How many players do you need for Sixes?

Exactly four, in the same group. The rotation only works with four because it takes three segments for everyone to partner everyone once.

How are the partners decided in Sixes?

From the order the four players are listed. Players one and two partner on holes 1 to 6, one and three on 7 to 12, and one and four on 13 to 18, with the other pair on the opposite side each time.

Can a six-hole segment finish early?

Yes. A segment is a match, so it ends when one side leads by more holes than remain in the six. Three up with two to play is 3 and 2 and the last two holes of that segment do not count toward it.

What happens if a segment is tied after six holes?

It is halved and every player scores 1 point for it. There is no extra hole and nothing carries into the next segment.

Is Sixes played gross or net?

Usually net, with each player's handicap strokes falling on the card as normal. Parful scores it net by default and offers gross when the game is created.

Why is Sixes also called COD or Hollywood?

COD is the common club name for the same rotation; Hollywood is the name used when groups add side bets per segment. Underneath it is the same three six-hole matches.

Golf games

Parful runs this

Sixes

Also called COD, Round Robin, Hollywood.

Sixes is a four-player game that splits the round into three six-hole four-ball matches. Partners rotate at holes 7 and 13 so everyone partners everyone once. Each segment is a separate match; a win is worth 2 points, a half 1, and the best record over the three segments wins.

Players: Exactly 4, in one group
Structure: Three six-hole four-ball matches: holes 1 to 6, 7 to 12, 13 to 18
Partners: A+B v C+D, then A+C v B+D, then A+D v B+C
Points: 2 for a segment win, 1 for a half, 0 for a loss
Scoring basis: Net by default, gross as an option
Needs: Every player scoring their own ball

How Sixes works

Four players in one group. The round is cut into three segments of six holes, and each segment is a complete four-ball match: two against two, better ball on every hole, starting all square on the first hole of the segment.

The partnerships rotate so that every player partners each of the other three exactly once. With the players listed as A, B, C and D, holes 1 to 6 are A and B against C and D, holes 7 to 12 are A and C against B and D, and holes 13 to 18 are A and D against B and C. Nothing carries between segments.

On each hole the side with the lower better ball wins the hole and goes one up, a tie halves the hole, and the match ends the moment one side leads by more holes than remain in the segment, exactly as a full match ends at 3 and 2. A segment that reaches its sixth hole still level is halved.

How the points work

Each player finishes with a record of wins, halves and losses over the three segments, one result per segment. The record converts to points and the most points wins the game.

Win a segment: 2 points to each player on the winning side.
Halve a segment: 1 point to each of the four players.
Lose a segment: 0 points.
The maximum is 6, from winning all three segments. Two players with the same points share the position.

Try it

Can we play Sixes in our format?

Derived from the same compatibility rules the scorecard uses, so it cannot drift from the product.

Own ball, individual
Available
Four-ball, best ball, counted scores
Available
Shamble, bramble, cha cha cha
Available
Scramble, foursomes, greensomes, chapman
Needs a score per player; this format keeps one per side

Why groups like it

Sixes fixes the problem with an 18-hole four-ball: one bad pairing and the day is over by the turn. Here the worst case is one lost segment, and everyone plays with everyone, which settles the argument about who partners whom. Because a segment is only six holes, two up is a big lead and three up with three to play ends it, which is why sides that fall behind tend to press, and why the game is also called Hollywood.

How Parful scores it

A member starts Sixes from the group scorecard and picks exactly four players from the same group; Parful refuses any other number. The order the players are listed in sets the rotation, so the first two listed partner each other on holes 1 to 6. Net is the default, using each player's net score on the outing card, and gross can be chosen instead when the game is created.

Every segment is scored by the same four-ball match play engine Parful uses for club matches: better ball per side per hole, and a match that closes as soon as the lead exceeds the holes left in the segment. There is no separate Sixes arithmetic. The standings show each player's wins, halves, losses and points, recomputed on every score, so a corrected score reruns all three segments from hole one.

A segment where either side is missing a score on a hole stops there and stays in progress until the score arrives; Parful never assumes a result. A stake can be attached as a wager; Parful shows who owes whom and never moves money. Sixes needs every player recording their own hole scores, so it is available on individual, four-ball and shamble outings, not on a scramble or alternate shot format.

Worked example

A worked example: all three segments

Ana, Ben, Cal and Dee are listed in that order, so holes 1 to 6 are Ana and Ben against Cal and Dee, 7 to 12 are Ana and Cal against Ben and Dee, and 13 to 18 are Ana and Dee against Ben and Cal. Net scores. The side listed first in each segment is the one whose lead is shown.

Segment	Hole	Ana	Ben	Cal	Dee	Better balls	Match state
Ana+Ben v Cal+Dee	1	4	5	5	4	4 v 4, halved	All square
	2	5	4	5	5	4 v 5, Ana+Ben	Ana+Ben 1 up
	3	3	4	4	4	3 v 4, Ana+Ben	Ana+Ben 2 up
	4	5	5	4	6	5 v 4, Cal+Dee	Ana+Ben 1 up
	5	4	6	4	5	4 v 4, halved	Ana+Ben 1 up
	6	4	4	5	4	4 v 4, halved	Ana+Ben win 1 up: Ana 2, Ben 2
Ana+Cal v Ben+Dee	7	5	4	5	5	5 v 4, Ben+Dee	Ben+Dee 1 up
	8	4	4	3	4	3 v 4, Ana+Cal	All square
	9	5	3	4	5	4 v 3, Ben+Dee	Ben+Dee 1 up
	10	4	4	6	4	4 v 4, halved	Ben+Dee 1 up
	11	5	4	5	6	5 v 4, Ben+Dee	Ben+Dee win 2 and 1: Ben 2, Dee 2
	12	4	4	4	5	Played, not needed	Segment already decided
Ana+Dee v Ben+Cal	13	4	4	4	5	4 v 4, halved	All square
	14	3	4	4	4	3 v 4, Ana+Dee	Ana+Dee 1 up
	15	5	4	5	5	5 v 4, Ben+Cal	All square
	16	4	5	4	4	4 v 4, halved	All square
	17	5	4	6	4	4 v 4, halved	All square
	18	4	5	4	5	4 v 4, halved	Halved: 1 point each

Final: Ben 5 points (2 wins, 1 half), Ana 3 (1 win, 1 half, 1 loss), Dee 3 (1 win, 1 half, 1 loss), Cal 1 (1 half, 2 losses). Ana and Dee share second.

Segment two ended on hole 11: Ben and Dee were 2 up with one hole of the segment left, so the match closed 2 and 1 and hole 12 did not count toward it.
Segment three finished all square after six holes, so all four players took 1 point from it.

Common variants

Round Robin over nine holes: Three-hole segments on a nine-hole round, same rotation. Parful splits whatever the outing's hole count is into thirds, so a nine-hole card gives three three-hole matches.
Points per hole instead of per segment: Some groups count every hole won as a point and total them across the three pairings rather than scoring each six as a match. Parful scores each segment as a match, so this variant is not scored as such.
Stake per segment: A fixed amount per segment win, with halves cancelling. Parful carries a stake as a wager on the overall points; the group settles a per-segment stake between themselves.
Hollywood with automatic presses: A side that goes two down in a segment starts a new bet from that hole. Parful does not score presses inside Sixes.