Your foursome is now a threesome — your fourth bailed, the muni only had three open spots, or you grew up a trio and that’s just how you play.
This guide covers every golf game worth playing with three players — the formats invented specifically for threesomes (Nines, Split Sixes), the betting classics that scale down cleanly, the points-based systems that handle mixed handicaps, and a few originals you won’t find anywhere else. Every format below has a real, working three-player version — no forced fits.
Thirty games, each with rules, strategy, and reasons to play.
The Threesome Finder
Use the interactive finder below to filter 33 golf games for 3 players by team structure, wagering option, or side-game status. Search by game name or tap filters to narrow the list, and click any game to read the complete rules and strategy guide.
This page will give you a great overview but important nuances and variations live in the full posts linked below.
If you aren’t into the interactive game finder, scroll past it to read a complete list with a slightly more detailed breakdowns on each of these games.
Three-Player Specific Golf Formats
These are the formats invented specifically for threesomes — built around three-player math and three-player rotations from the ground up. If you regularly find yourself with exactly three, these are your bread and butter.
Nines (5-3-1)
Players: 3 only · Team: No · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes, with handicaps
Nines — also called 5-3-1, the Nine Point Game, or Baseball — is the de facto game for threesomes. Every hole is worth exactly 9 points, divided between the three players based on relative score. First place gets 5, second gets 3, third gets 1. Tie outcomes shift the math (4-4-1 if two tie for first, 5-2-2 if two tie for second), and a “blitz” — winning the hole by two strokes or more — sweeps all 9 points.
The genius of Nines is that it never lets your round die. Every hole is its own 9-point match, so a triple bogey on the 4th hole costs you exactly 1 point. Trail by 25 at the turn? A stream of pars on the back and you’re likely right back in it. It’s the most reliable game in golf for keeping every threesome engaged through the 18th green.
Read the full rules, scoring distributions, and strategy in the Nines Official Guide →
The King’s Honors
Players: 3 only · Team: Yes (1-vs-2 rotating) · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Medium · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes, with handicaps
The King’s Honors is a Golf Games Hub original built from scratch for threesomes. Hole 1 is the Coronation — all three players solo and the low score wins 1 point and the crown. From hole 2 on, the King plays alone against the other two players’ best ball. King wins the hole, he gets 2 points and holds the throne. The pair beats the King, both pair members get 1 point and the low scorer takes the crown.
The funnest part of the format is the rotating 1-vs-2 ratio. Every player rotates through both roles, the King grinds alone under real pressure, and the pair gets aggressive 2-on-1 looks. Most points after 18 wins.
Read the full rules, the Coronation tiebreakers, and strategy in the King’s Honors Official Guide →
Defender
Players: 3 (ideal) · Team: Yes (rotating 1-vs-2) · Betting: Yes (optional) · Complexity: Medium · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes, with handicaps
Defender is a three-player game where one player (the Defender) plays alone against the other two on every hole, on a fixed rotation nobody opts out of. It’s Wolf with the choice removed. You don’t pick a partner, you don’t go solo by election, and you can’t duck the hole you’re scared of. The rotation tells you when you’re up: Player A defends hole 1, Player B defends hole 2, Player C defends hole 3, back to A on hole 4, and so on through 18. Each player defends exactly six holes across the round.
The two non-defenders are automatically a team for that hole. Each hole plays as a straight 1-vs-2 match: the Defender’s score versus the lower of the other two scores. Lowest score wins the hole for that side. The Defender’s one positional perk is they tee off last — they watch both opponents hit and decide how hard to press their own tee shot. That information matters.
In the standard scoring, the Defender wins or loses points each hole they’re up. Run it gross with similar abilities, or net with course handicaps applied off Stroke Index.
Read the full rules, the alternate cleaner scoring version, and the variations in the Defender Official Guide →
Split Sixes
Players: 3 only · Team: No · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes, with handicaps
Split Sixes — also called English — is Nines’ sharper sibling. Same idea, different math. Six points per hole on a 4-2-0 base instead of nine on a 5-3-1 base. The structural difference: in Split Sixes, the high score gets nothing. There’s no consolation point for finishing third. Just first place (4 points), second place (2 points), and a goose egg for whoever blew up.
