Follow one fictional four-ball hole
Imagine partners A and B each play a separate ball from tee to hole. A takes four strokes and B takes five. In ordinary gross four-ball, the side’s score for the hole is four. The team does not combine A’s drive with B’s approach to manufacture a different individual hole.
The side can use A’s score on this hole and B’s score on another. That selection happens at the level of completed hole scores, not by choosing the best individual stroke at every stage.
Now follow a scramble
In a basic scramble, both partners hit tee shots and choose one location. They both play their next shots from the selected location, choose again and continue until the hole is completed. The resulting team sequence can combine contributions from different players.
That is why a scramble video can show several attempted shots from essentially the same selected spot without each attempt adding separately to the team’s score. The event’s placement and selection rules govern the procedure. Variants can impose additional requirements, including whose drives must be used.
Read the formal format rather than a casual label
The R&A formally uses Four-Ball for the two-partner own-ball format. Its defined Best-Ball variation has a distinct match-play meaning, while everyday conversation sometimes uses best ball loosely for several team formats. USGA’s four-ball guide also uses the familiar better-ball term.
For that reason, a charity-event title is not enough to establish the rules. Read whether each player keeps an independent ball score, whether the team selects shot locations and whether handicaps or special drive requirements apply.
A useful replay note records the format first, then identifies what was selected: a completed individual hole score or the position for the next team stroke. This prevents a four-ball partner’s good approach from being incorrectly combined with the other player’s ball and prevents a scramble’s repeated attempts from being counted as several consecutive team strokes. The distinction explains the action before any final score is compared.
Related questions
Does four-ball let partners choose the best shot after every stroke?
No. Each plays a separate ball; the lower hole score counts for the side.
Sources and scope
Scope notes distinguish published documentation, supplied information and editorial methods. They do not report a hands-on service test.
- R&A Rule23 — Four-ball and formally defined Best-Ball distinction
- USGA scramble explanation — Successive selected-shot procedure
- USGA four-ball guide — Separate balls and lower partner score
