The scoring unit
The fourball. Every player still gets their own individual points, but the result that is ranked belongs to the group.
Four-ball alliance
The society and golf-day staple. Each fourball is one team, and you choose how many of the four scores count on every hole.
What counts on each hole
The best one, two, three or four Stableford scores in the group on that hole. The number to count is set per competition and applies to every hole.
The calculation
How a result is arrived at
Written out so a committee can check it by hand for any one hole.
1. Each player scores individually first
Playing handicap, strokes off the stroke index and Stableford points are all worked out per player exactly as they are in individual Stableford. The format only changes what happens next.
2. On each hole, take the best N
Sort the group's points for that hole, highest first, take the top N and add them. N is the “scores to count” setting, from 1 to 4.
With N = 2 and a hole where the fourball scores 3, 2, 2 and 0, the hole contributes 5 — the 3 and one of the 2s. The other 2 and the 0 are discarded for that hole only.
3. The team total
Add the eighteen combined hole scores. A player having one disastrous hole costs the team nothing as long as N others scored, which is precisely why societies like this format.
Worked example
On the demo card
The same four synthetic players used everywhere on this site, playing a fictional par 72 at a 95% allowance.
The demo fourball is Fourie, Bhengu, Nel and Dlamini. Individually they finish on 33, 35, 27 and 33 points, which adds to 128 — but that is not the alliance score, because only the best two count on each hole.
Counting the best two on every hole gives the fourball 76 points. Notice that this is far less than adding two individual totals together would suggest: the best two on a hole are not the same two players every time, which is the whole character of the format.
Change “scores to count” in the demo below and watch the team total move. At 4 it becomes combined Stableford; at 1 it becomes a very unforgiving best-ball.
Format
Handicap allowance
One result per player.
| # | Player | Plays off | Points | Back 9 | Back 6 | Back 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | T. Bhengu | 8 | 35 | 17 | 12 | 6 |
| T2 | A. Fourie | 13 | 33 | 16 | 10 | 5 |
| T3 | S. Dlamini | 10 | 33 | 15 | 9 | 5 |
| 4 | P. Nel | 17 | 27 | 13 | 9 | 4 |
Two results are level on points. Countback has separated them on the back nine, and the ranks are marked so nobody has to wonder why.
Select this format below. Every number is computed by the production scoring engine.
Edge cases
The parts that catch people out
These are the situations a spreadsheet usually gets wrong.
An incomplete team
A group with fewer players than N — a threeball in a competition counting the best four — has every present score counted and is marked as incomplete rather than being silently scored as though the missing player shot zero.
That distinction matters. Treating an absent player as a zero would quietly penalise a group for something the organiser did, and the committee would have no way of seeing it had happened.
Ties and countback
Applied to the fourball's combined hole scores, not to any one player: last nine, last six, last three, last hole.
So two teams level on 76 are separated by their combined back-nine total. If they are level on all four figures they share the rank, and the next team drops a place accordingly.
A player's individual result is still calculated and still available, so you can run an individual prize off the same cards without scoring the day twice.
Live in the productLive in the product
Covered by tests, which is why it is listed.
This format's unit construction, rounding and countback behaviour are covered by the automated tests that run against the scoring engine. That is the bar for appearing on the formats page at all.
Questions
About formats
Which competition formats are supported?
Four, each with its rules, rounding and countback behaviour covered by automated tests: individual Stableford, four-ball alliance, two-ball alliance (better ball) and combined Stableford.
For the alliance format you choose how many scores count on each hole, from one to four. The handicap allowance percentage is adjustable per competition, so a format played off 85% is scored off 85%.
If your club plays a format that is not on the list, ask: formats are added on request, and we only list one publicly once its behaviour is under test, because a format that is nearly right is worse than one we do not offer.
How are ties broken?
By countback, in the standard sequence: the last nine, then the last six, then the last three, then the last hole.
If two players or teams are still exactly level after all four, they share the rank and the next rank is skipped, so two players tied on first are both shown as first and the next is third. The leaderboard marks a result where countback did the separating, so nobody has to wonder why one player is above another on the same points.
Does it handle 9-hole competitions?
Yes. Both 9 and 18 hole competitions are scored, and countback adjusts accordingly: over 9 holes it works from the last six, last three and last hole.
Can we apply a handicap allowance?
Yes, as a percentage across the competition, with the common ones a tap away. The playing handicap is calculated from the exact handicap and the allowance, rounded half away from zero, and the leaderboard shows what each player is playing off.
Change the allowance after cards are in and every result is recalculated. You do not re-enter anything.
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