What Is Best Ball (Four-Ball)?
Best Ball is a team format where each player plays their own ball for the entire hole. When everyone holes out, the team takes the lowest (best) score among the partners as the team's score for that hole. The other scores are thrown away.
When the teams are pairs — two players a side — the format is also called Four-Ball. The name comes from the four balls in play across the two-player teams. "Best Ball" and "Four-Ball" describe the same idea; Four-Ball is simply the official term used when each side has two players.
Because only one score has to be good on any given hole, Best Ball is forgiving. A blow-up by one partner disappears as long as the other makes a normal score. That low-pressure feel is why it's a favorite for member-guest days, charity outings, and weekend groups.
How a hole plays out
- 1.Each player tees off with their own ball.
- 2.Everyone plays their own ball all the way to the hole — no sharing, no swapping.
- 3.All partners hole out (or pick up once they can no longer beat their partner's score).
- 4.Compare the partners' scores and record the lowest one as the team score for the hole.
- 5.Move to the next tee and repeat for all 18 holes.
The one-sentence rule
Play your own ball start to finish, then keep the best score on each hole — that's Best Ball.
How Best Ball Scoring Works
Scoring is just a hole-by-hole "keep the lowest" exercise. On each hole, you look at every partner's score and write down the smallest number. Add those best-of-each-hole scores across 18 and you have the team total.
The table below shows a two-player team over the first five holes. Notice how the counted ball is always the lower of the two partners, and how a high number from one player simply doesn't matter when the other plays the hole well.
Each partner shot 23 individually, but the team's best-ball total is 19 — every hole counts only the lower score.
That gap is the whole appeal: two ordinary rounds combine into one strong team score. In stroke play, the side with the lowest 18-hole best-ball total wins. In match play, you compare each side's best ball hole by hole and award the hole to whichever team made the lower score, exactly like a singles match — more on that in the variations below.
Best Ball vs Scramble vs Alternate Shot
These three team formats get mixed up constantly, but they play completely differently. The fastest way to tell them apart: count how many balls your team has in play. In Best Ball, every player has their own. In a scramble and in alternate shot, the team plays a single ball.
The key tell: Best Ball has multiple balls in play; scramble and alternate shot share one.
Best Ball — independent and forgiving
Everyone plays their own ball start to finish. One bad hole from a partner is harmless as long as someone else scores. Most social and least demanding of the three.
Scramble — fast and friendly
All players hit, the team chooses the best ball, and everyone plays the next shot from that spot. Great for mixed-ability groups and outings because weaker players always play from a good lie. Only one score per hole.
Alternate Shot — the toughest test
Partners share a single ball and take turns. One person tees off on odd holes, the other on evens, and you alternate every shot in between. Demanding, because a partner's wayward shot is the next shot you have to play.
Handicaps in Best Ball
Best Ball plays beautifully with handicaps, which is why it suits groups of mixed ability. Each player receives their own strokes, and the team still keeps the best net score on each hole.
Under the World Handicap System, four-ball stroke play uses a recommended allowance of 85% of each player's Course Handicap. (Larger teams use a lower allowance — for example, four-player best-ball events drop further to keep things fair.) Each player's allotted strokes are assigned to specific holes by the scorecard's stroke index: the lowest-index holes get strokes first.
On a hole where a player receives a stroke, you subtract it from their gross score to get their net score, then compare net scores across the team and keep the lowest. So a higher-handicap partner can absolutely produce the counting ball on a hole where they're getting a shot — that's the design working as intended.
For casual rounds you can keep it simpler with full or relative handicaps, but if you want results that hold up for a club competition, follow the WHS allowance and assign strokes by index. Cleek applies the right allowance and stroke index automatically so net best-ball scoring is correct without manual math.
Best Ball Strategy
With two balls in play, Best Ball becomes a game of roles. The smartest teams don't both attack and don't both play safe — they coordinate, so one ball is always protecting a score while the other goes hunting.
Get one ball in the clubhouse first
Let the steadier player make a safe par or bogey before the other takes a risk. A score already "in" frees your partner to be aggressive with no downside.
Split the roles on par 5s and tucked pins
One partner goes for the green in two or fires at the flag; the other lays up and plays to the fat of the green. You only need one good outcome to score well.
Mind the order of play and who putts first
Send the player who is out of the hole, or facing a tricky read, to putt first. Their line shows your partner the break — and if they make it, the pressure lifts entirely.
Don't quit a hole too early
A short par putt from a struggling partner can still be the best ball if the other player is in trouble. Hole out unless you truly can't beat your partner's number.
Pair complementary games
When choosing teams, match a long, aggressive player with a steady, accurate one. Two bombers can leave you with no safe score; two cautious players can leave birdies on the table.
Best Ball Variations
The core idea — keep the best score — scales to bigger teams and to match play. Here are the variations you'll see most often.
Four-Ball Match Play
Two players a side. Each side's best ball competes against the other side's best ball, hole by hole. Win the hole with the lower best ball, halve it when they tie, and track the match in holes up — just like singles match play.
Best for: Pairs who want head-to-head drama on every hole.
1 of 4 (One Best Ball)
Teams of four where only the single lowest score on each hole counts. Highly forgiving, with three safety nets behind every hole.
Best for: Large casual outings and mixed-ability groups.
2 of 4 (Two Best Balls)
Teams of four where the two lowest scores on each hole are added together for the team total. More demanding — you need two solid scores, not just one.
Best for: Competitive foursome events that still reward teamwork.
1-2-3 Best Ball (Cha Cha Cha)
Teams of four with a rotating count: on some holes one score counts, on others two, on others all three of the lowest. A common pattern counts one best ball on holes 1-6, two on holes 7-12, and three on holes 13-18.
Best for: Groups who want variety and a build-up to a team finish.
Net Best Ball
Any of the above played with handicaps, keeping the best net score(s) rather than gross. The standard for fair competition across different skill levels.
Best for: Club events and groups with a wide handicap spread.
Running Best Ball on Cleek
Best Ball is easy to play and tedious to score by hand — every hole you're comparing numbers, applying strokes, and tracking a running team total. Cleek does that live. Set up a Best Ball or Four-Ball game in one tap, add your partners, and the team's best ball is calculated automatically on every hole as scores come in.
One person can score for the whole group, and guests don't need an account to join — you can meet a new partner on the first tee and be scoring by the second. Cleek applies the correct handicap allowance and assigns strokes by stroke index, so your net best-ball results are right without any mental math. Choose stroke play or match play, two-player or four-player teams, and Cleek tracks the standings as you go.
When the round ends, you get a shareable scorecard showing each player's contribution and which holes each best ball came from — the kind of artifact that gets your group talking about the rematch before they've left the green.