Best Ball Golf: Rules, Scoring and Team Sizes

Quick answer: In best ball, every player plays their own ball for the entire hole and the team's score is simply the lowest of them. There are no special procedures — it is ordinary golf with a team score laid on top.

How it works

Every player plays their own ball from tee to hole, as normal.
The team records the single lowest score on each hole.
Works with any team size; two and four are the common ones.
Can be run as stroke play or as a match.

Scoring

One team score per hole, and nothing else to track. With four players the scores get low, so many trips count the best two scores instead to keep it competitive — at which point it behaves much like a shamble without the shared drive.

Handicap allowance is commonly 90% in a two-person match, less as team size grows, because more balls means more chances for a big handicap to produce one very low hole.

When to play it on a golf trip

Best ball is the format for the round where you do not want to explain a format. Nobody needs briefing, nobody can play the wrong ball, and the pace is whatever your group's pace already is.

It is also the safest choice for a group with new golfers in it. A beginner can pick up on a bad hole and cost the team nothing at all.

House rules worth agreeing first

How many scores count per hole, especially with four players.
Maximum score per hole — a double-par pick-up rule keeps things moving.
Whether the team score is gross, net, or both boards run side by side.

FAQ

Is best ball the same as four-ball? Four-ball is the specific 2v2 match-play version of best ball. In everyday use the two names get swapped freely.

Does everyone have to hole out? No. Once a player cannot beat their team's current best on that hole, picking up costs nothing and saves time.

What is the best team size? Two makes for the sharpest golf. Four is the most social, but count the best two scores or it becomes too easy.

Run it without the spreadsheet

GolfTracker Trips scores this format across every round of a trip, alongside whatever
else your group is playing, and rolls it all into one leaderboard for the weekend.
Start free at GolfTracker Trips — up to 8 players and 2 rounds, no card.