The rules
Four golfers can be split into two pairs in exactly three ways. Sixes plays all three. The first match is the group’s choice, made on the first tee by hand or by a draw. When it ends, the second is drawn from the two splits left, and the third is whichever one remains.
Each match is its own match play bet, played better net ball over a block of up to six holes. Nothing carries from one match to the next: no running total, no carryover, and no reason for the man who lost the first match to stop trying in the second.
1
Split the four
Pick the first pairs, or draw them. The convention is the two long hitters against the two short ones.
2
Play the match out
Better net ball, match play, for up to six holes. Up by more holes than are left and it is over.
3
New partners, next tee
The bet is settled where the match ends. The next split starts on the very next hole.
Three splits, and only one real draw
Paul, Dave, Sam and Lee.
Match 1
Paul & Dave v Sam & Lee. The group’s choice.
Match 2
Drawn, the moment match 1 ends, between Paul & Sam v Dave & Lee and Paul & Lee v Dave & Sam.
Match 3
The split the draw didn’t pick. There is nothing left to choose.
Every golfer partners every other golfer once. If matches end early and there are holes left after the third, the group picks the pairs for the extra match itself, usually on who is winning.
How a hole resolves
Four gross scores go in, and in this order they come out the other side.
1
Apply the strokes. By default each golfer’s strokes are spread across the three matches and fall on the hardest holes in each one, so a golfer getting six strokes gets two a match. The other setting places every stroke by the course’s stroke index, wherever that lands.
2
Take the better net ball on each side. Lower wins the hole and equal halves it.
3
Move the match on. One up, two up, all square, with the holes left in the block counting down.
4
Close it if it can’t be caught. Two up with one to play is won 2 & 1. The next match starts on the next tee.
Classic or high-low
Groups play Sixes one of two ways. The difference is how many balls count on each hole, and whether the round can run to extra matches.
THE DEFAULT
Classic
One point a hole, better ball against better ball. A match ends as soon as it is decided and the next one starts straight away, so early finishes leave holes at the end for extra matches.
TWO POINTS A HOLE
High-low
The two low nets play each other for one point and the two high nets for the other, so the weaker player on each side always has something to play for. Always three matches, holes 1–6, 7–12 and 13–18. A match still closes once it can’t be caught, but the next one waits for its own block.
When a match ends early
Under classic scoring, six holes is the most a match can last, not the number it always lasts. The earliest a match can end is the 4th hole of its block, won 4 & 2. When that happens the next match moves up, and every match after it moves up too.
Here is one round where all three matches finished early.
Holes 1–5
Match 1, won 2 & 1 on the 5th green.
Holes 6–10
Match 2 starts on the 6th tee and is won 3 & 1 on the 10th.
Holes 11–16
Match 3 runs its full six holes and finishes 1 up.
Holes 17–18
An extra match over two holes, pairs chosen by the group.
A one-hole match on the 18th is real
If a match ends on the 17th, the 18th is a match of its own at the full stake. It doesn’t fold back into the match that just ended. A round can run to five matches at most: three scheduled, and up to two extras.
The money
Each match is one bet at the stake, per golfer. At $5, the winning pair each collect $5 and the losing pair each pay $5. The margin doesn’t matter: 4 & 2 pays the same as 1 up.
A halved match pays nothing. There is no extra hole, no countback and no carryover, so the next match is played for the same stake as every other.
The most you can lose, at $5 a match
High-low
$15. Three matches, always.
Classic
$25. Three matches plus up to two extras.
Settle these on the first tee
Five things vary from group to group. Agree them before the first shot.
Scoring
Classic or high-low.
Handicap
Net at a percentage of course handicap, gross, or strokes off the low golfer.
Where strokes fall
Spread across the three matches, or by the course’s stroke index for the whole round.
The first pairs
Chosen by the group or drawn.
The stake
Per golfer, per match.
Scoring it without a spreadsheet
On paper the hard part of Sixes isn’t the scoring, it’s the bookkeeping. A match that ends on the 5th moves every match after it, the strokes have to be re-spread for each block, and by the 14th nobody is sure which pairing they are in.
Halved does that part. You post gross scores. It knows which match each hole belongs to, applies the strokes, closes a match when it can’t be caught and starts the next one on the next tee.
A draw for the next pairs
When match 1 ends, a reel picks match 2 from the two splits left. Match 3 follows from it.
Early finishes handled
The next match starts on the right hole, and extra matches appear when there are holes to play them.
The worst case, up front
Setup shows the most each golfer can lose before the first ball is hit.
Three partners, every match its own bet.
Free on iPhone. Post the scores and Halved runs the matches, the draws and the settlement.
Questions people ask
How is Sixes different from Sequoya 3s?
Both rotate the partnerships so nobody is stuck. Sequoya 3s plays six three-hole matches in a fixed order, each pairing twice, with presses. Sixes plays each pairing once over up to six holes, and a match that is decided early hands its remaining holes to the next one.
What happens when a match is decided early?
It ends there and the next match starts on the next tee. Under classic scoring that can leave holes at the end of the round, which are played as up to two extra matches with pairs the group chooses.
What happens to a halved match?
It pays nothing. There is no tie breaker anywhere in Sixes and nothing carries, so the next match is played for the normal stake.
How are the partners picked?
The group picks the first match, or draws it. The second is drawn from the two splits left, and the third is the one remaining. Any extra match is the group’s choice.
How do strokes work across the matches?
By default they are spread evenly: a golfer getting six strokes gets two in each match, on the hardest holes of that match. The alternative uses the course’s stroke index for the whole round, which can leave one match with most of a golfer’s strokes.
Can you play Sixes with three or five golfers?
No. The format rests on four golfers splitting two against two in exactly three ways. With three, play
Survivor; with five, split the group.