Foursomes
Foursomes is golf played by two partners sharing one ball and taking alternate strokes. It can be played as match play or stroke play. Each player leaves the next shot to the same partner, from the drive through the final putt.1
Foursomes
One shared ball
| Stroke | Partner |
|---|---|
| 1 | A |
| 2 | B |
| 3 | A |
| 4 | B |
4 strokes
B tees off next.
In an example without penalties, A drives, B plays the second shot, A plays the third, and B holes the fourth. The side scores four. B then tees off on the next hole: the partners alternate who starts each hole, regardless of who made the last stroke on the previous one.1
Penalty strokes count in the score but do not change whose turn it is to play. If A hits into a penalty area and the side takes one penalty stroke for relief, B makes the next stroke. The penalty does not use up B's turn.1
Foursomes asks the partners to work with a shared ball. In four-ball, by comparison, each plays a separate ball and the lower score counts on each hole. The two names describe different forms of partnership golf.12
The first Ryder Cup, played at Worcester Country Club in 1927, included four foursomes matches and eight singles matches. Foursomes was already part of that competition's structure; the date records its use there, rather than an invention of the format.3
At a glance
Sources
- The R&AFoursomes (Also Known as Alternate Shot)
- The R&AFour-Ball
- Ryder CupHow the Ryder Cup was different in 1927