What is a Foursome?
Foursome, also called alternate shot, is the classic and most demanding team format. The team shares a single ball and plays alternate shots. That means you have to trust your partner, because you always play the position they leave behind. Few formats create the same togetherness, or the same nerves over a short putt. There is a reason Foursome is one of the formats in the Ryder Cup.
How to play a Foursome
- Decide who tees off on the odd holes and who takes the evens.
- After the tee shot your partner plays the next stroke.
- You alternate shot by shot, putts included, until the ball is holed.
- The team has one score per hole, that of the shared ball.
How it is worked out
Two teams meet, either as a match hole by hole or on the total. Because each team only has one ball, every shot matters — a missed tee shot punishes your partner immediately.
The team handicap in Foursome stroke play is 50 per cent of the sum of the partners' course handicaps.
Tactics: who tees off where
Choosing who tees off on the odd and even holes is the most important decision in a Foursome. Look at the course in advance: do you want your longest player on the par 5 tees and the straightest on the tight par 4s? Think about the par 3s too, where whoever tees off is also hitting the green. Give those to whoever is steadiest with the irons. A well-considered split can be worth several shots over a round.
Foursome, Greensome or Four-Ball?
Three formats often get confused. In a Foursome only one of you tees off and you share a ball. In a Greensome both tee off, you pick the better drive and then share a ball. In Four-Ball everyone plays their own ball the whole way. Foursome is therefore the purest shared game, and the most demanding.
Wager Golf keeps track of whose turn it is to tee off, works out the team allowance and decides the match for you.
Common mistakes
- Not planning who tees off where. Split the odd and even holes to suit you — who is steadiest on the par 3s, who is longest on the par 5s. It can be worth several shots.
- Apologising for every miss. In a Foursome you always play your partner's position. Dwell on the mistakes and you will both lose focus. Play on, the next shot is yours.
