Four-Ball Golf

This week the Nationwide tour is playing in the Carolinas. They are playing a pro-am that is officially a four-ball stroke play competition. One of my favorite calls is from someone wanting to enter a four-ball tournament who asks me why there are places for 2 names on the entry form.

Four-Ball is one those old terms that have hung around golf and causes confusion. Back when golf was a match play competition, the term came about because there were four balls in play in the match. Similarly foursomes meant a match with only two balls in play (you only hit the ball some of the time.) Once we got to stroke play, the terms don’t make a lot of sense, but they have hung around in the Rules. Rules 30 (Match Play) and 31 (Stroke Play) have to do with Four-Ball competitions. Many people use the term Best Ball when referring to Four-Ball, but that term really means a match where one person is playing against the best ball of 2 or more people.

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