How Team Golf Works: A Guide To Popular Formats

Ever wondered how to make a round of golf more collaborative and strategic? If you’re tired of the solitary pressure of individual stroke play, understanding how team golf works is your key to a more dynamic and engaging experience on the course. Many players are unsure of the different formats, rules, and strategies that turn golf into a true team sport.

Team golf involves multiple players working together for a single team score. These formats are popular because they foster camaraderie, encourage strategic thinking, and often result in lower scores and faster rounds than traditional individual play.

This comprehensive guide, based on an analysis of official rules and popular tournament structures, will break down everything you need to know. We’ll explore the most common team formats like Scramble and Four-Ball, dive into the high-tech future with the TGL, and clarify the key rules that govern team competition. Get ready to transform your next golf outing.

Key Facts

Modern Scoring Innovation: The TGL’s “Modern Match Play” format assigns one point per hole, with no carryovers for ties, creating a fast-paced, hole-by-hole competition.

Advice is Encouraged: In formats like Four-Ball, partners are explicitly allowed to give each other advice, a key strategic element not permitted in individual play, according to rules cited by the USGA.

Designed for Lower Scores: The Scramble format, popular in charity events, is specifically designed to produce lower team scores by allowing players to always play from the best shot, mitigating the impact of poor individual shots.

The Ultimate Partnership Test: Foursomes, or alternate shot, is considered a true test of teamwork as partners must play a single ball, alternating shots throughout the hole.

Strategic Concessions: A crucial element in match play formats is the concession, where a player or team can strategically “give” an opponent a putt or even an entire hole at any time to move the match along or apply pressure.

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What Is Team Golf and Why Is It Popular?

At its core, team golf is any format of the game where multiple players work together to produce a collective team score for a hole or an entire round. This stands in stark contrast to traditional individual stroke play, where every golfer is on their own, counting every single shot to achieve the lowest possible total score. Team golf shifts the focus from individual survival to collective strategy and support.

The popularity of team golf, a principle recognized by organizations like the PGA, stems from several key benefits that enhance the golfing experience for players of all skill levels. These formats introduce a social and strategic layer that simply doesn’t exist when you’re playing alone.

Here’s why so many golfers are drawn to team formats:

👥 Fosters Camaraderie: Playing as a team builds a strong sense of partnership. You celebrate great shots together and pick each other up after poor ones, removing some of the intense personal pressure of the game.
🧠 Encourages Strategic Thinking: Team formats require you to think beyond your own ball. You might play more aggressively knowing your partner is in a safe position, or play conservatively to ensure the team posts a score.
🔻 Leads to Lower Scores: Formats like the Scramble are specifically designed to produce low scores, as the team can capitalize on the best shots from multiple players. This makes the game more enjoyable, especially for higher-handicap players.
&#⏱️; Speeds Up Pace of Play: Many team formats, particularly those where a player can be “out” of a hole without consequence (like Four-Ball), can lead to quicker rounds as not every player needs to hole out on every hole.

Common Team Golf Formats Explained: Scramble, Four-Ball, and Foursomes

The three most common team golf formats are the Scramble (all players hit from the team’s best shot), Four-Ball (partners play their own ball, taking the best score per hole), and Foursomes (partners hit the same ball alternately). Each offers a unique blend of strategy, teamwork, and fun, making them staples at club events, charity tournaments, and even the highest levels of professional competition. As noted by sources like the USGA and PGA.com, understanding the distinct rules of each is key to enjoying the game.

Which of these formats sounds best for your next weekend round? Let’s break down how each one works.

How a Golf Scramble Works

In a scramble, all players hit, the team chooses the best shot, and everyone plays their next shot from that location until the ball is in the hole. This format is a favorite for charity and corporate outings because it allows players of all abilities to contribute to the team’s success and virtually guarantees low scores and a fun, low-pressure environment.

Quick Fact: Scrambles are designed to produce low scores, making them perfect for players of all skill levels to contribute and have fun!

Here’s the step-by-step process for playing a scramble, which typically involves teams of two to four players:

Everyone Tees Off: Each player on the team hits a tee shot.
Select the Best Drive: The team walks or drives up to the balls and decides which single tee shot is in the best position. The other balls are picked up.
Everyone Hits from the Best Spot: All players on the team place their ball within one club-length of the selected shot’s location (but no closer to the hole) and play their second shot from there.
Repeat the Process: This “select the best shot” process continues for every shot—drives, approach shots, chips, and putts—until one player’s ball is holed. The team records one score for the hole.

While the fundamental Rules of Golf from the USGA still apply to things like hazards, event organizers often add local rules. It’s common for tournaments to sell a mulligan, which is a “do-over” shot that a player can use to replay a bad shot without penalty.

Pro Tip: A common scramble strategy involves deciding the order of play. Often, the weaker or less consistent players will hit first to ensure a “safe” shot is in play. This frees up the team’s best players to hit more aggressively, trying for a spectacular result without the risk of putting the team in a bad position.

