Six points on every hole, split 4-2-0 between three players. Simple enough to keep in your head, close enough that nobody ever runs away with it.
Six points per hole among three players: 4 for the win, 2 for second, 0 for last. Ties split the pair of positions evenly. It’s Nines with rounder numbers — easier to keep in your head walking to the next tee.
Split Sixes — also called English, the 6-Point Game, or Cricket depending on where you learned it — is the cleanest points game for a threesome. Six points go on the table every hole and get divided by finishing order: 4 to the low score, 2 to the middle, 0 to the high. That's the whole format. There's no rotation to track, no partner to pick, no side bets to remember, and the arithmetic is simple enough to do on the walk to the next tee.
What keeps it interesting is the middle. Two points for coming second means the player having a mediocre day is never out of it, and a steady round of second places (2 points × 18 = 36) beats an erratic mix of wins and last places. It's the threesome equivalent of Stableford's virtue: the format rewards consistency without ever making a hole meaningless.
Worked example. Hole 1, net scores of 4, 5, 6 — that's a clean 4-2-0. Hole 2, net 4, 4, 5 — two tied for low, so 3-3-0. Hole 3, net 4, 6, 6 — two tied for high, so 4-1-1. Hole 4, all three make net 5 — 2-2-2. Four holes in and the totals read 13, 8, 3: close enough that nobody's out, spread enough that the good golf is showing.
Split Sixes vs. Nines. Same idea, different distribution. Nines puts nine points a hole on the table and splits them 5-3-1, so the last-place player still collects something every hole. Split Sixes gives the high score nothing, which makes each hole a little harsher and the round a little more decisive. Play Nines if you want everyone earning; play Split Sixes if you want the low score to mean more.
Doubling the par 3s — or the closing holes. An easy way to add tension without changing the rules: make each par 3 worth twelve points instead of six, or double everything from the 16th.
Birdie bonus. A natural birdie takes all six points regardless of what anyone else scored. It's a big incentive and it's worth deciding on before the round rather than after somebody makes one.
Gross Split Sixes. In a level group, skip the handicaps entirely. The format's simplicity is its selling point, and stroke indexes are the only thing complicating it.
Playing a fourth into it. Split Sixes really is a three-player game. If a fourth joins, switch to Nines with a modified table, or run Split Sixes among three and put the fourth player on a separate side bet — don't try to stretch the 4-2-0 split across four scores.
Presses and side bets. Getting buried? The app scores a 2x press: every point from the next unscored hole is worth double, for everyone. It also tracks side bets like closest to the pin and long drive on top, and settles them with the rest of the round.
Six points a hole, 4-2-0 on net scores, with the tie splits done for you.
Split Sixes is a betting game for three players in which six points are distributed on every hole: four to the outright low score, two to the middle score, and none to the high score. It's also known as English, the 6-Point Game, or Cricket.
Three cases. If two players tie for low, they take three points each and the high score gets nothing. If two tie for high, the low score takes four and the tied players take one each. If all three tie, everyone takes two.
Both are threesome points games; the split differs. Nines puts nine points on each hole divided 5-3-1, so even the high score collects something. Split Sixes puts six points up divided 4-2-0, giving the high score nothing — which makes individual holes matter more.
108 — six points across each of 18 holes. A player averaging the middle score all day finishes with 36, which is usually a competitive total.
Yes, whenever the three players aren't close in ability. Strokes fall by stroke index and every hole is scored on net results. In a level group most people play it gross, since the format's appeal is how little bookkeeping it requires.
Not cleanly — the 4-2-0 split is built for exactly three scores. With four players, switch to Nines or run Split Sixes among three while the fourth plays a separate side bet.
Same energy, different game. Everything below has a full rules guide of its own.
Duck Hook Golf