Nines (5-3-1)
The three-player format: nine points on every hole, shared out by net score.
- Players
- 3
- Holes
- 18
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Updated
- September 2026
Playing as a threesome is awkward for almost every golf bet. Match play needs two sides, Best Ball needs teams, and in a group of three somebody is always the spare part. Nines exists precisely to solve that: it is the format designed from scratch for three players.
The mechanic: every hole shares out exactly nine points between the three of you. The lowest net score takes 5, the middle takes 3 and the highest takes 1. At the end of the round you total the points and settle the difference.
The basic split
| Position on the hole | Points |
|---|---|
| Lowest net score | 5 |
| Second | 3 |
| Third | 1 |
| Hole total | 9 |
Over 18 holes that is 162 points. If all three played identically, everyone would finish on 54. That is your reference number: above 54 you are collecting, below it you are paying.
Ties: the part you have to memorise
The hole always totals nine points, no matter what. When there is a tie, the points for the tied positions are pooled and divided:
| Situation | Split | Total |
|---|---|---|
| All three different | 5 / 3 / 1 | 9 |
| Two tie for best | 4 / 4 / 1 | 9 |
| Two tie for worst | 5 / 2 / 2 | 9 |
| All three tie | 3 / 3 / 3 | 9 |
The logic never changes: add the points for the tied places and divide by the number of players who tied. Two tied at the top share 5 + 3 = 8, so 4 each. Two tied at the bottom share 3 + 1 = 4, so 2 each.
Learn that table and you know the format. Everything else is addition.
How to play it, step by step
- Three players, and agree what a point is worth. At $1 a point, each hole moves $9.
- Work out each player’s course handicap and allocate the strokes by stroke index.
- Play the hole. Everyone holes out: there are no gimmes in Nines, because a single stroke moves two places.
- Compare the three net scores and split the nine points using the table above.
- Record the split and move on.
- After the 18th, total everyone’s points and settle the difference against each of the other two.
A worked scorecard
Three players, each receiving a stroke on the holes shown:
| Hole | Ana (net) | Ben (net) | Carl (net) | Split |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Ana 5, Ben 3, Carl 1 |
| 2 | 3 | 3 | 5 | Ana 4, Ben 4, Carl 1 |
| 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | Ana 1, Ben 4, Carl 4 |
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | Ana 3, Ben 3, Carl 3 |
| 5 | 6 | 5 | 5 | Ana 1, Ben 4, Carl 4 |
| Total | 14 | 18 | 13 | 45 points shared |
Five holes, 45 points. Ben is above the running average of 15 and Ana and Carl are below it. At $1 a point, Ben is up $4 on Ana and $5 on Carl.
How it settles
There are two ways to close the books, and it is worth choosing before you tee off:
Head-to-head difference. Each player pays or collects the point difference against each of the other two separately. It is the most common and the fairest: it reflects exactly who you outplayed.
Against the average. Work out the 54-point benchmark and settle each player’s difference against that number. Faster to calculate, but you lose the nuance of the head-to-head matchups.
Strategy
- Second place is worth a lot. The gap between second (3 points) and third (1 point) is the same as between first and second. On a hole that has already gone wrong, saving bogey instead of double is genuinely worth two points.
- Never walk off a hole. Unlike Stableford, there is no zero here: even the worst hole of your life pays a point if you finish it, and sometimes three because the other two also collapsed.
- Tying for the lead is your best defence. When you are behind, matching the low score jumps you from 1 point to 4 in a single stroke.
- Watch both opponents, not one. It is the classic mistake of a player coming from match play: you focus on beating one and the other quietly climbs the table.
- Map your stroke holes. That is where the fives are won.
Common variations
Gross Nines. No handicaps, raw strokes. Only makes sense if all three play to a similar level.
5-3-1 with double par 3s. Par 3s share out 18 points instead of 9. It raises the drama on the short holes.
Nines for four. With a fourth player the split no longer divides into nine; for a fourball the natural formats are Sixes or Wolf.
Achievement points. Extra points for birdies or for closest to the pin, on top of the normal split. Fun, but it breaks the balance of nine points a hole.
Keep reading
Sixes (6-6-6)
The round split into three six-hole matches, switching opponent or partner in every segment.
Eighteen holes turned into three matches of six. In the pairs version you partner with each of the other three exactly once.
Stableford
The points system where one bad hole does not ruin the round: pick up, write zero, move on.
Instead of counting strokes you collect points based on your net score on each hole. Highest total wins. The format that saves rounds and speeds up play.
Chicago
The points system played against a quota: everyone starts with their own target, set by their handicap.
You earn points for bogeys, pars, birdies and eagles, and compete against the quota your handicap assigns you. You are not playing the others: you are playing your own level.
