Nine-Hole Golf: Just for Fun

SOME OF US just want to get out of the house and into the great outdoors, pair-up with some golfing friends, enjoy some laughs and conversation, and get some exercise by playing a round of nine holes! Afterwords, perhaps we might have a Diet Coke and talk about some shots that will bring us back "to the greens" again.

Members of my groups are fierce competitors, and each of us wants to win!  But, nobody is getting mad; nobody is throwing or breaking clubs over a missed shot; and nobody is cursing.

Also, we adjust a few rules to our own liking!  For example, the ball may be moved one club length to the right, left, or back, but not closer toward the hole. There's no penalty stroke for a ball in the water; it may be dropped a club length from where it went in.  A ball in the sand may be moved to a spot where it went in without penalty.  We simply realize that we are not playing a PGA sanctioned event, so it doesn't bother us to change the rules a bit. We just want to have fun!

Long ago, the groups that I've been a part of decided to have rotating partners and a best-ball style of play.  We figured out how to play with any number of golfers.  Our systems work well because we are never exactly sure how many will show up on any given day. Generally speaking, with groups of from one to five golfers, scores are kept by counting holes that are won.  With groups of six or more, scores are kept by counting the fewest total strokes.

Our first task before teeing off is to have each golfer draw a numbered card. This will determine the pairings. Examples are below.

On rare occasions only two golfers may show up.  In that situation both golfers hit the drive, go to the best ball, and from there play into the cup by themselves.

With three golfers, the one with the best drive plays against the other two - but gets 1 extra chip and 1 extra putt on each hole. The two partners can go to the best ball all the way into the cup.

With four golfers, it's a round-robin!  On the first hole, #1 - #2 are partners; and, #3 - #4 are partners. On the second hole, it's 1-3 and 2-4.  Then, on the third hole, it's 1-4 and 2-3.  This same rotation continues for holes four, five, and six; and again for holes seven, eight, and nine.  Partners can go to the best ball all the way into the cup. With this format, each golfer plays with every other golfer 3 times for the 9-hole round.

At times when five are ready to play, each golfer draws a numbered card from 1 to 5. The number drawn will be that golfer's number for the entire nine holes. Basically, one team of two will be playing against another team of three on every hole. The team of two will get an extra chip (by the first numbered golfer), and an extra putt (by the second numbered golfer). All golfers on both teams can go the best ball.  The rotation is shown below.

1st Hole: 1,2 vs 3,4,5
2nd Hole: 2,3 vs 1,4,5
3rd Hole: 3,4 vs 1,2,5
4th Hole: 4,5 vs 1,2,3
5th Hole: 5,1 vs 2,3,4
6th Hole: 1,3 vs 2,4,5
7th Hole: 2,4 vs 1,3,5
8th Hole: 3,5 vs 1,2,4
9th Hole: 4,1 vs 5,2,3

When six golfers come to play, numbered cards from 1 to 6 are drawn by each golfer.  Players drawing odd numbers (1-3-5) become a team to play against those drawing even numbers (2-4-6). All players on each team go to the best ball on every hole.  Team One (odds) starts first, play together, and keep their own score. When Team One is safely out of driving distance, Team Two (evens) tees off, plays together, and keeps their own score.  The two teams share score cards when both are finished with the nine holes and determine the winner by the lowest score.

The system for seven golfers is the same as for six except that the number 7 golfer becomes the fourth Team One (odds) player. Therefore Team Two (evens) has an extra chip and an extra putt on each hole with players taking turns on the bonus chips and putts.

For eight players, it's simply two foursomes (teams) with all players going to the best ball, keeping their own team's score, and sharing score cards when both are finished with nine holes to determine the winner by the lowest score.

I play golf with two groups of guys - one in Missouri, the other in Florida. It's fair to say that all of my golfing buddies have more than one thing they like to do in their free time. However, it's also true that Nine Hole Golf - played just for fun - is at or near the top of our lists of enjoyable leisure activities. I believe that the same could be true for many others as well. The old adage, "Try it; you'll like it," comes to mind!