How to Play the Best Nines Golf Game

Best Nines is the name of a golf game for two golfers playing one-on-one, or four golfers playing two-vs.-two. It is essentially three games (or three bets, if you want to phrase it that way) in one: the golfers or sides compete to win the front nine, to win the back nine, and to win the overall 18.

If that sounds a lot like the Nassau bet, you're right. A small number of golfers use Best Nines as a synonym for a Nassau (also called a 2-2-2 or 5-5-5 bet).

However, because only a very small percentage of golfers call the Nassau "Best Nines," we're going to focus on another version of Best Nines. But this version still has much in common with the Nassau.

In this version of Best Nines, each hole on the golf course is worth one point. Win the hole, win the point. If the sides halve a hole, then its point carries over to the next hole, which becomes worth two points.

At the end of the front nine, the golfer with the most points wins the front nine bet. Now start over on the back nine, and try to win the back nine bet. Then add up all points for the full 18 holes, and the top scorer wins the 18-hole bet.

The most common way to bet Best Nines is to make the three bets of equal value (say $2 for the front nine, $2 for the back nine, $2 for the overall).

More golf games:

• The Arizona Shuffle format
• The Whack and Hack format explained
• How to play the Criers and Whiners golf game