Four-ball match play
Two against two, each playing their own ball, and the team with the better ball wins the hole.
How it works
Two teams of two, each player with their own ball and their own handicap strokes.
On every hole the teams compare their better net scores. The lower one wins the hole.
Win more holes than are left and the match is over. Level after the last hole, it is halved.
Good to know
- Picking up: if one partner picks up, the other partner's ball decides the hole. If both pick up, the team loses the hole, and if all four pick up, the hole is halved.
- A partner who can't play or leaves early: the other plays on alone, and that ball counts.
A worked round
Each team's better net score wins the hole. The lowest handicap plays off zero, and the others get 90% of the difference between their handicap and the lowest.
The momentTeam B won 15 to go two up with three to play. Team A could only halve 16 and 17, and Team B won 2 and 1.
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Kasper | not played | |||||||||||||||||
| Sam | not played | |||||||||||||||||
| Team A | not played | |||||||||||||||||
| Jordan | not played | |||||||||||||||||
| Ike | not played | |||||||||||||||||
| Team B | not played | |||||||||||||||||
| Match | all square | Team A 1 up | Team A 1 up | all square | all square | Team A 1 up | Team A 1 up | Team A 1 up | all square | Team B 1 up | Team B 1 up | all square | Team B 1 up | Team B 1 up | Team B 2 up | Team B 2 up | Team B 2 up | not played |
| 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 | |||||||||
| Match | all square | Team A 1 up | Team A 1 up | all square | all square | Team A 1 up | Team A 1 up | Team A 1 up | all square |
| Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Kasper | not played | ||||||||
| Sam | not played | ||||||||
| Team A | not played | ||||||||
| Jordan | not played | ||||||||
| Ike | not played | ||||||||
| Team B | not played | ||||||||
| Match | Team B 1 up | Team B 1 up | all square | Team B 1 up | Team B 1 up | Team B 2 up | Team B 2 up | Team B 2 up | not played |
| Hole | Par | Kasper | Sam | Team A | Jordan | Ike | Team B | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | all square | ||||||
| 2 | 4 | Team A 1 up | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | Team A 1 up | ||||||
| 4 | 5 | all square | ||||||
| 5 | 4 | all square | ||||||
| 6 | 3 | Team A 1 up | ||||||
| 7 | 4 | Team A 1 up | ||||||
| 8 | 5 | Team A 1 up | ||||||
| 9 | 4 | all square | ||||||
| 10 | 4 | Team B 1 up | ||||||
| 11 | 4 | Team B 1 up | ||||||
| 12 | 3 | all square | ||||||
| 13 | 5 | Team B 1 up | ||||||
| 14 | 4 | Team B 1 up | ||||||
| 15 | 4 | Team B 2 up | ||||||
| 16 | 3 | Team B 2 up | ||||||
| 17 | 4 | Team B 2 up | ||||||
| 18 | 5 | not played | not played | not played | not played | not played | not played | not played |
- KM
- Kasper
- SP
- Sam
- A
- Team A
- JB
- Jordan
- ID
- Ike
- B
- Team B
- M
- Match
Net scores, each player's handicap strokes already off. A circle marks a birdie and a square a bogey. The Team rows are each team's better score, and a dot marks the hole's winner. The Match row is where the match stands: AS is all square, B2 is Team B two up. 18 was not played.
Handicaps
The lowest handicap plays off zero, and the others get 90% of the difference between their handicap and the lowest. 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.
- Extra holes until there is a winner: turn on Extra holes if all square under More options on the Game step, and the host adds each extra hole from the scoring screen.
- Several four-ball matches as one session of a team cup: choose Four-ball as the session's format when you set up the cup.