Alternate Shot

Alternate shot — foursomes in official golf terminology, which is not the same thing as “a foursome” of four friends — is the hardest team format in golf. Two players form a pair, play a single ball for the whole hole, and alternate shots.

There is no second ball. There is no “better of the two”. If you put the drive in the trees, your partner plays the shot from the trees. It is the format that reveals fastest whether two people can play golf together.

How to play it, step by step

1. The pair decides who tees off on the odd holes and who takes the even ones. That decision is made before the first hole and it holds for the whole round, no matter what happens.
2. The designated player hits the drive. Their partner plays the second shot from wherever it finished.
3. They alternate shot by shot until the ball is holed. If the second shot finds the green, the first player takes the putt.
4. The alternating order does not reset inside a hole. If a shot goes badly, the sequence continues: the next shot belongs to whoever is up.
5. On the next hole, the other player tees off, regardless of who holed out on the previous one.
6. The pair records a single score per hole.

The most frequently forgotten rule: a penalty stroke does not change the order. Hit it in the water and your partner is the one playing the recovery from the drop. The punishment in alternate shot is doubled and it is very real.

How to split the tees

Deciding who takes odds and who takes evens is not trivial: it is probably the single most important strategic decision in the format.

• Look at where the par 3s fall. If three par 3s sit on odd holes, the odd-hole player will hit three iron shots straight at greens off the tee.
• Look at where the par 5s are. Whoever tees off there is not the one going for it in two; their partner is.
• Look at the tight and water-guarded drives. That is where you want your straightest player, not your longest.
• Consider who putts better under pressure. On many courses the tee split determines who ends up holing most of the short ones.

Handicaps in alternate shot

Because the pair returns one score, there is one handicap. The standard recommendation from the governing bodies is 50% of the combined course handicaps.

Player	Course handicap
Ana	10
Ben	22
Combined	32
Pair handicap (50%)	16

Those 16 strokes are allocated across the holes by stroke index, exactly as they would be for an individual score.

Strategy: play for your partner, not for yourself

In alternate shot, individual strategy disappears. Every shot is chosen with one question in mind: where does this leave the other person?

• Always leave a comfortable distance, not a short one. A 100-yard approach from the fairway is infinitely better than a 60-yarder out of deep rough.
• Know your partner’s favourite number. If they hit their best wedge from 140 yards, your layup has a target.
• Never leave your partner an impossible shot. Getting out of trouble is your job, not theirs. If you are behind a tree, chip back to the fairway and hand over a playable ball.
• Agree who owns which decision. One reads greens, one picks clubs. Pairs that debate every shot lose by exhaustion.
• Never apologise. It is the genuine advice from every Ryder Cup pairing: eighteen holes of accumulated apologies sinks both players.

Common variations

Foursomes match play. Alternate shot played hole by hole against another pair. It is the Ryder Cup morning format and the most televised version. The scoring system is covered in the Match Play guide.

Greensomes (or Scotch Foursomes). Both players tee off, the better drive is chosen, and from the second shot on they alternate. It softens the format enormously because it removes tee-shot disasters.

Chapman / Pinehurst. Both tee off, both play a second shot with the other’s ball, the better of those two is chosen, and from the third shot they alternate. It is the most complete hybrid.

Nine-hole alternate shot. The sensible way to introduce the format to a new pair. Eighteen holes of alternate shot with no practice is a test of friendship, not a round of golf.

Why it is worth playing

Alternate shot rarely gets played outside team competitions, and that is a shame. It is the only format that forces two golfers to think their way around a course together, and it is one of the best course-management lessons available: once every bad decision gets handed to somebody else, you start choosing the conservative shot far more often.

If you have never played it, find a partner, play nine holes and ban yourselves from apologising. It is unlike any other round of golf you will play.