JUMP TO:
- What is four ball in Ryder Cup?
- How does four ball work in golf?
- Four ball vs. foursomes in golf
- Is four ball the same as best ball?
- Why do they call it a four ball?
- Four ball golf strategy
The Ryder Cup is one of the most hallowed events on the golf calendar, held every other year, but it isn’t structured like golf’s other premier events.
Rather than featuring stroke play like all four majors, the Ryder Cup is comprised of three different match play formats: four-ball, foursomes and singles.
Keeping track of how each format works can be difficult, but four-ball is particularly different when it comes to scoring and determining whose ball is whose.
Here’s a complete guide to the four-ball format and how it works at the Ryder Cup.
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What is four ball in Ryder Cup?
The Ryder Cup includes three different match play formats: four ball, foursomes and, on the final day, singles matches.
When each team competes in the four ball format, both Team USA and Team Europe are broken up into duos. Two players from Team USA go up against Team Europe in four ball matches, with each player from each team participating in a match.
As the name indicates, each player plays his own ball. That means four balls are in play, but only each team's lowest score counts for each hole.
After every hole has been played, the duo that won the most holes under the four ball format earns a point for the team they are representing.
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How does four ball work in golf?
Four-ball play involves two teams of two players and allows each team to count only the lowest score on each hole.
As the name indicates, four balls are in play, with each player playing their own ball. Each team only counts the lowest of its two scores, meaning a poor hole from one player won’t negatively impact the team unless their teammate also struggles. If both teams’ lowest scores are equal, the hole is halved and the scores are effectively canceled out.
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Four ball vs. foursomes in golf
Both four-ball and foursomes involve four players divided into teams of two, but the biggest difference between the formats is the number of balls in play. In four-ball, there are four balls in play, as the name indicates. In foursomes, there are four players but only two balls, with each team using just one ball.
In four-ball, each player plays their own ball, but only the lowest of the two scores is counted.
In foursomes, each team uses a single ball, with players alternating shots. One player takes the tee shot on a given hole, and their teammate takes the next shot from wherever it lands. That cadence continues until the ball is in the hole, with players alternating tee shots from hole to hole.
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Is four ball the same as best ball?
The four ball format is largely the same as best ball, which is self-explanatory: the best ball, or lowest score, from a duo is the one that is ultimately counted.
While best ball can be part of stroke play and take into account the number of strokes it takes each best ball to find the hole, four ball at the Ryder Cup is strictly match play, meaning players concede a hole once they have lost it.
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Why do they call it a four ball?
The origin of the "four ball" name is simple: there are four balls in play at each hole under the four ball format.
While only two balls ultimately count at the end of each hole, four players each play their own ball at each hole. Foursomes, meanwhile, involves four players but only two balls, making the number of balls the distinct difference between the two formats.
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Four ball golf strategy
Four-ball doesn’t require as much strategy as foursomes, also played at the Ryder Cup, because a player doesn’t need to directly set up their teammate’s shot. It is still important, however, for a player to know their teammate’s strengths and weaknesses and avoid putting too much pressure on them.
The four-ball format can allow players to be more aggressive than they otherwise might be, knowing a disastrous mistake might not count -- though it could put added pressure on their teammate.
Much of the strategizing in four-ball occurs before teeing off. Teammates must decide who will tee off first, as that player’s shot could influence the aggressiveness of the second player’s shot. It’s also helpful for a duo to have complementary strengths and weaknesses rather than both players having similar styles of golf.