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Game Format

Chapman Golf Format

Also known as: Pinehurst, American Foursomes, Chapman System

The Chapman format (also called Pinehurst or American Foursomes) is a 2-person team game that blends strategy with alternate shot play. Both players tee off, swap balls for the second shot, then choose the best ball and finish the hole with alternate shots. It tests the full partnership — both players must contribute from the tee, and careful decision-making after the second shot determines the rest of the hole.

At a Glance

Type
Team game
Team size
2 players
Scoring
Stroke play or Stableford
Handicaps
Off by default — 60% / 40% when enabled
Wins
Lowest team score

The Rules
  1. Both players on the team tee off on every hole.
  2. Each player then plays their partner’s ball for the second shot. (Player A hits Player B’s tee shot, and Player B hits Player A’s tee shot.)
  3. After the second shots, the team selects the best ball to continue with.
  4. From that point on, the team finishes the hole playing alternate shot. The player who did not hit the chosen second shot takes the third shot.
  5. The team records one score per hole. The team with the lowest total score wins.
Key detail: Because you play your partner’s drive for the second shot, you need to think about both tee shots strategically. A long but risky drive still needs to leave your partner with a playable lie.

Step-by-Step Example Hole

A two-person team (Player A and Player B) is playing a par 4:

Par 4 — 400 yards
1. Tee shots: Player A drives 240 yards into the fairway. Player B drives 220 yards, slightly in the rough.
2. Swap balls: Player A plays Player B’s ball from the rough and reaches the green, 20 feet from the pin. Player B plays Player A’s ball from the fairway and lands on the green, 10 feet from the pin.
3. Choose best ball: The team picks Player B’s second shot (10 feet from the pin). Since Player B hit this shot, Player A takes the next one.
4. Alternate shot: Player A putts from 10 feet and rolls it to 2 feet.
5. Alternate shot: Player B taps in for the team’s 5th stroke.
Team score: 5 (bogey)
Shot counting: Shot 1 = both tee off. Shot 2 = both play partner’s ball. Shot 3 onward = alternate shot from the chosen ball. In this example the 5 strokes are: A’s tee shot + B’s second shot (the chosen ball) + A’s putt + B’s tap-in = 4 counted strokes... but remember each tee shot and each second shot counts, so the total is: tee shot (1) + second shot (2) + third shot (3) + fourth shot (4) + fifth shot (5) = 5.

How It Differs from Other Foursomes

Several team formats share the “foursomes” family tree. Here’s how Chapman compares:

Format Tee shot 2nd shot Rest of hole
Chapman Both tee off Play partner’s ball Choose best, then alternate shot
Alternate Shot One player tees off Partner plays it Continue alternating every shot
Greensomes Both tee off Choose best drive Alternate shot (non-driver hits 2nd)
Scramble Both tee off Choose best, both play from there Repeat: choose best, both play

Chapman gives both players more involvement than standard Alternate Shot (everyone hits from the tee and plays a second shot), while requiring more strategy than a Scramble (you must commit to alternate shot after choosing the best ball).

Handicap Options

By default, Chapman is played without handicaps (gross scoring). When you enable handicaps, the team handicap is calculated by combining a percentage of each player’s individual handicap:

Mode Handicap percentages
Standard 60% + 40% (lower handicap gets 60%)
VS (team vs team) 50% + 50% (equal weighting)

For example, a team with handicaps of 8 and 18 in a standard game:

Team Handicap Calculation
8 × 60% = 4.8
18 × 40% = 7.2
Team handicap: 12 (rounded from 12.0)

The team’s net score is their gross score minus the team handicap. These percentages are fully customizable in Squabbit.

VS mode tip: When playing team vs team, Squabbit defaults to Compare With Lowest handicap usage, which strokes off the lowest handicap in the match so the best player plays at scratch.

Scoring Options

Stroke Play (default)

The team’s total strokes over all 18 holes are added up. Lowest total wins. This is the standard and most common way to score Chapman.

Stableford

Instead of counting total strokes, the team earns points on each hole based on their score relative to par. Higher point total wins. This can speed up play since the team can pick up the ball once they can no longer score points on a hole.

Match Play (VS games only)

When playing team vs team, each hole is won, lost, or tied. The team that wins the most holes wins the match. This option is only available when playing a VS game.

Setting Up in Squabbit

To create a Chapman game in Squabbit:

  1. Create a new tournament or casual game.
  2. Under format, choose Chapman.
  3. The team size is fixed at 2 players per team.
  4. Optionally enable handicaps and adjust the percentages (default: 60% / 40%).
  5. Optionally change the scoring type from Stroke Play to Stableford.
  6. Add players and assign them to teams.

During the round, only one score needs to be entered per hole — the team’s score. Both players share the same scorecard.

Note: Chapman rounds do not count toward a player’s handicap index, since players are not playing their own ball for the entire hole.