Best Golf Games for 3 Players

By Green Math · Updated 2026-10-13

The best golf game for 3 players is Nines, also called 5-3-1. It was built for threesomes, gives points on every hole and settles with simple math. Other strong picks are Split Sixes, Three Ball match play and Skins. You can also adapt Wolf, add Snake as a side bet, or bring in a ghost player to unlock four-player games.

Below are the rules for each, how to handle handicaps when your skill levels are spread out, and how to settle so the money changes hands in one or two payments instead of six.

Quick comparison: which threesome game fits your group

1. Nines (5-3-1): the top pick

Every hole is worth 9 points. The low score gets 5, the middle score gets 3 and the high score gets 1. Ties split the points for the positions involved:

• Two tie for low: 4, 4, 1
• One low, two tie behind: 5, 2, 2
• All three tie: 3, 3, 3

Many groups also play an optional Blitz rule. If one player beats the second-best score by 2 or more strokes, that player takes all 9 points.

Nines works for threesomes because nobody is ever fully out of a hole. Even your worst score earns a point. Steady golf beats the occasional birdie, so it holds up well when one player is having a rough day. The full rules and examples are on our Nines game page.

Nines is also free to score in Green Math, like every game in the app. You enter scores, and the app handles the ties, triggers Blitz and works out the settlement.

2. Split Sixes

Split Sixes uses the same idea with 6 points per hole: 4 for low, 2 for middle and 0 for high. Ties split the points for the tied positions, just as in Nines. Two tie for low and it is 3-3-0. One wins outright and the others tie and it is 4-1-1. All three tie and it is 2-2-2.

The difference from Nines is the zero. A blow-up hole costs you more, so the game rewards avoiding disasters a little harder. If your group finds Nines too gentle, try this.

Don't confuse it with Sixes, also called Round Robin or Hollywood. That is a partner game where teams rotate every six holes. It is really a foursome format.

3. Three Ball match play

In Three-Ball Match Play, each player plays a separate match against each of the other two at the same time. Your one ball counts in both of your matches. That gives you three matches running at once: A vs B, A vs C and B vs C.

Some casual groups play a points version instead: the lowest net score on a hole beats both opponents. Agree on which version you're playing before the first tee.

Tie rules

• Halved holes. A hole is halved when both players in a match take the same number of strokes, counting penalty strokes (or the same net score in a handicap match). Players can also agree to halve a hole once play on it has started.
• Tied matches. Under the formal Rules, a match that is all square after 18 holes goes to extra holes one at a time. That changes only if the terms of the competition say otherwise, such as allowing the match to end in a tie or using a different playoff method. Most friendly groups simply agree on the first tee that a tied match is a push and no money moves.
• Breaking ties. If you must break a tie, do it with extra holes. Avoid a stroke play comparison, which USGA guidance discourages for match play.

Where Three Ball gets tricky

Playing out of turn carries no penalty in match play, but an opponent may cancel the stroke. In Three Ball, each opponent decides separately. If only one cancels it, you finish the hole with a separate ball in each match.

Concessions follow similar logic. Because your ball counts in two matches, a putt one opponent concedes may still need to be holed for the other match. The simple fix is to agree on the first tee that concessions apply to both matches, or that everyone holes out.

Threesomes is a different thing

"Threesomes" is a separate format under the Rules. One player plays against a team of two partners who hit alternate shots. It's fun, but it plays very differently from Three Ball.

4. Wolf with 3 players

Classic Wolf is a four-player game with a rotating Wolf. Our Wolf rules page covers that foursome version, including the 2/3/4 point scale for partner, Solo and Lone Wolf.

With three players, picking a partner turns every hole into two against one. A common adaptation runs like this:

• Rotation. The Wolf rotates every hole, so each player is Wolf six times over 18 holes. That split is perfectly even, unlike the foursome version.
• Picking a partner. After the tee shots, the Wolf picks a partner and the third player plays alone against them. To make that lonely spot worth something, many groups pay the solo player a bigger reward for winning, such as 3 points.
• Going alone. The Wolf can also go alone against both opponents, for a larger payout if the Wolf wins.

Set the point values before you tee off and write them down. Three-player Wolf has more house rules than any other game on this page.

5. Skins and Snake for threesomes

Skins. The outright lowest score on a hole wins the skin. If two or more players tie for low, the skin carries over, and the next outright winner takes it plus every carryover. Some groups require you to "validate" a carryover by at least matching the low score on the next hole. Skins pays streaky players and can produce big swings late in a round.

Snake. Snake is a side bet you can add to any game. Whoever three-putted most recently holds the snake. The holder at the end of the round, or at the end of the agreed holes, pays. It keeps everyone focused on the greens and costs little.

