Competition formats
Parful runs this, with a caveatGreensomes match play
Also called Greensomes match, Select drive match play.
Greensomes match play is pair against pair with one ball per side: both partners tee off, the pair chooses a drive, the other partner plays the second shot and they alternate in. The lower net wins the hole. Each pair plays off 60% of the lower Course Handicap™ plus 40% of the higher, with strokes on the difference.
- Played as
- Pair against pair, both drive, then one ball per side
- Team handicap
- 60% of the lower Course Handicap™ plus 40% of the higher, rounded
- Strokes
- The higher pair receives the difference, by stroke index
- Hole result
- The lower team net wins the hole; equal nets halve it
- Level after 18
- Halved in a cup; sudden death in a knockout
- Runs on
- Club knockouts and cup sessions
How greensomes match play works
Two pairs play a match. On every hole both partners in each pair drive, the pair chooses the drive it prefers, and the partner whose drive was not chosen plays the second shot. From there the pair alternates on one ball until it is holed. Each side records one score per hole; the lower net wins the hole and equal nets halve it. The match ends when one side is up by more holes than remain.
The choice of drive resets the order on every hole, which gives greensomes a tactical layer foursomes lacks. A pair may take the shorter drive on a par five so that its stronger player hits the second shot, or the longer drive on a par four so that its better wedge player has the approach.
The team handicaps and the strokes
Each pair's team handicap is 60% of the lower Course Handicap plus 40% of the higher, rounded to a whole number. A pair on 5 and 15 gets 3 plus 6, a team handicap of 9; a pair on 10 and 22 gets 6 plus 8.8, which is 14.8, a team handicap of 15. The strokes are taken on the difference: the higher pair receives 6, on stroke index 1 to 6, and the lower pair plays off scratch.
The split weights the lower handicap more heavily, because a pair choosing the better of two drives plays closer to its stronger player's standard. Parful applies 60% to the lower by default and a club can change the pair's handicap rule in the competition settings.
How a match ends, and what happens all square
Parful walks the holes in order on net and stops when one side leads by more holes than remain, reporting the margin as 3 and 2, 2 and 1 or 1 up. A hole counts only when both sides have a score for it. Level after eighteen is a half in a cup session, worth half a point a side; in a knockout the match goes to sudden death by default and the result is entered when the extra holes are played. Concessions of a putt, a hole or the match are allowed at any time.
How Parful runs it
Choose Match play greensomes when you build a club knockout, or Greensomes as a session format in a team cup. Each pair scores on its own team card, one number per hole; Parful builds the two team handicaps, takes the difference, places the strokes and derives the match state as the cards fill in. The result feeds the bracket or the cup scoreboard in match notation.
Greensomes match play is a Parful Clubs format, on club competitions and cup sessions, and is not offered on Events. The team card carries no individual scores, so side games that read a player's own ball are unavailable; a Custom bet is the one side game the pairs can carry. Which drive was chosen is kept by the pair, not recorded. Nothing from the match is posted to a handicap record.
Worked example
A worked example: two pairs, front nine
Pair A, Yara and Zed, play off Course Handicaps of 5 and 15: 60% of 5 is 3, 40% of 15 is 6, team handicap 9. Pair B, Abe and Bea, play off 10 and 22: 6 plus 8.8 is 14.8, team handicap 15. The difference is 6, so Pair B receives a stroke on stroke index 1 to 6, which on this front nine is holes 2, 4 and 7.
| Hole | Par | Stroke index | Pair A gross | Pair B gross | Pair B stroke | Pair B net | Hole | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 5 | Pair A | Pair A 1 up |
| 2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 5 | Halved | Pair A 1 up |
| 3 | 3 | 17 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | Halved | Pair A 1 up |
| 4 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | Pair B | All square |
| 5 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | Pair B | Pair B 1 up |
| 6 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | Pair A | All square |
| 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 4 | Pair B | Pair B 1 up |
| 8 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | Pair B | Pair B 2 up |
| 9 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | Halved | Pair B 2 up |
- Pair A plays off scratch for the match. Its team handicap of 9 is only the baseline the difference is taken from.
- Under the reversed 40/60 split Pair B would have played off 17 and Pair A off 11, a difference of 6 again on these numbers, but that is a coincidence of the pairs chosen; the direction of the split usually changes the strokes.
Common variants
- Chapman match play
- Both drive, swap balls for the second shot, choose one and alternate in. Same 60/40 split. Parful runs it on club competitions and cup sessions.
- Foursomes match play
- One drive per hole, alternating by hole, no choice. 50% of the combined Course Handicap™. Parful runs it on club competitions and cup sessions.
- Greensomes stroke play
- The same game ranked against the field on the team card. Parful runs it as the greensomes format on clubs and events.