Foursomes, Greensomes and Pinehurst
Golfify supports three shared-ball pair formats where two players work together on a single ball — Alternate Shot (Foursomes), Greensomes, and Pinehurst/Chapman. These are popular in inter-club matches, Ryder Cup-style events, and social competitions where you want a strong team dynamic.
Make sure you've already created an event and selected your course. You'll configure the competition format during event setup.
What are these formats?
All three formats are played in pairs (two-player teams) with a single ball per team. They differ in how the tee shot and subsequent shots are handled.
Alternate Shot (Foursomes)
The traditional foursomes format. Players in each pair alternate shots throughout the hole, and they alternate who tees off on odd and even holes. Only one ball is in play per pair at any time.
Greensomes
Both players tee off, and the pair chooses the better drive. From that point, the players alternate shots for the rest of the hole. This gives both players a chance to contribute off the tee before reverting to the alternate-shot pattern.
Pinehurst / Chapman
Both players tee off, then they switch balls for the second shot — each player hits the other's tee shot. After the second shots, the pair picks the better ball and alternates from there until the hole is finished.
How to set it up
-
From the Home Screen, tap the + button and select Single Round Event.
-
From your event, tap the gear icon to open the Host Menu.
-
Tap Event Settings, then scroll to Format & Scoring.
-
Under Competition Format, select the pair format you want to use — Alternate Shot, Greensomes, or Pinehurst/Chapman.
-
Choose your scoring method — Stroke Play or Stableford.
-
Go to Host Menu → Player Manager and tap the TEE SHEET tab.
-
Assign players to pairs. Each tee slot represents one pair.
-
Tap Save, then Activate on the HOME tab when ready.
Scoring and leaderboard
In all three formats, each pair produces a single score per hole — just like a scramble. Golfify handles the scorecard and leaderboard automatically:
- One player in the pair opens the scorecard and enters the team's score for each hole
- The leaderboard ranks pairs by total gross or net score
- If handicapping is enabled, a combined handicap allowance is applied based on both players' handicap indices
The recommended handicap allowance varies by format. Golfify sets an appropriate default, but you can adjust it in Host Menu → Event Settings → Handicaps. For foursomes, a common allowance is 50% of the combined handicap.
Which format should I choose?
| Format | Tee shot | After the tee | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alternate Shot | Players alternate who tees off | Alternate every shot | Traditional matches, inter-club events |
| Greensomes | Both players tee off, pick the best | Alternate from the chosen drive | Social events where both players want to tee off |
| Pinehurst / Chapman | Both players tee off, then switch balls for the second shot | Pick the better ball after the second shot, then alternate | A twist on greensomes with more strategy |
Tips for running pair formats
- Balance your pairs — pair a stronger player with a weaker player to keep the competition close across the field
- Explain the format clearly — not all players will be familiar with these formats, especially Pinehurst/Chapman. A quick explanation before tee-off goes a long way
- Consider matchplay — these formats work well as matchplay events too. You can combine them with the Matchplay Pairs format in a Ryder Cup multi-round event
Related Articles
- Team Better Ball — pairs or four-player teams where each player plays their own ball
- Team Scramble — teams play from the best shot each time
- Matchplay Pairs — head-to-head matchplay between two-player teams
- Ryder Cup Events — multi-round team events combining different pair formats