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Blind Nine:
Blind Nine is a variation of stroke play tournament for individual players or teams. All competitors play the 18-hole round as usual. After the round, the tournament committee (or a designated person) randomly selects nine holes (out of the 18) to count towards the final score. This is typically determined by a random selection process, either by a random number generator, a manual draw, or by selecting a specific number of par-3s, par-4s, and par-5s.
The most important element of this format is that the selected nine holes are not revealed to the players until the end of their rounds.
The lowest total net or gross score of the selected nine holes wins. Full or partial (e.g. 1/2) handicaps may be applied to determine a net score.
Other names: Blind Holes, Mystery Nine, Surprise Nine, Hidden Nine, Secret Nine.
Another format similar to Blind Nine (three randomly discarded holes):
- Three Blind Mice (Lucky 15) – the lowest total score of the 15 remaining holes wins.