Split Sixes is faster, more brutal, and rewards putting weak players away rather than letting them hang around for a 1. If your group has a clear gap in skill or handicap, the format punishes the weakest player more aggressively than Nines does — which is either a feature or a bug depending on which side of the ball you’re on.
Read the full rules and scoring details in the Split Sixes Official Guide →
The Best Betting Games for 3 Players
These are the money games — the classics built around wagering and scaled down for a threesome. If your group is asking “what are we playing for today?”, start here. Each format has its own flavor of drama and a real working three-player version.
Bogey Tax
Players: 3–4 · Team: No · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes, with handicaps
Bogey Tax is a Golf Games Hub original built around a punishment pot. Every net stroke over par on a hole costs you cash into the pot — $2 a stroke is the standard sting — and after 18 holes the lowest net total takes everything. Most betting games reward your best hole. Bogey Tax punishes your worst.
With three players, the pot’s smaller but the math gets friendlier: you only need to beat two opponents on net to take it all. The format scales with whatever stakes your group can handle and pairs cleanly with Nines or Skins as a layered round.
Read the full rules, variations, and strategy in the Bogey Tax Official Guide →
Wolf
Players: 3–5 (native) · Team: Yes (rotating) · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Medium · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Medium — use handicaps
Wolf is the original “decide in real time” partner game and was originally designed as a threesome format. Each hole, one player is the Wolf — they tee off first, then watch each opponent hit their drive. After every drive, the Wolf has to make an immediate call: do they want that player as a partner for the hole, or pass and watch the next drive? Pass on everyone and they go Lone Wolf — taking on both opponents solo for a doubled payday.
With three players, the Wolf rotation runs cleanly across the round and every tee shot becomes a high-stakes audition. The choice is simpler than the 4-player version (you’re choosing between two potential partners instead of three), but the strategic tension is the same. It’s the most strategic betting game on this list and a favorite of serious threesomes who want something more interesting than straight stroke play.
Read the full rules, the Lone Wolf variants, and strategy tips in the Wolf Official Guide →
Nassau
Players: 2–4 · Team: No · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes, with handicaps
Nassau is the gold standard of golf betting and scales down to a threesome without losing any of its charm. The format breaks an 18-hole round into three separate bets: the front nine, the back nine, and the overall match. Typical stakes run $2, $5, or $10 per leg. With three players, each player runs their own match against each opponent, so you’ve got six total matches in play across the round.
Nassau also pairs perfectly with Nines as a layered structure — run Nines for the round-long points game, layer a Nassau on top for the front-nine, back-nine, and overall match drama. It’s the betting format your dad played, his dad played, and the one your threesome will probably settle on more often than any other once you’ve tried it.
Read the full rules, strategy, and press mechanics in the Nassau Official Guide →
Skins
Players: 2–6 · Team: No · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes, with handicaps
Skins is pure hole-by-hole combat. Every hole is worth a skin — a set dollar amount or point value — and the lowest score on that hole wins the pot outright. If two or more players tie for the low score, nobody wins, and the skin rolls forward to the next hole.
Skins works with handicaps or without and can be layered on top of any other 3-player format as a side bet.
Read the full rules and rollover scoring in the Skins Official Guide →
The Bounty
Players: 3–4 · Team: No · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Medium · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes, with handicaps
The Bounty is an original Golf Games Hub format built around a rolling jackpot. Every hole has a bounty — typically $1 or 1 point — that goes to the player with the lowest outright score. Tie the hole and nobody wins; the bounty rolls forward and grows (usually doubling – which is the dynamic that makes this an explosive format) until somebody wins a hole outright.
By the time you’re standing on hole 12 with $32 riding on a 6-foot putt, everyone’s locked in. The Bounty also supports optional variants like the Birdie Multiplier (any hole won with a birdie doubles the payout) and the Outlaw Rule (two wins in a row unlocks a quadrupled bounty on the next hole). It’s the format that creates the stories you’re still telling at the 19th hole.