Understanding Four-Ball (Better Ball)

Four-Ball is a two-person team format where each golfer plays their own ball, and the team records the best of the two scores on each hole. Also known as “Better Ball,” this format masterfully blends individual play with team strategy and is famously used in high-stakes competitions like the Ryder Cup, a detail often highlighted by sources like USA Today.

In Four-Ball, you are competing as a pair, but you are still responsible for playing your own ball from tee to green. If Player A makes a 4 and Player B makes a 5 on a hole, the team’s score is a 4. If Player A makes an 8 but Player B makes a 4, the team still scores a 4.

Key rules that define the Four-Ball format include:

✅ Play Your Own Ball: Each partner plays their own golf ball throughout the round. Only one partner needs to complete the hole for the team to record a score.
✅ Lower Score Counts: The team’s score for the hole is the lower of the two partners’ scores (either gross or net, depending on the competition).
✅ Advice is Allowed: According to USGA guidelines for this format, partners are allowed to give each other advice during the round, such as what club to hit or how a putt will break.
✅ Flexible Order of Play: Unlike individual stroke play, a team can decide its own order of play. The player who is in a worse position doesn’t necessarily have to hit first.

Pro Tip: Since you can decide your own order of play, have the player who is ‘out’ of the hole putt first to give their partner a read on the green. This strategic advantage can be the difference between winning and losing a hole in match play.

How Foursomes (Alternate Shot) Works

In Foursomes, two partners hit the same ball on alternate shots. One partner tees off on all odd-numbered holes, and the other tees off on all even-numbered holes. This format, often referred to simply as “Alternate Shot,” is a true test of partnership and consistency. There is no hiding in Foursomes; your partner has to play from wherever you hit the ball, and vice versa.

The rhythm of Foursomes is simple but demanding. As noted by golf authorities like Golf Monthly, the structure requires immense trust and a complementary skillset between partners.

Here’s how the sequence works on a typical hole:

Player A tees off on hole 1 (an odd-numbered hole).
Player B hits the second shot from where Player A’s drive landed.
Player A hits the third shot.
This alternation continues until the ball is holed. On hole 2 (an even-numbered hole), Player B would hit the tee shot, and the sequence would continue.

This format truly tests a partnership! Who would you trust to be your Foursomes partner? The pressure is constant, as a poor shot not only affects your score but also puts your teammate in a difficult position for their next shot. Strategy begins before the round even starts, with teams deciding who will tee off on the odd holes and who will take the even ones based on the course layout and each player’s strengths.

The Future of Team Golf: Understanding the TGL Format

TGL is a modern team golf league featuring point-based “Modern Match Play” across two sessions: a 9-hole, 3-vs-3 alternate shot “Triples” session, followed by a 6-hole head-to-head “Singles” session. This innovative league, backed by TMRW Sports, blends advanced technology with live action in a custom-built arena, creating a fast-paced and fan-friendly version of team golf.

According to the official rules published by TGL Golf, the format is designed for excitement, with a shot clock, unique strategic elements, and a clear scoring system. The competition unfolds across two distinct sessions within a 15-hole match.

Session	Format	Holes
Session 1	Triples (3 vs. 3 Alternate Shot)	9 Holes (1-9)
Session 2	Singles (1 vs. 1 Head-to-Head)	6 Holes (10-15)

The scoring system is called “Modern Match Play,” where each hole is worth one point. The team that wins the hole gets the point, and ties (or “pushes”) result in zero points with no carryovers. The high-tech playing environment features a “ScreenZone”, where players hit long shots into a massive simulator screen, and a “GreenZone”, a real-world, tech-infused short game complex where the putting surface can change its slope and contours.

With innovations like the Shot Clock and the “Hammer,” do you think TGL is the future of televised golf? It certainly redefines how team golf can be played and consumed.

Session 1: Triples (3 vs. 3 Alternate Shot)

Triples is a 3-vs-3 alternate shot format where each player tees off on three specific, pre-assigned holes over a nine-hole session. This unique structure ensures all three players on a team are fully integrated into the alternate shot flow, with a balanced number of tee shots.

The rotation is predetermined to ensure fairness and strategic variety. According to TGL’s official format, each player tees off on a par 3, a par 4, and a par 5 during the session. The teeing assignments are set as follows:

🏌 Player 1 tees off on holes 1, 4, and 7.
🏌 Player 2 tees off on holes 2, 5, and 8.
🏌 Player 3 tees off on holes 3, 6, and 9.

After the tee shot, the two teammates who did not hit the drive will play the alternate shots until the ball is holed.

Session 2: Singles (Head-to-Head)

TGL’s Singles session features six holes of one-on-one match play, with each of the three team members playing two designated holes against a specific opponent. This session brings individual matchups to the forefront, as each player must win their designated holes to contribute to the team’s point total.

The matchups are structured across the final six holes of the match (holes 10-15). Each player from one team is paired against a player from the opposing team for two holes each, ensuring every player participates equally in the Singles session.

