Four-ball
Four-ball is a partnership format in which each of two partners plays a separate ball. The side uses the lower score on each hole. It can be played as match play or stroke play, with handicap strokes applied when the competition uses net scoring.1
Four-ball
Two separate balls
| Hole | A | B | Counts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 6 | 4 |
| 2 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
7 strokes
4 + 3 count for the side.
Take a scratch example, with no handicap strokes. On the first hole, A scores four and B scores six, so the side records four. On the second, A scores five and B scores three, so three counts. The side's two-hole stroke-play total is seven.1
One partner can complete a hole for the side. If that player holes out, the other partner does not have to finish. In a match, a hole can also be settled by a concession or by the opposing side already having won it.1
The stroke-play scorecard must identify whose score is entered on each hole. It needs at least one partner's gross score, even in a handicap competition. The Committee applies the handicaps and determines which score counts. An anonymous score for the pair is not sufficient.1
Each partner keeps playing their own ball. That separates four-ball from foursomes, where the partners take alternate strokes at one ball. In the example above, either player can supply the counting score from hole to hole without any required alternation.12
At a glance
Sources
- The R&AFour-Ball
- The R&AFoursomes (Also Known as Alternate Shot)