What is a Nines game in golf?

Nines is a golf game format design for three people, which rewards players for their performance on a  hole-by-hole basis. The end goal of a game of nines is to accumulate the most points at the end of the round. Every player earns points on every hole, but the number of points is determined by a player's score relative to their competitors. To win a player should try to score the lowest on as many holes as possible, and importantly, not score the highest.

How do you play nines?

• Establish the participants: Nines is unique among golf games in that it is designed for groups of 3. 

• Assign points after each hole: 9 total points are awarded to players after every hole. Points are assigned based on the player's score relative to other players, and whether there are ties. Here are all the ways points can be assigned.

Players' scores are all different

1st - 5 points

2nd - 3 points

3rd - 1 points

1 player has lowest score, two tied for 2nd

1st - 5 points

T2nd - 2 points each

2 players tied for lowest score

T1st - 4 points each

3rd - 1 points

Players scores are all the same

T1st - 3 points each

• Final tally: At the end of the round, the player with the most points is declared the winner. In the case of a tie, a sudden-death playoff or other agreed-upon method can be used to determine the winner.