Player	Plays Holes	Against Opponent
Player 1	Holes 10 & 13	Opponent 1
Player 2	Holes 11 & 14	Opponent 2
Player 3	Holes 12 & 15	Opponent 3

This head-to-head format raises the stakes, creating distinct, individual battles that directly impact the final outcome of the overall team match.

Key Rules and Concepts That Apply Across Team Formats

Many team formats share core rules regarding concessions (gifting a hole), penalties (often loss-of-hole in match play), how player handicaps are adjusted for fairness, and whether partners are allowed to give each other advice. Understanding these universal concepts will give you a deeper appreciation for the strategy involved in any team golf match.

Concessions in Match Play

In match play, a player can concede their opponent’s next stroke, a hole, or the entire match at any time. This is a purely strategic element. If your opponent has a one-foot putt, you will likely concede it to speed up play. Once a concession is made, it is final and cannot be declined or withdrawn.

Have you ever conceded a putt you thought your opponent might miss? It’s all part of the strategy!

Order of Play

While the standard rule in golf is that the player furthest from the hole plays first (“away”), this isn’t always the case in team golf. As established by sources like the USGA for Four-Ball, teams can often decide their own order of play to gain a strategic advantage. For example, one partner might putt first to show their teammate the line, even if they aren’t the one who is “away.”

Penalties

Penalties in team golf often depend on whether it’s match play or stroke play. In team stroke play, penalties are typically the standard one or two strokes. However, in match play, the general penalty for most rule breaches is much steeper: loss of hole. This makes avoiding penalties a critical component of match play strategy.

Applying Handicaps

Handicaps are used in team events to level the playing field between golfers of different abilities. The calculation varies by format.

In Four-Ball match play, a common method is for all players to receive 90% of their course handicap. Then, the lowest-handicap player plays off scratch, and the other three players receive the difference in strokes on the hardest-rated holes, a practice detailed by experts like Golf Monthly.

Giving Advice

One of the biggest differences in team golf is the rule on advice. In individual play, giving advice to or asking for advice from anyone other than your caddie is prohibited. In team formats like Four-Ball, however, partners are explicitly allowed to give each other advice. This open line of communication is a key part of team strategy.

For your next team event, having the right gear can make all the difference, from rangefinders to help your partner with distance to ball markers that clearly show your spot on the green.

FAQs About how does team golf work

This section directly answers some of the most common questions players have about the rules, scoring, and formats of team golf.

How does 2-man team match play work?

In 2-man team match play, two partners compete against another pair. The format is typically Four-Ball (better ball), where each player plays their own ball and the team with the lower score on a given hole wins that hole. The team that wins the most holes over the course of the round wins the overall match.

How is team scoring different from individual scoring?

Team scoring focuses on a collective result rather than an individual total. In formats like Scramble, the team has only one score per hole. In Four-Ball, the team’s score is the best of the partners’ two individual scores on that hole. This differs from individual scoring, where every single stroke a player takes counts toward their final total.

What is the difference between Four-Ball and Foursomes?

The key difference is the number of balls in play. In Four-Ball, each of the two partners plays their own ball, and the team takes the better score on each hole. In Foursomes (or Alternate Shot), the two partners play a single ball, taking turns hitting shots until the ball is holed.

Can partners give each other advice in all team formats?

In most traditional partner formats like Four-Ball and Foursomes, giving and receiving advice between partners is allowed and is a core part of the strategy. Newer formats like TGL also explicitly permit teammates to advise one another. This is a significant departure from the strict “no advice” rule in individual stroke play competitions.

How are handicaps calculated in a team event like a Scramble or Four-Ball?

Handicap calculations vary by event. For Four-Ball, a common method is for each player to receive 90% of their course handicap, with strokes applied against the lowest-handicap player in the group. For a Scramble, organizers often use a formula that combines a percentage of each player’s handicap (e.g., 25% of the A-player’s, 20% of the B’s, etc.) to create a single team handicap.

Final Summary: Choosing the Right Team Format For Your Group

Understanding how team golf works opens up a world of strategic, social, and enjoyable ways to experience the game. From the friendly, low-pressure atmosphere of a Scramble to the intense strategic demands of Foursomes, there is a format to suit every group’s skill level and competitive desire. Scrambles are perfect for casual outings with mixed abilities, Four-Ball provides a competitive blend of individual skill and team play, and Foursomes is the ultimate test of a true partnership. Meanwhile, innovative formats like TGL are pushing the boundaries and showing us the exciting future of team competition.

To pick the right format, consider your group’s goals for the day:

🏆 For Fun & All Skills: Choose a Scramble. It allows everyone to contribute and keeps the pressure low.
🏅 For Competitive Pairs: Four-Ball is the ideal choice. It lets you play your own game while still relying on your partner.
🤝 For a True Partnership Test: If you and a partner have great chemistry, take on the challenge of Foursomes.

Now that you know how team golf works, grab your partners and try out the format that best fits your game

Last update on 2025-09-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

How Team Golf Works: A Guide to Popular Formats