Club glossary
What Is Four-Ball in Golf?
A form of play in which two partners each play their own ball and the lower of their scores on each hole is the side's score, in match or stroke play.
Four-ball is a form of play in which two partners compete as a side, each playing their own ball, and the lower of the two partners' scores on each hole counts as the side's score. It can be played as match play — one side against another, hole by hole — or as stroke play, where each side's hole scores are totaled. It is covered by Rule 23 of the Rules of Golf and is the most common format for member-guest events and club team competitions.
How it works
Each player plays the hole as they would individually. If one partner makes a 4 and the other a 6, the side scores 4. Partners may play in whatever order they choose, and a player may pick up once their score can no longer help the side. In handicap competitions, each player's net score on the hole is compared, and the lower net score counts.
Four-ball is sometimes loosely called "better ball" or "best ball". Strictly, best ball describes a player against the better ball of two or three others; four-ball is two against two.
Handicap allowances
Because a side only counts its better score, giving each player their full Course Handicap™ would favor higher-handicap players. The Rules of Handicapping recommend these handicap allowances for 18 holes:
| Format | Recommended allowance |
|---|---|
| Four-ball stroke play | 85% of Course Handicap |
| Four-ball match play | 90% of Course Handicap |
| Four-ball Stableford | 85% of Course Handicap |
In four-ball match play, the player with the lowest Playing Handicap™ plays off zero and the other three receive the difference, allocated by the stroke index on the scorecard. The USGA publishes the full table in Appendix C of the Rules of Handicapping.
Example
A four-ball match: Side A has Course Handicaps of 6 and 14; Side B has 10 and 18. At 90%, the Playing Handicaps are 5, 13, 9 and 16. The lowest player plays off zero, so the other players receive 8, 4 and 11 strokes respectively. On the stroke-index 1 hole, all three receive a stroke.
Why it matters at a private club
Four-ball is the backbone of club team golf — member-guests, member-members, round robins and interclub matches. Getting allowances and stroke allocation right by hand is error-prone across a field of 60 teams; live scoring that applies them automatically lets the committee post results minutes after the last putt.
Related terms
In Bubs: four-ball is a built-in format in tournaments & scoring, with allowances and stroke allocation applied per player and results updated live as scores are entered.