Read the full rules and all the optional variants in the The Bounty Official Guide →
Banker
Players: 3–4 · Team: No · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Medium · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes, with handicaps
Banker turns one player into the house on every hole. That player tees off last, then plays a separate cash match against each of the other two, low score wins each one. With a threesome you have two live matches running at once, and the banker sees every shot before deciding how hard to push. Bets get pressed (doubled) after the drives, and the banker can press everyone right back.
The role moves. Whoever goes low and holes out first becomes the next banker, so the hot hand keeps inheriting the leverage. Play it gross for a pure ball-striking contest or net so a higher handicap can bank a hole too. It rewards the player who knows when to lean in and when to take the small loss and move on.
Read the full rules, the press mechanics, and the banker rotation in the Banker Official Guide →
Murphys
Players: 2–4 · Team: No · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Neutral — short game wins
Murphys is the side bet that puts your short game on public trial. Before you chip from off the green, you announce to the group: “I’m getting up and down.” Make the chip-and-putt, collect from each player. Miss, pay each player.
Most groups play Optional Murphys (opponents can accept or decline each call) or Automatic (bets are in place every time you’re within the decided didtance). Either way, it layers on top of whatever 3-player format you’re already running — Nines, Skins, Wolf — without adding any extra scorekeeping.
Read the full rules and betting structures in the Murphys Official Guide →
St. James Roll
Players: 3–4 · Team: No · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Medium · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes, with handicaps
St. James Roll is a per-hole points game where you bank one point for every opponent you beat on a hole. In a threesome that puts two points up for grabs each hole, gross or net, and the player with the most points after 18 collects. It plays as your full round, every man for himself, no teams.
The twist is the Roll Call. Before any player tees off, anyone except the honor holder can call “Roll Call” to double that hole’s points, which is how a sleepy round suddenly has real money riding on the 16th. Players settle pairwise on the point differences at the end.
Read the full rules, the Roll Call mechanic, and the settling math in the St. James Roll Official Guide →
Players: 3–4 · Team: Yes (rotating Wolf) · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Medium · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Medium — use handicaps
Wad is what happens when you weld Wolf and Acey-Deucey together into a single hole-by-hole format, and it’s one of the most underrated betting games for a threesome. Every hole, one player is the Wolf and rotates through the group. The Wolf tees off first, watches the other two players hit their drives, and decides whether to take one of them as a partner or go Lone Wolf and play the hole solo against the other two. So far, this is just Wolf.
Here’s the Wad twist: once the hole is finished, you settle it Acey-Deucey style. The lowest net score on the hole (the Acey) collects from each other player. The highest net (the Deucey) pays each other player. Middle score washes. So you’ve got two live bets running on every hole — the Wolf decision up front, and the Acey-Deucey payout at the end.
For a threesome, the Wolf rotation runs cleanly (each player is the Wolf six times in a round) and the Acey-Deucey side bet has nowhere to hide — with only three players there’s only one middle score per hole, so somebody is paying every single time. Use handicaps to keep it competitive across skill levels.
Read the full rules, the Wolf variants, and how to handle the double-bet payouts in the Wad Official Guide →
Snake
Players: 2–4 · Team: No · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes — anyone can three-putt
Snake is the three-putt hot potato. The first player in the group to three-putt picks up the Snake. From there, every new three-putt passes the Snake to that player. Whoever’s holding the Snake when the last putt drops on 18 pays the group.
The doubling version is where the real action is: the Snake’s value doubles every time it changes hands. Start at a dime and after eight transfers the loser is paying $25.60 each to the other two players. Snake runs alongside any 3-player format without adding time or scorekeeping — just pressure on every lag putt.
Read the full rules and betting structures in the Snake Official Guide →
Players: 2–4 · Team: No · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Excellent — putting is the great equalizer*
Low Putts is the simplest side bet in golf. Count your putts. Lowest total at 18 wins the pot. It runs in the background while you play your normal round — layer it on top of Nassau, Skins, Stableford, or plain stroke play without changing how anyone plays the course. After every green, each player notes how many putts they took. At the end of 18, add them up. Lowest wins.
