Four Ball | Team Match Play - Golf Format Explained - Golf Distillery

Maybe your like

Golf Tips
- Beginner Golf Tips
  - Top 10 Golf Tips For Beginners
- Golf Setup Tips
- Golf Swing Tips
- Swing Drills
- Short Game Tips
Swing Tips
- Setup & Address
  - Ball Position
  - Feet Position
  - Stance & Alignment
  - Golf Grip
  - Knee Flex
  - Spine Position
  - Chin Position
- Takeaway
  - Club Position
  - Clubface Position
- Backswing
- Top of the Swing
  - Shaft Position
- Downswing
- Impact
- Release
- Follow Through
- How to Hit a Driver
Swing Errors
Shot Tips
- Shot Shaping
  - Draw
  - Fade
  - Low Shot (Punch, Stinger)
- Difficult Lies
  - Heavy Rough
  - Fluffy Rough
  - Tall Grass (Fescue)
  - Tight Lie (Bare, Firm)
  - Ball Above your Feet
  - Ball Below your Feet
  - Upslope – Uphill Lie
  - Downslope – Downhill Lie
- Tree Trouble
  - Punch Shot Under a Tree
  - Draw Punch Shot
  - Fade Punch Shot
  - High Shot Over a Tree
- Bunker Shots
  - Regular Bunker Shot
  - Wet Sand
  - Plugged
  - Fried-Egg
  - Upslope (Uphill)
  - Downslope (Downhill)
  - Long Bunker Shot
  - Short Bunker Shot
  - Fairway Bunker
Shot Errors
- Slices – Slicing
- Hooks – Hooking
- Push – Pushed Shots
- Pull – Pulled Shots
- Fat Shots
- Thin Shots
- Topped Shots
- Sky Shots
- Whiff Shots
- Overclub
- Underclub
- (Too) High Drives
- (Too) Low Drives
Tweaks
- Setup
  - Ball Position
    - Ball Position (Forward, Middle, Back)
    - Tee Height
    - Ball Position in Relation to Each Club
  - Feet Position
    - Foot Flaring
    - Stance Width
    - Stance Alignment
  - Clubface
    - Clubface Angle (Square, Open, or Closed
    - Driver Hover at Address
  - Grip
    - Grip Strength
    - Grip Types (Overlap, Interlock and Baseball)
    - Long vs Short Left Thumb Grip
    - Palm-and-Finger Grip vs All-Fingers Grip
  - Weight Distribution
    - Weight Across your Feet
    - Weight Inside your Feet
  - Club Shaft
    - Shaft Lean
    - Shaft Length
- Swing
  - Clubface Finish Position
  - Swing (Club) Path
  - Swing Plane
  - Driver Accuracy
- Club
  - Club Loft
  - Club Lie
  - Gear Effect
  - Shaft Flex
Swing Thoughts
- Top 5
  - Woods
  - Irons
  - Wedges
- Entire Swing
  - Swing Like You’re Holding a Garden Hose
  - Keep your Head Level
  - Keep Knee Flex Constant
  - Turn. Don’t Sway.
  - Don’t Reverse Pivot
  - Arms → Shoulders → Hips → Shoulders → Arms
  - Tempo, Tempo, Tempo!
- Address
  - Lean Shaft Forward
  - Grip the Club Like You Are Holding a Bird
  - Focus on the Front Half of the Ball
  - Focus on the Back Half of the Ball
  - Swing a Bucket of Water
- Takeaway
  - Low and Slow
  - Don’t Get Wristy
  - Move as a Block
  - Square Clubface Takeaway
  - Go Back Square
  - Go Back Inside
  - Go Back Outside
- Backswing
  - Slow & Short Backswing
  - Keep Left Arm Straight
  - Move Left Knee Forward
  - Move Left Knee Towards Ball
  - Keep Left Heel on the Ground
  - Lift Left Heel from the Ground
- Top of the Swing
  - Full Wrist Hinge at the Top
  - Hinge. Don’t Cup or Bow.
- Downswing
  - Hit It Hard
  - Don’t Try to Kill It
- Impact
  - Don’t Stand Up at Impact
  - Hit Through the Ball; Not at the Ball
  - Keep the Lag
  - Trap the Ball
  - Keep Your Head Down
- Follow Through
  - Don’t Quit the Swing
  - Belt Buckle Facing the Target
  - Hold the Swing High at Finish
  - Elbows Facing the Target
Drills
- Takeaway Drills
- Backswing Drills
- Top of the Swing Drills
- Downswing Drills
- Impact Drills
- Release Drills
- Chipping Drills
- Putting Drills
Golf Terms
- Club Types
- Club Parts
- Setup
- Swing
- Swing Errors
- Ball Flights
- Shot Types
- Shot Errors
- Shot Lies
- Handicap
- Game Formats
- Scoring
- Course Elements

