Competition formats
Parful runs thisFour-ball match play
Also called Better ball match play, Fourball match, Best ball match play.
Four-ball match play is two pairs head to head, each player playing their own ball, with the better net score on each side deciding the hole. Each player receives 90% of Course Handicap™, and strokes are taken relative to the lowest of the four players, who plays off scratch.
- Played as
- Two against two, own ball, better ball per side
- Allowance
- 90% of Course Handicap™, then strokes relative to the lowest of the four
- Hole result
- The lower side net wins the hole; equal nets halve it
- Match ends
- When one side is up by more holes than remain
- Level after 18
- Halved, or extra holes where the competition says so
- Runs on
- Club competitions, cup sessions, events
How four-ball match play works
Two pairs play a match. Every player plays their own ball throughout, and on each hole the side's score is the better of its two net scores. The side with the lower better ball wins the hole and goes one up; equal better balls halve the hole. A player who is out of the hole picks up and the partner's ball is the side's score. The match ends when one side leads by more holes than remain: three up with two to play is a win by 3 and 2.
Because a side needs only one good ball, four-ball is the most forgiving match play format and the one in which strokes matter most. A high handicap partner with a stroke on a hard hole can win it with a net par while the partner plays for the half.
The allowance and the relative strokes
Each player's Playing Handicap™ is 90% of Course Handicap, rounded. The strokes are then taken relative to the lowest of the four: that player plays off scratch and each of the others receives the difference between their Playing Handicap and the lowest, by stroke index. A player with a Playing Handicap of 13 in a match where the lowest is 5 receives 8 strokes, on stroke index 1 to 8, and no strokes elsewhere.
The relative method changes nothing about who wins a hole, because strokes every player would receive cancel out, and it keeps the card readable. Parful applies the 90% allowance and the relative strokes on every four-ball match.
How a match ends
Parful walks the holes in order and stops the moment one side is up by more holes than remain, reporting the margin in the usual notation: 3 and 2, 2 and 1, or 1 up if it went to the last. A hole can only be counted when both sides have a usable ball; a hole where a side has no score recorded holds the match at that point. A match level after eighteen is recorded as halved, and a competition that needs a winner sends it to extra holes.
Concessions of a putt, a hole or the match are allowed at any time. A conceded hole is recorded as won by the other side.
How Parful runs it
Choose Four-ball match play when you build a club knockout, a cup session or an event round. The two pairs score on the ordinary group card, each player their own ball, and Parful takes the better net per side on every hole, applying 90% of Course Handicap and the strokes relative to the lowest of the four. The match state, holes played, who is up and by how much, updates as scores go in, and the result is written in match notation when it is decided.
Because every player has their own ball on their own card, four-ball match play is an own-ball round: every side game in the library is available alongside it. Individual scores are the player's own from tee to green and are acceptable for handicap posting where the player holes out.
Worked example
A worked example: two pairs, front nine
Quinn and Rae play Sam and Tia. Course Handicaps 6, 14, 10 and 20 become Playing Handicaps at 90%: 5, 13, 9 and 18. Quinn is lowest and plays off scratch; Rae receives 8, Sam 4 and Tia 13 relative to Quinn. Each cell shows gross minus strokes equals net; the side score is the better of the two.
| Hole | Par | Stroke index | Quinn (0) | Rae (8) | Sam (4) | Tia (13) | Sides | Hole | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 7 | 4-0=4 | 5-1=4 | 4-0=4 | 5-1=4 | 4 v 4 | Halved | All square |
| 2 | 5 | 3 | 4-0=4 | 6-1=5 | 6-1=5 | 6-1=5 | 4 v 5 | Quinn and Rae | Quinn and Rae 1 up |
| 3 | 3 | 17 | 3-0=3 | 4-0=4 | 3-0=3 | 4-0=4 | 3 v 3 | Halved | Quinn and Rae 1 up |
| 4 | 4 | 1 | 5-0=5 | 5-1=4 | 5-1=4 | 6-1=5 | 4 v 4 | Halved | Quinn and Rae 1 up |
| 5 | 4 | 11 | 4-0=4 | 5-0=5 | 4-0=4 | 5-1=4 | 4 v 4 | Halved | Quinn and Rae 1 up |
| 6 | 3 | 15 | 4-0=4 | 4-0=4 | 3-0=3 | 4-0=4 | 4 v 3 | Sam and Tia | All square |
| 7 | 5 | 5 | 5-0=5 | 6-1=5 | 6-0=6 | 7-1=6 | 5 v 6 | Quinn and Rae | Quinn and Rae 1 up |
| 8 | 4 | 9 | 4-0=4 | 5-0=5 | 4-0=4 | 5-1=4 | 4 v 4 | Halved | Quinn and Rae 1 up |
| 9 | 4 | 13 | 5-0=5 | 5-0=5 | 5-0=5 | 5-1=4 | 5 v 4 | Sam and Tia | All square |
- Rae receives 8 strokes relative to Quinn, on stroke index 1 to 8, so Rae gets one on holes 1, 2, 4 and 7 and none on 3, 5, 6, 8 and 9.
- On hole 4 Quinn's 5 was not needed. Rae's net 4 was the side's ball.
Common variants
- Four-ball stroke play
- The same own-ball, better-ball game ranked against the field rather than one opponent, at 85% of Course Handicap™. Parful runs it as the four-ball format.
- Full handicap four-ball
- Some clubs play at 100% rather than 90%. Parful applies 90% by default; the allowance can be changed in the competition's conditions.
- Aggregate four-ball
- Both partners' net scores are added and the lower total wins the hole. Parful does not score aggregate match play; the aggregate side game covers the casual version.
- Singles match play
- One against one, full handicap, strokes on the difference. Parful runs it as the match play format.