Team Golf Formats Explained

Scramble

Everyone tees off, the team picks the best shot, and all players play their next from that spot. Repeat until the ball is holed. One team score per hole.

It is the format for charity days and corporate outings because nobody is exposed — a beginner can hit six poor shots and it costs the team nothing. It is also fast, which is why organisers love it.

Common allowance: a fraction of each player’s course handicap combined, often 25/20/15/10% for a four-person team.

Shamble

Everyone tees off and the team takes the best drive. From there, every player plays their own ball to the hole, and the team takes the best one or two scores.

It is a middle ground: the good drive removes the fear of the tee shot, but everybody still plays real golf. Groups who find scrambles too artificial usually settle on this.

Best ball (fourball)

Every player plays their own ball for the whole hole, and the team score is the lowest of them. In match play this is a fourball; in stroke play it is often called best ball.

It is the truest team format in the sense that everyone plays a full round of their own golf. It is also the slowest, since nobody picks up.

Standard allowance is 90% of course handicap, with all players reduced by the lowest so the best player is off scratch.

Alternate shot (foursomes)

Two players, one ball, hitting alternate shots — including alternating tee shots, one on the odds and one on the evens, for the whole round.

It is the most demanding and the most social, because every shot you hit determines what your partner faces. It is fast, and it is unforgiving of a bad patch.

Allowance: 50% of the combined course handicaps of the two partners.

Chapman / Pinehurst

Both players tee off, then they swap balls and each plays the other’s second shot. They then select one ball and finish it alternate shot.

It softens alternate shot considerably — you always get a tee shot and a second shot in play — while keeping the shared-ball tension. Popular for member-guests.

Which should your group play?

Wide range of abilities and a fixed finish time: scramble. Wide range but people want to play their own ball: shamble. Similar abilities and no time pressure: best ball. Two players who want a proper test: alternate shot or Chapman.

The National Golf Foundation found that 72% of core golfers would play in more team events if more were available, and that camaraderie rather than competition is the main draw for about two thirds of them. The format matters less than the fact that it is a team event at all.

Scoring team formats

Go Live Golf currently scores individual formats — Wolf, skins, Nassau, Stableford and quota — with handicap strokes applied automatically, and settles the money at the end.

Team formats are a natural extension of the same engine, since best ball is simply the lowest net score on a side. If your group runs a regular team game, tell us which format and we will look at it.

Choosing a format for your event

Fixed finish time and mixed abilities — scramble. It is the fastest format and nobody is embarrassed. You want people to play their own ball but keep the pace — shamble. The best drive removes the tee-shot fear. Similar handicaps, competitive group — best ball. Everyone plays a real round. Two players, a proper test, and time — foursomes or Chapman.

The number of players decides more than anything else: scrambles and shambles want fours, foursomes and Chapman want twos.

Handicap allowances at a glance

• Scramble (4 players): a fractional blend, often 25/20/15/10% of each player’s course handicap
• Shamble: commonly 90% of course handicap, best two scores counting
• Fourball / best ball: 90% of course handicap, all reduced by the lowest
• Foursomes: 50% of the partners’ combined course handicaps
• Chapman: commonly 60% of the low handicap plus 40% of the high

These are the widely used recommendations rather than immutable rules. A club competition will publish its own; a society day should just pick one and tell everybody before the shotgun.

Keep reading

Frequently asked questions