hole?
No — every legitimate tie combination is designed to sum to nine, which makes it a built-in error check. If a hole's points do not total nine, the split was calculated wrong and should be redone before moving on.
Can nine point be played with four players?
Yes, by extending to a 6-4-2-0 split, but the tie arithmetic gets noticeably more tedious with a fourth player. Most groups switch to Wolf or Skins for a foursome and keep nine point specifically for the days a group is down to three.