Game Format

Cha Cha Cha Golf Format

Also known as: Rotating Best Ball, 1-2-3 Best Ball

Cha Cha Cha is a team golf format that adds a strategic twist to the classic best ball game. Instead of counting the same number of scores on every hole, the number of scores that count toward the team total rotates in a 1-2-3 pattern. On the first hole only the single best score counts, on the second hole the two best scores are added together, on the third hole all three best scores count — then the cycle repeats. This rotating pattern keeps every hole interesting and ensures that every player’s contribution matters.

At a Glance

Type: Team game
Team size: 2–24 players (most commonly 3 or 4)
Scoring: Stroke play or Stableford
Handicaps: Off by default; supports Net Score and Compare with Lowest
Wins: Lowest team total (stroke play) or highest points (Stableford)

The Rules

Each team member plays their own ball on every hole, just like in a best ball format.
On each hole, the team uses a rotating number of best scores:
- Holes 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16: the 1 best score counts
- Holes 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17: the 2 best scores count
- Holes 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18: the 3 best scores count
The selected scores are added together for each hole.
The team’s total across all 18 holes determines the winner. Lowest total wins in stroke play.

Key difference from Best Ball: In a standard best ball game, only one score counts on every hole. In Cha Cha Cha, the number of scores that count changes each hole, putting more pressure on the team as a whole during the 2-score and 3-score holes.

The Scoring Pattern

The pattern repeats every three holes across the full 18:

Hole	Scores counted
1	1 best score
2	2 best scores
3	3 best scores
4	1 best score
5	2 best scores
6	3 best scores
7	1 best score
8	2 best scores
9	3 best scores
10	1 best score
11	2 best scores
12	3 best scores
13	1 best score
14	2 best scores
15	3 best scores
16	1 best score
17	2 best scores
18	3 best scores

Over 18 holes, you will have six 1-score holes, six 2-score holes, and six 3-score holes — for a total of 36 individual scores contributing to the team total (with a standard 3+ player team).

Example Round

A four-person team plays the first three holes of a Cha Cha Cha round:

Hole 1 — Par 4 (1 best score counts)

Player A: 5 • Player B: 4 • Player C: 6 • Player D: 5

Team score: 4 (Player B’s score)

Hole 2 — Par 3 (2 best scores count)

Player A: 3 • Player B: 4 • Player C: 3 • Player D: 5

Team score: 6 (Player A’s 3 + Player C’s 3)

Hole 3 — Par 5 (3 best scores count)

Player A: 5 • Player B: 6 • Player C: 5 • Player D: 4

Team score: 14 (Player D’s 4 + Player A’s 5 + Player C’s 5)

After three holes the team’s running total is 4 + 6 + 14 = 24. On hole 4 the cycle restarts and only the single best score counts again.

Different Team Sizes

Cha Cha Cha automatically adapts the scoring pattern based on how many players are on a team:

Teams of 3 or more players

The standard 1-2-3 pattern is used. On “3 best scores” holes, the three lowest scores from the team are counted. If you have four or more players, the extra players’ scores serve as insurance — the worst score on each hole is simply dropped.

Teams of 2 players

The pattern shortens to 1-2, 1-2, 1-2 and repeats every two holes instead of three. On odd-numbered holes the single best score counts, and on even-numbered holes both players’ scores count. This keeps the format balanced when there are only two players, since you can never have three scores to choose from.

Team size	Pattern	Repeats every
2 players	1 – 2	2 holes
3+ players	1 – 2 – 3	3 holes

Tip: Cha Cha Cha works best with teams of 3 or 4 players, where the full 1-2-3 rotation comes into play. With 4 players, even the “3 best scores” holes still allow one bad score to be dropped.

Handicap Options

Handicaps are off by default but can be enabled for a fairer competition between teams of different skill levels. Squabbit supports the following handicap options for Cha Cha Cha:

Net Score

Each player receives a percentage of their course handicap as strokes. The default is 75% (or 85% in a VS game). These strokes are applied to individual holes before determining which scores are the “best.” The percentage is fully customizable.

Compare with Lowest

The lowest handicap player in the group plays at scratch, and all other players receive the difference in strokes. This is useful when teams are playing head-to-head and you want the best player to have no advantage from handicap strokes.

Gross

No handicap adjustments — raw scores only. This is the default setting.

Setting Up in Squabbit

To create a Cha Cha Cha game in Squabbit:

Create a new tournament or casual game.
Under format, choose ChaChaCha from the team games list.
Set your team size. The default is 4 players per team, but 3 is the most natural fit for the 1-2-3 pattern.
Optionally change the scoring type from Stroke Play to Stableford.
Optionally enable handicaps and choose a handicap usage mode.
Add players and assign them to teams.

During the round, every player enters their own score on each hole. Squabbit automatically determines which scores count based on the hole number and adds only the best scores to the team total.

Note: The scoring pattern is handled automatically — you do not need to manually select which scores count. Squabbit highlights the scores that are being used on each hole so the team can see exactly how their total is calculated.