The rule that matters: a putt is a stroke taken with a putter from on the putting surface. Strokes with a putter from the fringe, collar, or fairway don’t count. Chip-ins count as zero putts. That’s the PGA stat definition and the cleanest rule to settle on. Three betting formats work — pot-style (everyone antes, winner takes all), per-putt (each putt has a fixed dollar value, settle differences at the end), or hole-by-hole (small unit goes to fewest putts each hole).
The strategy worth knowing: chip aggressive when you miss the green. A first putt inside three feet is two-putt insurance and one-putt money.
Read the full rules, the Net Low Putts variation, and the tiebreaker options in the Low Putts Official Guide →
Flaps
Players: 2–4 · Team: No · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Neutral — short game confidence matters
Flaps is the gutsiest side bet in golf. You’re off the green with a chip or pitch shot. You make contact, and while the ball is still in the air, you can call “flap” — wagering that you’ll hole your next putt and complete the up-and-down. With three players, if you’re right, you collect a unit from the other two. Wrong, you pay both.
The twist: either of the other two players can double the bet before the ball finishes its first bounce. It turns every chip shot into a pressure-cooker moment where your buddies are watching like hawks and you have about two seconds to assess your own shot. Flaps requires no scorekeeping and rides on top of any format you’re already playing — perfect as a second game when your threesome wants more action.
Read the full rules and the doubling mechanics in the Flaps Official Guide →
Acey Deucey
Players: 3–6 (foursome is the sweet spot) · Team: No · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes, with handicaps
Acey Deucey is a per-hole betting game where two pots settle on every hole. The Ace — the lowest score on the hole — collects from every other player, including the Deuce. The Deuce — the highest score — pays every other player, including the Ace. Standard ratio is 2-to-1: the Ace pot is worth twice the Deuce pot. $2 Ace / $1 Deuce is the common starting point. Carry-overs (ties roll the pot forward and double) is the standard rule most groups run.
The bets stack on each other, and that’s the part most groups miss the first time. The Ace doesn’t just win the Ace bet from every opponent — they also pick up the Deuce payment from the high scorer. The Deuce doesn’t just pay each opponent the Deuce bet — they also owe the Ace bet on top. One Ace-and-Deuce hole in a foursome can swing $7 in one direction.
The strategy worth tattooing on the scorecard: avoiding the Deuce is worth more than chasing the Ace. A par may not always win the Ace, but it almost never makes you the Deuce.
Read the full rules, the Carry-Over variation, and the stack-bet math in the Acey Deucey Official Guide →
Points-Based Golf Games for 3 Players
Points-based games reward specific achievements instead of total strokes. They handle mixed handicaps better than almost any other category, and they keep every player engaged on every hole because there’s always a point or a “dot” still available even after a blowup.
Bingo Bango Bongo
Players: 2–4 · Team: No · Betting: No · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Excellent — best in the sport
Bingo Bango Bongo is the most skill-gap-friendly points game in golf, and a threesome is a near-perfect player count for it. Three points are up for grabs on every hole: Bingo goes to the first player to reach the green, Bango goes to whoever is closest to the pin once all balls are on the green, and Bongo goes to the first player to hole out. The brilliant thing is that none of those points automatically favor the better player.
Bango rewards good irons, which any player can hit on a given hole. Bongo rewards putting order. With three players competing for three points per hole, the engagement stays high all 18 — and the math is clean to track on the back of the scorecard.
Read the full rules and scoring details in the Bingo Bango Bongo Official Guide →
Stableford
Players: 1–4+ · Team: No · Betting: No · Complexity: Medium · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Excellent
Stableford flips stroke play on its head. Instead of counting strokes, you earn points based on your score relative to par. A typical scoring system awards 1 point for bogey, 2 for par, 3 for birdie, and 4 for eagle — with zero points for double bogey or worse. Highest point total wins. Because Stableford works for any number of players, it scales to a threesome without any modifications.
