How to Play the 5-3-1 Golf Betting Game

In the golf game known as 5-3-1, those numbers in the name tell you how many points are at stake on each hole: Nine. This is a game for a group of three golfers and, if you wish, you can assign a monetary value to each point earned.

In 5-3-1, the nine points available on each hole are divvied up like this:

• Low scorer on the hole earns five points.
• Second-lowest scorer earns three points.
• And the high scorer is given one point.

Golfers track their points as the game moves along, and at the end high points wins the game. You might recognize that 5-3-1 point scheme even if you don't know this format by that name: It also goes by the names Nines and 9-Point Game (or 9-Points), among others.

And note that this game can be played by foursomes, with the high scorer on the hole getting zero points. But tie scores (and of course there will be many of those) are easier to calculate in a threesome (no fractions required) as opposed to a foursome (fractions frequently required).

Speaking of tie scores, this is how those are handled in a group of three:

• If all three golfers tie on a hole, each gets 3 points.
• If two golfers tie for low score, each gets 4 points.
• If two golfers tie for high score, each gets 2 points.

And that is how most groups play the 5-3-1 golf game. Some groups do add on variations, including giving all nine points on a hole to any golfer who manages to win the hole by two strokes or more. Another one: When the threeball reaches the 16th tee, the golfer who stands in last place gets to decide the point values in play over the final three holes.

More golf games:

• How to play the Win, Place and Show game
• The 16-Points format explained
• How to play the Chicago golf format

Sources:
Living It Up Podcast, via X.com, https://x.com/LivingItUpPod/status/1785025278122594498.
Powers, Christopher. "How to play '5-3-1'," GolfDigest.com, https://www.golfdigest.com/story/how-to-play-5-3-1-golf-betting-game.
Rodriguez, Chi Chi, and Anderson, John. Chi Chi's Golf Games You Gotta Play, 2003, Human Kinetics
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