Foursomes (Alternate Shot): Rules, Order of Play and Strategy

Quick answer: Foursomes is a 2v2 match where each side plays one ball, with partners alternating strokes until it is holed. Partners also alternate who tees off, one taking the odd holes and the other the evens, fixed for the whole round.

How it works

One ball per side. Partner A hits, partner B hits the next shot, and so on.
Decide before the round who tees off on odd holes and who takes evens. That order does not change, no matter what happens.
Penalty strokes do not change whose turn it is — the same player still plays the next stroke.
Normally played as match play, hole by hole.

Scoring

Holes are won, halved or lost exactly as in any match. Handicap allowance is typically 50% of the combined playing handicaps of the pair, because there is only one ball and one score.

When to play it on a golf trip

Foursomes is the fastest format you can put on a schedule — half the shots, half the balls to find. That makes it ideal for a squeezed afternoon round, a twilight nine, or the morning of a travel day.

Play it when your pairs are reasonably matched. A wide handicap gap is punishing here: the weaker player cannot hide, and the stronger one spends the round playing recovery shots from places they never visit.

House rules worth agreeing first

Lock the odd/even tee order before you leave the first tee.
Agree what happens on a lost ball — the alternation continues from wherever the next stroke is played.
Be explicit that penalty strokes do not flip the order. This is the single most common argument in foursomes.

FAQ

Is foursomes the same as a scramble? No, and they are opposites. In a scramble both players hit every shot and you pick the best. In foursomes only one ball exists and you alternate.

Who tees off after a hole is won? Nothing changes. The tee order is fixed odd/even for the round regardless of who won the last hole.

What is greensomes? A common trip variant: both partners tee off, you choose the better drive, then alternate from there. It removes most of the pain of foursomes while keeping the shape.

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.