Because blowups stop costing you beyond a zero, Stableford is designed for aggressive play: you can swing freely on a risky approach knowing the worst case is a zero, not a quintuple bogey that torches your round. With three players and proper handicaps, it’s one of the best mixed-skill formats on the market and one of the few scoring systems that genuinely rewards taking on risk.
Read the full scoring system and strategic approach in the Stableford Official Guide →
Players: 1–4+ · Team: No · Betting: Yes (optional) · Complexity: Medium · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Excellent
Modified Stableford is a points-based format where birdies and eagles are worth more than in standard Stableford, and bogeys actively cost you points instead of just zero. The PGA Tour scale runs Albatross +8, Eagle +5, Birdie +2, Par 0, Bogey -1, Double Bogey or worse -3. Highest point total wins. It’s the format the PGA Tour’s Barracuda Championship runs every year — the only Tour event that isn’t stroke play — and it’s built for one reason: reward aggression and punish blowups.
For a threesome, the math is what makes it click. A birdie (+2) is worth twice what a bogey costs (-1), so going low pays. One eagle (+5) wipes out a double bogey and two bogeys combined. Eighteen pars total zero points — playing safe gets you nothing. An even-par round with five birdies and five bogeys totals +5 points, while a steady par card totals 0. Same score on the card, totally different result on the points sheet.
Apply course handicaps to allocate strokes per hole, then score the net result against par. Once a player can’t improve their score on a hole (typically past net double bogey), they pick up to maintain pace.
Read the full PGA Tour scoring table, the handicap-applied scoring, and the strategy adjustments in the Modified Stableford Official Guide →
Quota
Players: 2–4+ · Team: No · Betting: No · Complexity: Medium · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Excellent
Quota is the points format specifically built to level mixed handicaps. Every player’s quota is set by subtracting their course handicap from a fixed target (usually 36). A 12-handicap has a quota of 24. A scratch golfer has a quota of 36. Players then earn points per hole — typically 1 for bogey, 2 for par, 3 for birdie, 4 for eagle — and the winner is whoever exceeds their own quota by the widest margin.
Because everyone is playing against a personalized benchmark, three different handicaps can have a legitimately even match. No strokes handed out, no post-round adjustments. Quota is a favorite for company outings and weekend buddy rounds where the skill range is wide and everyone wants a real chance to win — a 24-handicap can absolutely beat a scratch golfer in the same threesome.
Read the full rules and quota-setting method in the Quota Official Guide →
Dots
Players: 2–4 · Team: No · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Medium · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes — you build the menu
Dots — also called Junk, Garbage, or Trash — is the most customizable game on the list. Before the round, your group agrees on a menu of “dot events” — each one a specific on-course achievement worth a set dollar value. Standard dots include birdies, sand saves, chip-ins, greenies (closest to pin on par 3s), and longest drive in the fairway. Some groups add negative dots for three-putts, hitting OB, or doubles.
With three players, the dot menu translates cleanly without any modification — every player still earns and pays out individually based on what they did on each hole. Because Dots rewards specific moments rather than cumulative score, it keeps every player engaged even after a blowup hole. A 20-handicap can still cash in on a sandy or a long drive while the scratch player is grinding for birdies.
Read the full rules and complete dot menu in the Dots Official Guide →
Draft 18
Players: 2–4 · Team: No · Betting: No · Complexity: Medium · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes, with handicaps
Draft 18 is a Golf Games Hub original that brings fantasy-sports strategy to the golf course. Before the round, each player drafts holes using a snake draft. You play all 18 normally, but only your drafted holes count toward your score. With three players, each golfer drafts six holes from the 18-hole pool.
Harder holes (based on the scorecard’s handicap ranking) are worth significantly more points — a par on the #1 handicap hole scores 18 points while a par on the easiest hole scores 1. Strategy starts before the first tee shot: do you stack hard holes for the ceiling, or grab safe pars for the floor? Draft 18 is the format for threesomes who are bored with stroke play and want every hole to feel personally chosen.
