The Three Blind Mice golf game is a scoring format where three holes are drawn at random after the round, and everyone’s scores on those holes get thrown out.
You play a normal stroke-play round, the committee pulls three hole numbers once the cards are in, and the lowest 15-hole total wins.
It’s a close cousin of Three Little Pigs with one wild difference: you don’t get to choose which holes vanish. The draw does. A birdie can disappear just as easily as a triple, and that’s the allure of the game.
WHICH HOLES COUNT? THREE WAYS
Three games, three different ways to decide which holes make the card:
- Three Little Pigs — You toss your three worst holes. You pick them, not the draw.
- Draft 18 — You draft the holes that count before you play. Total control.
- Or try one of our Golf Betting Games — 27+ more money formats for when you want a little skin in the game.
Game Setup
Three Blind Mice runs on a normal stroke-play round. Every player keeps a full, honest, hole-by-hole score across all 18 holes.
The one job that matters is the draw. After everyone finishes their round, someone selects three holes, the three blind mice, and those scores come off everyone’s card. Draw the holes after the round, never before. Pull them early and players will coast on the holes they know don’t count, which kills the whole format.
How you draw is up to you. Write the numbers 1 through 18 on slips and pull three from a hat or use a random number generator on your phone. For a league or tournament, the pro or committee handles it once the full field is in.
Handicap is optional. Gross is the purest version. For a mixed group, run it net: apply each player’s course handicap hole-by-hole, then toss the three drawn holes. Not sure of your number? Our free golf handicap calculator sorts it in seconds, and here’s how your handicap is calculated if you want the full breakdown.
Here’s how a round actually plays out.
How to Play the Three Blind Mice Golf Game
Play all 18 holes as straight stroke play and write down every score. When the last scores are in, the final scoring takes four quick steps:
- Draw three holes at random from the 18 just played. Those are the blind mice.
- Cross off everyone’s scores on those three holes.
- Total each player’s remaining 15 holes.
- The lowest score wins.
Settle ties with a card playoff on the holes that survived.
STRATEGY TIP
Play every hole like it counts, because it might. Don’t write off any hole. The only edge is consistency in your golf game. Grind out the par or bogey on the hole you’d usually check out on. It might be the one that survives the draw.
You can’t outsmart a hat full of numbers. You can only out-steady the player next to you.
A few ways groups bend Three Blind Mice.
Three Blind Mice Variations
Stacked Draw. The draw doesn’t have to be blind. A pro running a club night can hand-pick the three holes to level the field, tossing the ones that punish a slice or the long carries that hurt senior players. It stops being luck and starts being a thumb on the scale, which is often the point at a charity scramble or a mixed event.
Net Three Blind Mice. Apply each player’s course handicap hole-by-hole, then drop the three drawn holes from the net total. This keeps a wide handicap range in the same fight, which matters even more here because the gross version already swings on luck.
Team Three Blind Mice. Run it with two-person or four-person teams instead of individuals. Each team plays its format. Then conduct the draw, and the same three holes vanish from every card. It pairs nicely with a scramble for a low-pressure league night.
WORTH KNOWING
Three Blind Mice is a luck game wearing a golf scorecard. It can crown the player who finished third on the day and send the best ball striker home with nothing. That’s a feature for a fun night and a bug for anything you would call a real competition. Decide which one you’re running before you collect the entry fees.
The questions that come up before the first draw.
Frequently Asked Questions
Same family, opposite control. In Three Little Pigs you throw out your own three worst holes, so you can manage your card and protect your score. In Three Blind Mice the three holes are drawn at random after the round, so luck decides and you can’t plan around it. Want skill to win? Play Three Little Pigs. Want a wide-open coin flip? Play this.
After every scorecard is in. Drawing before the round, or partway through, lets players coast on holes they know won’t count. Waiting until all cards are turned in keeps everyone honest for all 18.
Any fair method works. Numbers on slips pulled from a hat or a random number generator app are both common. For a tournament, the committee draws once the field finishes, so no group has an information edge.
Yes, and it’s a popular club and league format for exactly that reason. Everyone plays a normal round, the organizer draws three holes after the field is in, and scores are retabulated on the remaining 15. Net scoring or a stacked draw keeps a big mixed field competitive.
That’s Three Blind Mice, luck and all.
Final Thoughts
Three Blind Mice is the great leveler for a group that takes itself a little too seriously. The scratch player has no guarantees, the 20-handicap has a live shot. Run it gross for pure chaos, or net when you want the field a little tighter.
Since you can’t pick your holes, the only thing in your control is how steady you play. The consistency this game rewards is mostly mental, and playing every shot the same is the trick. Draw three, toss them, and may the mice be kind. Give it a run on your next league night.
