How alternate shot works

1. Each side is two partners playing one ball. A match is usually two sides in one group of four.
2. Before the round, the side decides which partner tees off on the first hole. That partner then tees off on every odd-numbered hole, and the other partner tees off on every even-numbered hole.
3. After the tee shot, the partners alternate strokes until the ball is holed. If one partner hits the tee shot, the other plays the second shot, the first plays the third, and so on.
4. The side records one score per hole. In match play the lower score, or lower net score in a net match, wins the hole.

These are the USGA rules for foursomes (Rule 22). The tee-off order alternates from hole to hole regardless of who hit the last putt on the hole before, which is why it works out as odd and even holes. Partners may share clubs as long as they carry no more than 14 between them, and either partner may mark, lift, drop or place the ball for the side, whoever's turn it is to play.

Alternate shot is the hardest of the common team formats and often the most memorable. Every bad shot is left for your partner to play, and on a long par 4 the player who did not hit the drive may face the approach shot every time. Most pairings decide who takes the odd holes by looking at which par 3s and long holes each player would tee off on.

Penalty strokes do not change the order. If a tee shot goes into a penalty area, the side adds one penalty stroke and the partner whose turn it is plays next, from wherever the side takes relief. The penalty stroke counts in the side's score but is not a turn.

The same applies to a ball out of bounds. The stroke that went out of bounds counts, so after the side adds the penalty stroke, the other partner plays the next shot from where the ball was last hit. A provisional ball is played by the partner whose turn it would be to play the side's next stroke. Only a stroke that is cancelled or does not count under a Rule is played again by the same partner, which is rare.

Playing in the wrong order gets the general penalty, which is loss of the hole in match play. In stroke play it is two penalty strokes, and the side must replay the stroke in the right order or be disqualified.

The USGA's recommended allowance for foursomes is 50% of the combined course handicaps of the two partners (Rules of Handicapping, Appendix C). Add the two partners' course handicaps and take half. In match play, the side with the lower number plays off zero and the other side receives the difference.

Robin and Taylor receive 4 strokes, one each on the holes ranked 1 to 4 by stroke index. In stroke play each side would play off its full team handicap of 13 and 17. The course handicap calculator works out alternate shot team handicaps for you.

USGA rule and Wedge: Appendix C's general rule gives each side a playing handicap first and then takes the difference, which is what Wedge does: 50% of each side's combined course handicaps, rounded to the nearest whole number with a half rounding up. Its foursomes example instead gives 50% of the difference between the two sides' combined course handicaps, and the USGA applies the allowance to unrounded course handicaps where Wedge uses rounded ones. The two methods usually agree but can differ by a stroke. If Casey's course handicap were 17, Dana and Casey's combined 25 would round from 12.5 to 13 in Wedge, so Robin and Taylor would still receive 17 - 13 = 4 strokes, while 50% of the 9-stroke difference is 4.5, which rounds to 5.

Dana and Casey play Robin and Taylor in a net alternate shot match. Dana and Robin tee off on the odd holes and Casey and Taylor on the even holes. Robin and Taylor receive 4 strokes, on the holes with stroke index 1 to 4: holes 5, 12, 3 and 14 on this course. A score with a stroke shows the net score in brackets.

On the 7th, Dana's tee shot went into the water. The side took penalty relief with one penalty stroke, Casey played the next shot onto the green, Dana putted and Casey holed out. That is 1 tee shot, 1 penalty stroke and 3 more strokes, for a 5, and the order was Dana, Casey, Dana, Casey: the penalty stroke did not take a turn.

Over 16 holes Robin and Taylor won 6 holes, Dana and Casey won 3 and 7 were halved, so Robin and Taylor finished 6 - 3 = 3 up. After the 15th they were 3 up with 3 to play, which is dormie, and the halve on the 16th left them 3 up with 2 to play, which ends the match 3 and 2. Their 4 strokes won three holes (3, 12 and 14) and halved a fourth (5).

Two popular variations let both partners hit a tee shot before the side settles on one ball. Both are common in club events and on golf trips, and both are easier on the weaker partner than pure alternate shot.

• Greensomes. Both partners tee off and the side chooses the better drive. The partner whose drive was not chosen plays the second shot, and the partners alternate from there.
• Chapman, also called Pinehurst. Both partners tee off, then each plays the second shot with the other's ball. The side chooses the better of the two balls after the second shots and alternates from there.

The USGA's recommended allowance for both is different from foursomes: 60% of the lower course handicap plus 40% of the higher, with the side that has the lower figure playing off zero in a match.

Wedge does not offer Greensomes or Chapman as formats. Its shared-ball formats are alternate shot and the scramble.

Wedge offers alternate shot as a session in a Ryder Cup on a golf trip. When the organizer books a cup match with two players from each team and picks alternate shot, Wedge sets it up this way:

• The handicap allowance starts at 50% of the partners' combined course handicaps, and the organizer can change it in steps of 5%. Both partners carry the side's one number, and the side with the higher number receives the difference.
• Each side keeps one shared card. Either partner can enter the side's score on it, and a partner without the app can play as a guest, but every side needs at least one Wedge player to hold the card.
• Wedge records the side's score on each hole. Keeping the tee-off order is up to the partners.
• The match is scored as match play and is worth its points to the winning team: 1 point for a win and half a point to each team for a halved match, with no extra holes.
• The shared card is the side's score, not either player's, so it is not posted to GHIN and is left out of individual games that day, such as the stroke-play leaderboard, skins and Stableford.

Wedge offers alternate shot only in cup matches. An ordinary match outside a golf trip can be played with everyone on their own ball or as a scramble.

• Alternating tee shots by who putted out. The tee-off order alternates by hole, not by who hit the last shot. Write the odd and even holes on the card before you start.
• Using each partner's full course handicap. A side plays one ball, so it gets one handicap: 50% of the combined course handicaps, not each player's own strokes.
• Rounding too early. Add the two course handicaps before taking 50%. Halving each player's number and rounding separately can move the side's handicap by a stroke.
• Penalty strokes taking a turn. A penalty stroke is added to the score but nobody plays it, so the next shot is played by the partner whose turn it is.
• Posting the score. Players do not play their own ball, so an alternate shot round is not an acceptable score for a Handicap Index.