Read the full rules, point values, and draft strategy in the Draft 18 Official Guide →
Chicago (39s, Thirty-Nines)
Players: 2–4+ · Team: No · Betting: Yes · Complexity: Medium · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Excellent
Chicago is a quota points game that levels a mixed threesome without handing out a single stroke. Every player starts with a target of 39 minus their course handicap, so a scratch chases 39 and a 20-handicap chases 19. You earn points with Stableford scoring on your gross numbers, one for a bogey, two for par, four for a birdie, eight for an eagle. Most points above your own quota wins.
Because everyone races a personal number, a high handicap and a low handicap can fight to the last green on even terms. There are no post-round adjustments and nothing to argue about. It is a clean way to settle a threesome where the skill gap is wide and everyone still wants a real shot at the win.
Read the full rules and the quota-setting method in the Chicago Official Guide →
Traditional Golf Formats for 3 Players
These are the classic scoring systems and team formats that work cleanly with three players.
Bisque
Players: 2–4 · Team: No · Betting: No · Complexity: Medium · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Excellent
Bisque is match play handicap with a twist — every player gets their full course handicap as freely-allocatable strokes and chooses which holes to spend them on. Standard match play hands you strokes on the toughest holes; Bisque hands you the choice. Declare the stroke before teeing off, one stroke per hole, no banking back. With three players, each golfer runs their own bisque allotment independently, and the math stays clean because there’s no team handicap to negotiate.
For a mixed-skill threesome, the format is one of the cleanest equalizers in golf — the higher handicapper gets to spend strokes where it actually hurts, not where the scorecard tells them to.
Read the full rules, variations, and strategy in the Bisque Official Guide →
Stroke Play
Players: 1–4+ · Team: No · Betting: No · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Poor without handicaps
Stroke Play — also called Medal Play — is golf in its purest form. Count every shot, post a score, lowest total wins. It’s the format the PGA Tour uses, the format every club championship is decided by, and the default format you’re playing any time nobody suggests anything else. Works cleanly with three players.
Stroke Play is brutal for mixed skill threesomes without handicaps — the scratch golfer is going to beat the 20-handicap every time. But layer in proper handicap allowances (typically 100% for stroke play) and it becomes genuinely competitive even with a wide handicap spread. It’s also the base format most betting games sit on top of: Skins, Nassau, and Dots all use stroke play scoring underneath.
Read the full rules and handicap application in the Stroke Play Official Guide →
Three Little Pigs (Lemon Drop, One Little Pig)
Players: 1–4+ · Team: No · Betting: No · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Excellent
Three Little Pigs is straight stroke play with a mercy rule built in. You play all 18, then erase your three worst holes and total the best 15. Lowest 15-hole score wins. One blow-up does not bury your round, which is exactly why it works for a threesome where someone always has a hole that gets away from them.
It needs no special setup and runs gross or net. Ties break on a card playoff over the holes that count. There are smaller cousins too, like One Little Pig for a nine-hole loop and Lemon Drop, which only drops your worst par 3, par 4, and par 5. Play it on the day your swing is a coin flip.
Read the full rules and the scoring variations in the Three Little Pigs Official Guide →
Three Blind Mice
Players: 2–4+ · Team: No · Betting: No · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes — luck levels it
Three Blind Mice is the luck-of-the-draw cousin of stroke play. Everyone plays a normal 18, and only after the cards are in do three holes get drawn at random and thrown out for the whole group. Lowest total over the remaining 15 holes wins. You do not know which holes count until it is over, so you grind every single one.
It is pure chaos, and that is the appeal. A birdie on the 7th can vanish in the draw just as easily as a triple on the 12th, which keeps the worst player in your threesome alive to the last putt. Ties break on a card playoff. Bring it out when you want the standings blown wide open.
Read the full rules and the random-draw method in the Three Blind Mice Official Guide →
Golf Drinking Games for 3 Players
When the round is more about the cooler than the card, these two formats turn every bogey and every missed green into a reason to drink. Both layer onto your normal game without slowing it down.
Beer Tax
Players: 2–5 (rides on any game) · Team: No · Betting: No · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes, play it net
Beer Tax is the dead-simple drinking game that rides shotgun on whatever you’re already playing. Every stroke over par costs a sip. Bogey is one, double is two, triple is three, and pars or better are free. No teams, no scorekeeper doing math on the cart path. Your scorecard just quietly runs up a tab.
