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Game Format

Best Ball Golf Format

Also known as: Better Ball, Four-Ball, Fourball

Best Ball is one of the most popular team golf formats and a staple of weekend groups, league play, and the Ryder Cup. Each player on the team plays their own ball throughout the entire round, and the lowest individual score on each hole counts as the team score. It rewards individual brilliance while keeping the pressure off — if you have a bad hole, your teammate can carry you.

At a Glance

Type
Team game
Team size
2–24 players (most commonly 2 or 4)
Scoring
Stroke play or Stableford
Handicaps
Off by default — supports Net Score and Compare With Lowest
Wins
Lowest team score

The Rules
  1. Teams are formed before the round (typically 2 or 4 players per team).
  2. Each player plays their own ball on every hole, just like a normal round of golf.
  3. After everyone on the team finishes the hole, the lowest individual score becomes the team score for that hole.
  4. All other scores on the team are discarded.
  5. The team’s total is the sum of the best scores across all 18 holes. Lowest total wins.
Key point: Every player plays their own ball from tee to green on every hole. Nobody shares shots or picks up — that’s what makes Best Ball different from a Scramble.

Best Ball vs Scramble

Best Ball and Scramble are frequently confused — even by experienced golfers. They are completely different formats. Here’s the distinction:

Best Ball Scramble
How you play Each player plays their own ball the entire hole Everyone hits, then the team picks the best shot and all play from there
Scores recorded Every player has their own score; the best one counts One shared team score per hole
Pace of play Similar to a normal round Faster — weaker shots are abandoned
Typical scores A few strokes under each player’s average Much lower than any individual could shoot
Counts toward handicap Yes — each player plays a full round No — players don’t complete every hole individually
Remember: In Best Ball, you play your own ball. In a Scramble, you play as a team from the best shot. If someone says “we’re playing a best ball” but describes picking the best shot each time, they actually mean a Scramble.

Example Hole

A two-person team is playing a par 4:

Par 4 — 410 yards
A Player A hits their tee shot into the rough, chunks their approach, chips on, and two-putts for a 6 (double bogey).
B Player B hits the fairway, lands on the green in regulation, and two-putts for a 4 (par).
Team score: 4 (Player B’s par is the best ball)

Player A’s double bogey is thrown out. The team takes Player B’s 4. Both players still record their own individual scores for handicap purposes.

Variants

Best Balls (Configurable)

The standard Best Ball format uses only the single lowest score on each hole. Best Balls lets you choose how many scores count per hole — the top 2, 3, or even 4 scores are added together for the team’s hole total.

For example, on a 4-person team using the top 2 scores: if the players score 3, 4, 5, and 6 on a par 4, the team score for that hole is 3 + 4 = 7. You can also set a different number of scores per hole (for instance, use 1 on par 3s and 2 on par 5s).

Tip: Best Balls with 2 scores counting is a great format for 4-person teams — it keeps everyone engaged because two scores matter on every hole, so nobody can coast.

1-2-3 Best Ball (Irish Rumble)

This variant builds the pressure as the round goes on. The number of scores that count for the team increases every six holes:

Holes Scores used
Holes 1–6 Best 1 score per hole
Holes 7–12 Best 2 scores per hole
Holes 13–18 Best 3 scores per hole

The format starts forgiving (only the best score matters) and gets progressively more demanding. By the back nine, three out of four players need to post a good score on every hole. It makes the final stretch exciting and ensures every player’s contribution matters down the stretch.

Modified Best Ball

In Modified Best Ball, if both teams tie on a hole with their best score, the second-best score on each team is compared to break the tie. This adds strategic depth to VS matches by making every player’s score potentially decisive.

All Birdies Count

An optional setting where if multiple players on the team make birdie or better on the same hole, all of those scores count toward the team total instead of just the best one. This rewards teams where multiple players are firing on the same hole.

Handicap Options

Best Ball handicaps are disabled by default, but you can turn them on to level the playing field between teams of different abilities. Squabbit supports three handicap modes:

Mode How it works
Gross No handicap adjustments. Raw scores only.
Net Score Each player receives strokes on the hardest-rated holes based on their course handicap. The best net score on each hole counts for the team.
Compare With Lowest The lowest-handicap player in the match plays at scratch, and everyone else receives the difference in strokes. Commonly used in VS (head-to-head) matches.

When handicaps are enabled, the default percentage is 75% of each player’s course handicap (or 85% in VS games). You can adjust this percentage in the game settings.

Why a percentage? In Best Ball, the team always takes the best score, so using full handicaps would over-compensate higher-handicap players. The reduced percentage keeps things fair.

Setting Up in Squabbit

To create a Best Ball game in Squabbit:

  1. Create a new tournament or casual game.
  2. Under format, choose Best Ball, Best Balls, or 1-2-3 Best Ball depending on which variant you want.
  3. Set your team size. The default is 4 players per team (2 for VS games).
  4. If using Best Balls, choose how many scores to count per hole (or customize it per hole).
  5. Optionally enable handicaps and choose your handicap mode (Net Score or Compare With Lowest).
  6. Optionally change the scoring type from Stroke Play to Stableford.
  7. Add players and assign them to teams.

During the round, every player enters their own score on each hole. Squabbit automatically calculates which score(s) count for the team and shows the team total on the leaderboard. Scores that are being used for the team are highlighted on the scorecard.

Note: Best Ball rounds count toward each player’s handicap index by default, since every player plays their own ball for the entire round.