Golf Tips
- Beginner Golf Tips
  - Top 10 Golf Tips For Beginners
- Golf Setup Tips
- Golf Swing Tips
- Swing Drills
- Short Game Tips
Swing Tips
- Setup & Address
  - Ball Position
  - Feet Position
  - Stance & Alignment
  - Golf Grip
  - Knee Flex
  - Spine Position
  - Chin Position
- Takeaway
  - Club Position
  - Clubface Position
- Backswing
- Top of the Swing
  - Shaft Position
- Downswing
- Impact
- Release
- Follow Through
- How to Hit a Driver
Swing Errors
Shot Tips
- Shot Shaping
  - Draw
  - Fade
  - Low Shot (Punch, Stinger)
- Difficult Lies
  - Heavy Rough
  - Fluffy Rough
  - Tall Grass (Fescue)
  - Tight Lie (Bare, Firm)
  - Ball Above your Feet
  - Ball Below your Feet
  - Upslope – Uphill Lie
  - Downslope – Downhill Lie
- Tree Trouble
  - Punch Shot Under a Tree
  - Draw Punch Shot
  - Fade Punch Shot
  - High Shot Over a Tree
- Bunker Shots
  - Regular Bunker Shot
  - Wet Sand
  - Plugged
  - Fried-Egg
  - Upslope (Uphill)
  - Downslope (Downhill)
  - Long Bunker Shot
  - Short Bunker Shot
  - Fairway Bunker
Shot Errors
- Slices – Slicing
- Hooks – Hooking
- Push – Pushed Shots
- Pull – Pulled Shots
- Fat Shots
- Thin Shots
- Topped Shots
- Sky Shots
- Whiff Shots
- Overclub
- Underclub
- (Too) High Drives
- (Too) Low Drives
Tweaks
- Setup
  - Ball Position
    - Ball Position (Forward, Middle, Back)
    - Tee Height
    - Ball Position in Relation to Each Club
  - Feet Position
    - Foot Flaring
    - Stance Width
    - Stance Alignment
  - Clubface
    - Clubface Angle (Square, Open, or Closed
    - Driver Hover at Address
  - Grip
    - Grip Strength
    - Grip Types (Overlap, Interlock and Baseball)
    - Long vs Short Left Thumb Grip
    - Palm-and-Finger Grip vs All-Fingers Grip
  - Weight Distribution
    - Weight Across your Feet
    - Weight Inside your Feet
  - Club Shaft
    - Shaft Lean
    - Shaft Length
- Swing
  - Clubface Finish Position
  - Swing (Club) Path
  - Swing Plane
  - Driver Accuracy
- Club
  - Club Loft
  - Club Lie
  - Gear Effect
  - Shaft Flex
Swing Thoughts
- Top 5
  - Woods
  - Irons
  - Wedges
- Entire Swing
  - Swing Like You’re Holding a Garden Hose
  - Keep your Head Level
  - Keep Knee Flex Constant
  - Turn. Don’t Sway.
  - Don’t Reverse Pivot
  - Arms → Shoulders → Hips → Shoulders → Arms
  - Tempo, Tempo, Tempo!
- Address
  - Lean Shaft Forward
  - Grip the Club Like You Are Holding a Bird
  - Focus on the Front Half of the Ball
  - Focus on the Back Half of the Ball
  - Swing a Bucket of Water
- Takeaway
  - Low and Slow
  - Don’t Get Wristy
  - Move as a Block
  - Square Clubface Takeaway
  - Go Back Square
  - Go Back Inside
  - Go Back Outside
- Backswing
  - Slow & Short Backswing
  - Keep Left Arm Straight
  - Move Left Knee Forward
  - Move Left Knee Towards Ball
  - Keep Left Heel on the Ground
  - Lift Left Heel from the Ground
- Top of the Swing
  - Full Wrist Hinge at the Top
  - Hinge. Don’t Cup or Bow.
- Downswing
  - Hit It Hard
  - Don’t Try to Kill It
- Impact
  - Don’t Stand Up at Impact
  - Hit Through the Ball; Not at the Ball
  - Keep the Lag
  - Trap the Ball
  - Keep Your Head Down
- Follow Through
  - Don’t Quit the Swing
  - Belt Buckle Facing the Target
  - Hold the Swing High at Finish
  - Elbows Facing the Target
Drills
- Takeaway Drills
- Backswing Drills
- Top of the Swing Drills
- Downswing Drills
- Impact Drills
- Release Drills
- Chipping Drills
- Putting Drills
Golf Terms
- Club Types
- Club Parts
- Setup
- Swing
- Swing Errors
- Ball Flights
- Shot Types
- Shot Errors
- Shot Lies
- Handicap
- Game Formats
- Scoring
- Course Elements

Golf Distillery / Golf Terms / Game Formats / Four Ball | Team Match Play

The Fourball golf play format is explained visually

Golf Format Explained

A match played in four ball (or fourball, or team match play) will see 2 golfers forming a team that will compete against the team made up by the other 2 golfers in the foursome. It is a variation of the better ball format, which itself is a type of best ball.

How to Play Four Ball

Each golfer hits his own ball throughout the round but only one score per team is recorded on each hole. After each hole, the best scores of both teams are compared and the team with the lowest score is said to have won the hole. The same thing occurs for every hole until the match ends.

How to Win

A team is declared the winner when its lead is such that the opposing team can no longer close the gap mathematically. For example, if team A is up 3 holes and there are 2 holes to play, team B winning the last two holes would still see it lose by 1. The match is thus ended, with a final score of 3 and 2 (3-up with 2 holes to play).

Appeal

Four ball is very popular for season-long, ladder-type tournaments at golf clubs. It brings collaboration to the otherwise individual match play format.