The first time I played a four-ball club competition, I made a 7 on a par-4 in the third round — a sand wedge to within four feet, then completely losing the handle on a tap-in. My partner calmly rolled in a 15-footer for par, and the hole went in the column as a win. Four-ball is the only format in golf where one player can absolutely fall apart on a hole and the team still walks away with a point. That’s why it’s addictive, why it suits almost every skill level, and why it’s been the centerpiece of the Ryder Cup for decades.
Quick Answer: Four-ball is a 2v2 golf format where all four players each play their own ball throughout the round. The lowest score from each team counts on every hole. In match play, the team that wins the most holes wins the match. In stroke play, teams add up those low scores over 18 holes. It’s also called “better ball” or “best ball.”
Why Four Balls? The Name Has a 118-Year-Old History
The name trips people up because it sounds like a four-person game. It isn’t. Four-ball specifically describes a two-versus-two format — and the “four balls” refers to the four individual balls in play during a match, one per player.
The R&A put it in the Rule Book in 1908. That first codified version covered only match play. The stroke play version of the format didn’t receive its own official rules until 1952, which is why you’ll still find more four-ball match play competition than stroke play at the club level. Both versions exist today under Rule 23 of the Rules of Golf, jointly administered by the R&A and the USGA.
It’s also sometimes called better ball, best ball, or 4BBB (four-ball better ball). All three terms describe the same thing. “Four-ball” is the official term in the Rules of Golf. “Better ball” is what most club golfers say on a Saturday morning. Use whichever one gets you on the course.
How Four-Ball Scoring Works: The Only Number That Matters Is the Lower One
Both players on a team play their own ball from tee to hole on every single hole. Once both players have completed the hole, the team takes the lower of the two scores — that’s the team’s score for that hole. The higher score gets thrown out entirely.
Here’s a concrete example. Team A is made up of Jack and Maria. Jack makes a double-bogey 6 on a par-4. Maria makes a birdie 3. Team A’s score for that hole: 3. Jack’s 6 never happened as far as the scorecard is concerned. On the other side, Team B — let’s say Paul and Sarah — both make 4. Their score: 4. Team A wins the hole on Maria’s birdie.
That’s the whole format. Run that logic across 18 holes in stroke play, add up the team totals, lowest wins. In match play, track who wins more holes.
When Your Partner Doesn’t Finish the Hole
The USGA is explicit about this: a player does not need to complete the hole in four-ball. Once one partner has a score lower than the other team can possibly beat, the second partner can pick up their ball. No penalty. No recording an X on the scorecard. The team just moves on.
The exception: in match play, a player cannot continue playing a hole after their next stroke has been conceded, if completing the hole would help their partner’s score. If they do play anyway, their score stands — but the partner’s score can’t count for the team on that hole.
The 14-Club Rule Nobody Talks About
Here’s the rule that surprises almost everyone. Under the Rules of Golf, partners in four-ball can share clubs, as long as the combined total across both bags doesn’t exceed 14. So you could legally carry 10 clubs and your partner 4, or any other combination that totals 14 or fewer. In a casual round this doesn’t matter. In a tournament, it does — and the penalty for exceeding 14 combined clubs is loss of hole in match play (maximum two holes) or two strokes per hole in stroke play (maximum four strokes).
Four-Ball Match Play vs. Stroke Play — What Changes (And What Doesn’t)
The same core rule applies in both versions: lower score of the two partners counts. But the playing experience is completely different.
In match play, you compete hole by hole. Win more holes than your opponents and you win the match. A team wins a hole when their better ball score beats the other team’s better ball score. If both teams score the same, the hole is halved. The match ends when one team has won enough holes that the other can’t catch up — you’ll hear scorers say “3 and 2,” meaning one team led by 3 holes with 2 left to play.
In stroke play, there’s no hole-by-hole battle. Both teams complete all 18 holes, take the better score on each, add them up, and compare totals at the end. Lowest aggregate wins.
