Four-ball stroke play
Partners each play their own ball, and the better score on each hole counts for the team.
How it works
Teams of two, each player with their own ball and their own handicap strokes.
On every hole the team counts its better net score.
The lowest team total wins. Teams with the same score on every hole share the place. Otherwise the tie is broken hole by hole, from the hardest hole to the easiest, net in a net game, and the lower team score wins. The host can choose the last holes or a shared place instead.
Good to know
- Also called better ball.
- Both partners pick up: the team has no score for that hole, so no total for the round.
- If the host chooses the last holes, in a shotgun start the last nine means holes 10 to 18, whatever order you played them in.
- On a nine-hole round, the nine holes played are compared hardest first, and the last-holes choice uses the last 6, 3 and 1.
A worked round
Each team counts its better net score, everyone getting 85% of their handicap.
The momentThe teams were level with three to play. Jordan made 2 on 16 and 4 on the par 5 18th, and Team B won by two.
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 72 |
| Kasper | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sam | |||||||||||||||||||
| Team A | 69 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Jordan | |||||||||||||||||||
| Ike | |||||||||||||||||||
| Team B | 67 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | |
| Kasper | ||||||||||
| Sam | ||||||||||
| Team A | ||||||||||
| Jordan | ||||||||||
| Ike | ||||||||||
| Team B |
| Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 72 |
| Kasper | ||||||||||
| Sam | ||||||||||
| Team A | 69 | |||||||||
| Jordan | ||||||||||
| Ike | ||||||||||
| Team B | 67 |
| Hole | Par | Kasper | Sam | Team A | Jordan | Ike | Team B |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | ||||||
| 2 | 4 | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | ||||||
| 4 | 5 | ||||||
| 5 | 4 | ||||||
| 6 | 3 | ||||||
| 7 | 4 | ||||||
| 8 | 5 | ||||||
| 9 | 4 | ||||||
| 10 | 4 | ||||||
| 11 | 4 | ||||||
| 12 | 3 | ||||||
| 13 | 5 | ||||||
| 14 | 4 | ||||||
| 15 | 4 | ||||||
| 16 | 3 | ||||||
| 17 | 4 | ||||||
| 18 | 5 | ||||||
| Total | 72 | 69 | 67 |
- KM
- Kasper
- SP
- Sam
- A
- Team A
- JB
- Jordan
- ID
- Ike
- B
- Team B
Net scores, each player's handicap strokes already off. A circle marks a birdie and a square a bogey. The Team A and Team B rows are each team's better score, the one that counts, and the Total column adds them up.
Handicaps
Players get 85% of their handicap. The host can change the percentage when setting up.
Why that number? Each format has its own usual handicap allowance, set so a 20 and a 5 both have a fair shot.
House variations
Other ways to play it.
- A scratch game: set the handicap percentage to 0 when setting up.
- Teams of four: see Best balls of four.