It’s a Golf Games Hub original, and it scales to any group. Play it gross if everyone’s close in skill, or net so the 22-handicap isn’t drinking three a hole while the 4 walks off sober. Cap a blow-up hole at three sips if you want to keep the afternoon civilized.
Read the full rules, variations, and the net-vs-gross call in the Beer Tax Official Guide →
F the Golfer
Players: 3–4 (best with 4) · Team: No · Betting: No · Complexity: Simple · Mixed Skill Level Friendly? Yes, no handicaps
F the Golfer puts one player in the hot seat every hole, then rotates the chair so nobody gets buried all round. Three automatic drink events per hole (fairway, green, and putts) mean there’s never a dead moment. Hit your shots and everyone else drinks; miss and you do.
It’s built for a foursome and works fine with three, and it uses no handicaps. That’s pure performance, which evens out more than you’d think. On 17 and 18 the chair goes to the leader and then to the player getting smoked, so both get a closing moment.
Read the full rules, the 17/18 finishers, and variations in the F the Golfer Official Guide →
Frequently Asked Questions
Nines (also known as 5-3-1 or the 9-Point Game) is the most popular betting format for threesomes — it’s purpose-built around three-player math, every hole stays competitive until the last putt, and the rules are simple enough to explain on the first tee. For a non-betting points game, Bingo Bango Bongo edges out the field because it handles mixed skill levels better than almost any other format.
Four formats on this list are built specifically around three-player math: Nines (9 points per hole, 5-3-1 base), Split Sixes (6 points per hole, 4-2-0 base), and The King’s Honors (the Golf Games Hub original where one player wears the crown each hole and the other two team up to dethrone them). Wolf was originally designed as a three-player game and still plays best with 3 to 5. Every other format on this guide flexes from larger groups down to a threesome.
Bingo Bango Bongo, Quota, and Stableford are the three best mixed-skill formats for a threesome. Bingo Bango Bongo wins because the three points available on every hole don’t all favor the better player. Quota gives every player a personalized target based on their handicap. Stableford rewards birdies and limits the damage from blowups. Any of them work without a complex handicap allocation — just run everyone through the free golf handicap calculator before you tee off and the math handles itself.
For pure betting value, the classic three are Nines, Wolf, and Skins. Nines gives you the most structured points format with three-player math built in. Wolf rewards strategic real-time decisions and was originally designed for threesomes. Skins creates the most drama through rollover pots. If your group has a deeper bankroll, The Bounty layers in a rolling jackpot that gets bigger with every tied hole.
Almost all of them, yes. Handicaps are especially important for Stroke Play, Skins, Nassau, and Nines if your threesome has mixed skill levels. The method varies slightly by format (stroke play allocates strokes differently than match play), so the safest move is to decide on handicap method before you tee off. The Golf Games Hub handicap calculator will get you squared away in about a minute, and the breakdown of how a golf handicap is calculated will smooth out any disagreements about the math.
Most of these games flex up to four players cleanly. Wolf, Skins, Nassau, Bingo Bango Bongo, Stableford, and Quota all work for any group size. The ones locked to exactly three are Nines, Split Sixes, and The King’s Honors — the point math collapses with a fourth player. If your group flexes between sizes, check the golf games for 4 players guide for foursome-specific formats, or the 2 Player Golf Games collection for 2-player options.
Final Thoughts
Three players doesn’t mean a worse round — it means a different round. The classic 4-player formats most groups default to (Nassau, Wolf, Skins) all flex down cleanly, and the formats invented specifically for threesomes (Nines, Split Sixes) are some of the best-designed games in the sport. You’re not playing a compromised version of a foursome game — you’re playing a different category of game entirely.
Pick one that fits your group’s mood, send this page to the threesome chat, and run it on your next round. Worst case, you try it once and decide it’s not for you. Best case, you’ve just found the format that turns “we’re a threesome today” from a compromise into the entire reason you’re excited to tee off.