The other key difference: order of play. In match play, the team furthest from the hole plays first — but four-ball has a specific exception. Partners can choose to play in whatever order they think is strategically best. If the closer player has the safer shot, they can go first to put pressure on the opposition. That tactical flexibility doesn’t exist in foursomes.
| Feature | Four-Ball Match Play | Four-Ball Stroke Play |
|---|---|---|
| Scoring method | Hole-by-hole (better ball vs. better ball) | Cumulative total (18-hole better ball score) |
| Match ends when | One team can’t close the gap | All 18 holes complete |
| Handicap allowance (WHS) | 90% of Course Handicap | 85% of Course Handicap |
| Order of play | Partners choose optimal order | Partners choose optimal order |
| Partner can skip finishing hole | Yes | Yes |
Four-Ball vs. Foursomes vs. Best Ball: Stop Confusing These Three
These three terms get tangled together constantly. The table below settles it.
| Format | Players | Balls in Play | Each Player Hits? | Score Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Four-ball (better ball) | 4 (2 teams of 2) | 4 | Yes — own ball all round | Lower of the two partner scores |
| Foursomes (alternate shot) | 4 (2 teams of 2) | 2 | Alternate shots on shared ball | Full team score on the hole |
| Scramble | 2–4 players | Multiple → selected down to 1 | Yes — from best ball position | Team’s best shot on every stroke |
| Best ball (individual) | 3–4 players | 3–4 | Yes — own ball all round | Lowest score of the group per hole |
The column that clarifies everything: balls in play per team. Four-ball uses two balls per team (one each). Foursomes uses one ball per team. A scramble starts with multiple balls but collapses to one position on every shot. Best ball with a larger group of 3–4 is the closest thing to four-ball — the scoring logic is identical, just with more players.
Four-ball and foursomes are both in the Ryder Cup. Foursomes is the more demanding format — one bad shot can wreck the entire hole for the team because the partner has to hit from wherever the ball lands. Four-ball cushions poor shots completely. That’s why watching Ryder Cup four-ball tends to produce more birdies and more drama.
Handicap Allowances in Four-Ball: The 85% and 90% Numbers You Need to Know
The World Handicap System (WHS) applies different allowances to four-ball depending on whether you’re playing match play or stroke play. Most golfers don’t know these figures exist, let alone what they are.
Four-ball stroke play: 85% of Course Handicap. If your Handicap Index converts to a Course Handicap of 16 on the course you’re playing, your playing handicap for a four-ball stroke play competition is 16 × 0.85 = 13.6, which rounds to 14. Your partner does the same calculation independently.
Four-ball match play: 90% of Course Handicap. The lowest-handicap player among the four receives zero strokes. Every other player’s handicap allocation is the difference between their course handicap and that lowest handicap, multiplied by 90%.
Example: Four players with Course Handicaps of 4, 9, 11, and 13. The 4-handicap receives 0 strokes. The 9-handicap: (9 – 4) × 0.90 = 4.5, rounded to 5. The 11-handicap: (11 – 4) × 0.90 = 6.3, rounded to 6. The 13-handicap: (13 – 4) × 0.90 = 8.1, rounded to 8.
The reason stroke play uses a lower allowance (85% vs. 90%) is that carrying your partner on a bad hole is significantly easier across 18 holes than hole by hole in match play. The WHS adjusts accordingly.
What Is Modified Four-Ball in Golf?
Modified four-ball is a variation of the standard format in which the scoring method on each hole is adjusted from simply taking the best score. The most visible version in professional golf appears at the Grant Thornton Invitational, a mixed-team event on the PGA Tour and LPGA Tour.
The standard four-ball rule still applies — each player plays their own ball — but “modified” formats change how the two scores combine. In the Grant Thornton Invitational’s final round, both players’ scores contribute to the team total in a defined way rather than simply discarding the higher score. The exact modification can vary by event, which is why you’ll see different descriptions in different contexts.
At the club level, a modified four-ball might mean both scores count but the higher score carries a weight reduction (e.g., the better score counts fully, the worse score counts at 50%). The core purpose is the same: create a more balanced competition where both players feel accountable on every hole, rather than one player carrying the other with a single great score.
If you’re setting up a modified four-ball for your club, agree on the modification before the first tee. The most common amateur version: better score counts fully, higher score counts as half a stroke per hole.
Four-Ball Strategy: How to Actually Win
Four-ball isn’t just “play well and you’ll be fine.” The format creates specific tactical decisions that exist nowhere else in golf – and the teams that understand them win more often.
Picking the Right Partner
The best four-ball partnerships are not two scratch players. They’re two players whose games cover each other’s weaknesses. A bomber who hits it 280 but occasionally makes double bogeys pairs beautifully with a short hitter who rarely misses fairways and never makes worse than bogey. The bomber provides the birdies; the consistent player provides the floor.
Don’t pair two risk-takers together. When both players go for it on the same risky hole and both find the bunker, the safety net disappears entirely. The best four-ball teams I’ve played against have always had one “guardian” and one “attacker.” The guardian ensures the team posts something decent; the attacker goes after birdies knowing the partner’s got their back.
