Fourball, Scramble & Best-Ball

Fourball

            Like foursome, fourball is also played with two player teams.  During the round, all four players will hit their individual ball for each entire hole.  At the end of the hole, the lowest score between the two partners is used as the team score.  Therefore, this is a version of stroke play because of the focus on the number of strokes.  Unlike foursome, fourball puts less of a focus on challenging each member of the team.  If a team is comprised of one great player and one less-skilled player, the great player could have the lower score for each hole.  These scores would be used throughout the entire round and the less-skilled player would not have an effect on the game. Fourball is used in several professional tournaments including the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup.

Scramble

            The scramble format is mostly used with four person teams, however, two person teams are popular as well.  During a scramble, every player from the four or two person team tees off from each hole.  The team then selects the best shot and each player hits from within one club length from that spot.  This continues until the ball is in the hole. As you can imagine, round scores during scrambles can be quite low.  With teams being able to choose the location they hit from after every shot, teams post a greater number of birdies and eagles.  Constructing a team for a scramble takes more expertise than other games.  Most teams try to ensure that they have a player that specializes in each part of the game.  For instance, a player that can drive the ball very far and a player that is an accurate putter are both quite valuable.  Scramble formats are very popular in charity events.      

Best-Ball

            Best-ball is a combination of scramble and fourball.  Teams are composed of four players, but instead of choosing a best shot to hit from, each player hits their own ball for the entire hole.  After the hole is over, the team chooses the lowest score and takes that for the designated hole.  Best-ball is also popular in many charitable events and amateur tournaments.  Teams are sometimes constructed with two or three players as well, depending on the skill and people participating.  Although match scores are very good for best-ball tournaments, scramble scores are still lower.