Skins and Snake are both on the Green Math roadmap as coming soon. For now, track them by hand alongside your main game.

Using a ghost or blind player

A ghost player turns your threesome into a foursome, which opens up partner games like Wolf or Las Vegas. You need to agree on two things.

1. What score the ghost makes. The common options:

• Par on every hole. This is the simplest choice and it's predictable.
• Net par. Give the ghost a handicap, often the group's average, and apply strokes by stroke index.
• A "blind" score. On each hole, the ghost takes the score of one real player, chosen in rotation or drawn after the hole.

2. Who the ghost's points belong to. Either nobody, with the points simply removed from the pool, or the player partnered with the ghost on that hole.

In Wolf, a par-shooting ghost becomes a steady partner the Wolf can pick on tough holes. In team games, rotate who partners the ghost so nobody gets a permanent advantage.

Handicaps in 3-player games

Most threesome games compare scores hole by hole, so you need to decide where the strokes fall. There are two common approaches.

Off the low player. The lowest handicap plays off zero, and the others get the difference. This puts strokes on the hardest holes, where higher handicaps need them most.

Full Course Handicaps. Everyone takes their full strokes. The totals between players are similar, but the strokes land on different holes.

Here's an example with Course Handicaps of 6, 14 and 22:

• Off the low player. Player A gets no strokes. Player B gets 8, on stroke index holes 1 through 8. Player C gets 16, on stroke index 1 through 16.
• Full handicaps. A gets strokes on stroke index 1 through 6. B gets them on 1 through 14. C gets them on 1 through 18.

On the stroke index 1 hole, all three players get a stroke under full handicaps, so nobody gains. Off the low player, B and C each gain a stroke on A.

Either approach works for Nines, Split Sixes and Skins. Pick one before the first tee. The stroke index is usually printed on the scorecard. Green Math can allocate strokes by stroke index once you pick a course and tees, or you can work out each player's strokes up front and enter net scores as you go.

Settling up with three players

This is general information about splitting friendly bets. Rules on wagering vary by location, so check locally or consult a qualified professional if you're unsure.

Nines settlement

An 18-hole Nines round always hands out 162 points in total, so the break-even score is 54. Each player wins or pays the stake for every point above or below 54.

Here's an example at $1 per point:

• A: 64 points. That is 10 above 54, so A wins $10.
• B: 55 points. That is 1 above 54, so B wins $1.
• C: 43 points. That is 11 below 54, so C pays $11.

C sends $10 to A and $1 to B. That's two payments, and you're done.

Three Ball settlement

Three matches can look like three separate debts, but they usually net down. Say each match is worth $5:

• A beats B.
• A beats C.
• C beats B.

Net it out: A is up $10, B is down $10 and C is even. One payment settles everything.

Green Math's settlement matrix does this netting automatically for the games it scores. It shows who pays whom with the fewest transactions.

First-tee checklist for threesomes

Before anyone hits, agree on these:

• The game and the stake.
• How ties are handled: push or carry.
• The handicap method.
• How concessions work when one ball counts in two matches.
• The ghost's score, if you're using one.

Threesomes often play ahead of foursomes. Ready golf keeps you moving, and if a faster group stacks up behind you, wave them through.

Score your threesome without the math

Nines is free in Green Math, like everything else. One person creates an account and shares a QR code. The other two join from their phones' browsers, no account needed to follow along, and sign up free to enter their own scores. Points, ties, Blitz and the final settlement all update as you play. Start your free round.

Frequently asked questions

What is the easiest golf game for 3 players?

Nines (5-3-1). There is one rule for points, a short list of tie splits, and every hole is worth the same 9 points. That makes running totals easy to follow.

What's the difference between Nines and Split Sixes?

Nines pays 5-3-1 per hole and Split Sixes pays 4-2-0. In Split Sixes the worst score gets nothing, so bad holes cost more.

How do you play Wolf with only three players?

Rotate the Wolf every hole so each player is Wolf six times. The Wolf either picks a partner, which leaves the third player alone against them, or goes alone against both. Agree on point values first, and consider paying the solo player more for winning.

Does Green Math score Wolf and Las Vegas?

Yes, and both are free, like every game in Green Math. Those games are built around the classic four-player format. Nines is the natural pick for threesomes.

What score should a ghost player make?

Par on every hole is the simplest choice. Net par based on the group's average handicap is fairer. Borrowing a rotating real player's score adds more randomness.

How many points does a player need to break even in Nines?

54 over 18 holes, or 27 over nine holes. Every point above that wins the stake, and every point below it pays the stake.