Alternate Shot Golf (Foursomes): Rules and How It Works

Alternate shot is a two-person team format where partners share one ball and take turns hitting it. One partner tees off on the odd-numbered holes, the other tees off on the even-numbered holes, and from there the two alternate every shot until the ball is holed. It is also called foursomes, which is the name the Rules of Golf and the Ryder Cup use. The two terms mean the same format.

Because every shot you hit sets up your partner’s next one, alternate shot is more strategic than best ball or four-ball, where each player plays their own ball. Teams that plan around their strengths and the layout of the course have an edge before the first tee shot.

How Alternate Shot Works

Each team plays one ball. Partner A tees off on hole 1, Partner B hits the second shot, A hits the third, and so on until the ball is in the hole. On hole 2, Partner B tees off and the order flips. That odd and even pattern holds for the whole round, no matter who holed out on the previous hole.

Teams usually play it as match play, with each hole won, lost or halved against the other team. It also works as stroke play, where each team keeps one score per hole and the totals are compared against the field.

A common variation is modified alternate shot, sometimes called greensomes. Both partners tee off, the team picks one drive, and the partner whose drive was not chosen hits the second shot. After that the two alternate as usual. It takes some of the pressure off the tee shot. Confirm which version you are playing before the round.

Strategy: Who Tees Off on Which Holes

Partners decide before the first tee who takes the odd holes and who takes the even holes, and that choice is locked in for the round. Teams should make it with the scorecard in hand.

If one player is the better driver and the other is the better iron player, the question is which set of holes has more of the shots that player is best at. Count the par 5s and the long par 4s on the odd holes and on the even holes. The partner who drives better tees off on the set with more long holes. Then count the par 3s. The stronger iron player should be hitting the tee shot on most of the short holes, because every par 3 tee shot is an iron.

A course where the long holes land mostly on the odd numbers makes the decision easy. A course that splits them evenly means the team has to weigh which skill matters more.

Alternate Shot vs Four-Ball

Four-ball and foursomes are the two team formats in the Ryder Cup, and they are easy to mix up. In four-ball, each partner plays their own ball and the better score counts. In foursomes, the two share one ball. The four-ball guide covers the other half of the pairing.

	Four-ball	Alternate shot (foursomes)
Balls per team	Two, one per player	One for the team
Who hits	Both players hit every hole	Partners take turns, every other shot
Tee shots	Both players tee off	One partner per hole, odd or even
Handicaps	Each player’s own, usually reduced	A combined team handicap
Pace	About the pace of regular play	Faster, since only one ball is in play
Pressure	Shared, with a partner to fall back on	Every shot sets up the next player

Best ball is the looser term for the same idea as four-ball, with team sizes beyond two. Neither is the same as alternate shot.

Rules That Change in Alternate Shot

Playing order. Partners must alternate shots, and hitting out of turn is a penalty under Rule 22 of the Rules of Golf. Tell the players the order before the round, and mark it on the scorecard.

Penalty strokes do not change the order. If Partner A hits a ball out of bounds, the penalty stroke is not a shot by either partner, so Partner B plays the next shot from the tee. It is easy to forget in the moment.

Placing the ball. Because each player only hits every other shot, many events let the player place the ball to improve the lie. It is a house rule, so make sure it is on the tee sheet.

Handicaps in Alternate Shot

Alternate shot needs a team handicap, because the team plays one ball. The World Handicap System recommends 50% of the two partners’ combined handicaps for foursomes, which is the same as the average of the two.

For a nine-hole match, halve that number again. The nine-hole team handicap is the average of the two handicaps, divided by two. If Dan is a 12 and Mike is a 20, their average is 16, and their nine-hole handicap is 8.

In match play, the team with the higher handicap gets the difference as strokes, taken on the hardest holes. If Dan and Mike (8) play Steve and Joe, a 10 and a 14 who average 12 and play off 6, Dan and Mike get two strokes. Decide how to round fractions before the round.

Running Alternate Shot for a Large Group

There is less handicap math here than in four-ball. A field of 20 players has 10 teams, so there are 10 team handicaps to calculate, not 20 individual allowances. Match play adds the same bookkeeping as any other match play event: strokes per match and a running status on every hole.

Give teams the course layout early. The strategy only works if players can plan. Send the scorecard or the course name ahead of time, so partners can work out the tee-off split before they arrive.

Write the tee-off order on the scorecard. Pre-mark each card with who tees off on the odd holes. It takes a minute per card and heads off wrong-order shots.

Tell players what they are playing. First-timers will assume it is a scramble or best ball. The format, the tee-off rule and the lie rule should all be on the tee sheet.

How We Run Alternate Shot on the Mulligan Tour

We play alternate shot in the Commissioner Cup (our Ryder Cup format) and the Presidents Cup events. The field is 12 to 20 players, and the matches are nine holes of match play.

Because the matches are nine holes, we convert the handicaps. We take both teammates’ individual handicaps, average them, and divide by two again to get a nine-hole team handicap.

Don’t apologize for a bad shot

In my first alternate shot event I was nervous, because every shot I hit put my partner in a spot. I didn’t want to leave him in a bad one. For the first three holes I apologized after almost every shot.

Then my partner pulled me aside. He said, “Don’t ever apologize for a bad shot. You are going to put me in bad spots and I’m going to put you in bad spots. Apologizing doesn’t change it. This is golf, it is what it is.”

Running Alternate Shot in LeaderBoard Caddie

Alternate shot is one of the formats in LeaderBoard Caddie’s format dropdown, for teams or individuals. The features page lists the full set of formats.

FAQ

Is alternate shot the same as foursomes? Yes. Foursomes is the name used in the Rules of Golf, the Ryder Cup and most of the world. Alternate shot is the more common name in the United States.

What happens if a ball is lost or out of bounds? The shot still counts as a turn for the partner who hit it. The penalty stroke does not. The other partner plays the next shot, from the spot of the previous shot.

Is alternate shot faster than four-ball? Usually, yes. Each team has one ball in play, so there is less searching and less waiting.

Can you play alternate shot as stroke play? Yes. Each team keeps one score per hole, and the totals are compared against the field. The same combined handicap applies.

What is modified alternate shot? Both players tee off and the team chooses one drive. The player whose drive was not chosen hits the second shot, and the team alternates from there. It is also called greensomes.