The Order of Play Is a Weapon, Not a Formality
Most amateur fourballs ignore the most powerful tactical tool in the format: choosing who plays first on each shot. The rules allow partners to play in any order they choose. This matters enormously on approach shots and puts.
The standard move: if one player is in trouble (deep rough, behind a tree, difficult lie), let them play first. If they rescue the hole, the partner can attack. If they compound the trouble, the partner plays conservatively to secure par. You’ve preserved the team score without sacrificing a birdie opportunity.
On the green: if one player has a 6-foot birdie putt and the partner has a 12-foot par putt, have the par player go first. If they make the par, the birdie putt becomes a true bonus — miss it and you still win the hole. If the birdie putt goes first and misses, the pressure on the 12-footer becomes enormous.
Think of it as the “safe then attack” sequence on difficult holes, and “attack then safe” on easy ones. No other format in golf gives you this level of sequencing control.
Four-Ball in the Ryder Cup: The Format Europe Has Dominated for 40 Years
Quick Ryder Cup four-ball answer: In the Ryder Cup, four-ball is a match play format where each team’s better ball score competes hole-by-hole against the other team’s better ball. Eight of the 28 matches are four-ball sessions (four matches per session across Day 1 and Day 2). The team with the most Ryder Cup points wins.
The numbers don’t lie on this one. Since 1983, Europe has won 88.5 four-ball points in the Ryder Cup against 71.5 for the United States. That’s a 17-point differential over four decades — and it’s not an accident. European captain strategies have consistently prioritized building four-ball pairings around high-ceiling birdies rather than steady, managed play.
At the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, Tommy Fleetwood was the top overall scorer with 4 points — and he achieved that by going unbeaten in all four of his four-ball matches, pairing with Rory McIlroy in two sessions and Justin Rose in two more. Europe also won the cumulative four-ball battle at Bethpage, the first time they’d done that on American soil since 2010.
The format suits the European team’s historical approach for a specific reason: four-ball rewards risk-taking. When one player can carry the team on a hole, captains can pair an aggressive attacker with a steadying partner and let the attacker swing freely. European captains have deployed this pairing philosophy more successfully than their American counterparts for most of the modern era.
It’s not that American players are worse at four-ball — Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, and Cameron Young can all make birdies in bulk. The difference is in how the format’s risk-reward structure has historically aligned with European team dynamics. Singles, by contrast, is where the Americans hold the edge: 122.5 to 117.5 in singles points since 1983.
Frequently Asked Questions
In the Ryder Cup, four-ball is one of three match play formats alongside foursomes and singles. Two-player teams from each side compete hole-by-hole, with each player playing their own ball. The team whose member posts the lower score wins the hole. The Ryder Cup uses two sessions of four four-ball matches across the first two days, worth 8 points total.
Each hole is worth one point. Both players on Team A complete the hole; both on Team B do the same. Compare the best score from each team. Lower score wins the hole. If both teams’ best scores are equal, the hole is halved. A team wins the match when they’ve won enough holes that the other team can’t catch them (e.g., “3 and 2” means leading by 3 with 2 holes left).
They’re the same scoring concept. “Four-ball” is the official term in the Rules of Golf (Rule 23). “Best ball” and “better ball” are informal terms for the same format — each player plays their own ball, the better score of the two counts. The distinction occasionally matters: “best ball” can sometimes refer to a larger group (3 or 4 players) where the single lowest score counts. “Four-ball” specifically means a two-versus-two match.
Modified four-ball uses the same setup as standard four-ball — two teams of two, each player plays their own ball — but changes how the two partners’ scores combine on each hole. Instead of simply taking the better score, a modified version might average both scores, or count the better score fully and the worse score at 50%. It’s most visible at the Grant Thornton Invitational on tour. At the club level, the modification is defined before the round by the competition organizers.
The Bottom Line on Four-Ball
Four-ball is the most forgiving serious format in golf – not because it’s easy, but because it builds a safety net into the structure. One player can fall apart on a hole and the team survives. One player can make a birdie and the team wins a hole they had no business winning. That combination of individual accountability and team cushion is why it works across skill levels, why it produces the best theater in the Ryder Cup, and why weekend golfers have been playing it since 1908.
The format rewards three things specifically: picking the right partner, using the order of play tactically, and knowing when to attack versus when to protect the team score. Master those and four-ball becomes less of a gamble and more of a repeatable strategy. The 85%/90% handicap allowances mean it also plays fair – even when the skill gap between partners is significant. Get a group of four together, sort out the teams, and you’re set.