With the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, golf fans are doing what they always do every two years – looking at the rules and trying to remember the difference between four-ball and four-man.
Both formats are staples of the Ryder Cup and featured in the first two days of the game. Although the names sound similar, the styles are no different. Understanding these formats is key to keeping up with the action unfolding this weekend.
Whether you’re watching it for the first time or just needing a review, this is a clear crash in how each format works.
Four balls
In the USGA rules of golf, Rule 23 says on four balls: “Four balls (playing in a game or having a stroke), where the partner competes with each individual ball. The score in the hole of the hole is the lower score of the partner in that hole.”
The four-ball format (also known as the best or low ball) lets each team play their own ball on a two-team team, so four balls are playing on each hole. The team’s score on each hole is the lower part of the score of two players.
What makes four balls particularly interesting is the flexibility and strategy involved. Partners can play in any order, only one person needs to complete the loophole of the team’s score, and players can even share the club.
Four people
Rule 22 says to four: “Four (played in a match or stroke game), where two partners use this as one aspect by alternately making strokes on a ball. This form of game rules is essentially the same as the rules for a single match, except that the partners are required to exchange for one hole and the hole that kicks out each hole in exchange for each hole.
Foursomes (aka alternative shots) is a format in which two players play the same ball by taking turns hitting the ball. Unlike the format of each player playing, in a four-player group, the partners must alternate each shot. One player opens on odd holes and the other player takes off in even holes, and they continue to alternate until the holes are finished. This format can be used as a game or a stroke game, and both parties assume full responsibility for each stroke.
The part that makes the four-person format so unique is the alternating lens rules. This aspect adds a strong strategic element to the game, making the four-player a real test of teamwork. Partners need to coordinate carefully, not just decide who to take off first, but also maintain orders throughout the hole, even when dealing with penalties or temporary balls.
