Competition identity
Foursomes means one ball for the side
Under the Rules of Golf, foursomes is the alternate-shot partner form. Two partners play one ball in alternating order. They also alternate who starts from the teeing area on successive holes. It is not simply four golfers sharing a group.
Watching which partner plays the next stroke is part of following the contest. A player may have produced a fine tee shot and then hand the next shot to the partner. That is the format working as intended rather than one player being substituted out of the hole.
Four-ball keeps each partner’s own ball
In four-ball, both partners play their own ball and the lower partner score for the hole is the side’s score. The two individual efforts feed one side’s result. One partner’s difficult hole does not automatically become the side’s score if the other partner completes it more efficiently.
For a hypothetical hole, the partners make four and six. Their side’s score is four. In foursomes, by contrast, those partners would have shared one sequence of strokes at one ball, so there would not be two independent completed hole scores to choose between.
The names do not establish match play by themselves
Both foursomes and four-ball can be played as match play or stroke play. The partner arrangement tells you who plays the ball; the form of competition tells you how the result is compared with opponents. Read both pieces of information.
In a team event using match play, a side can win or halve a hole against another side. In a stroke-play event, the applicable side score contributes to a cumulative result. A graphic cannot be interpreted correctly from the word four-ball alone.
A group is not necessarily a team
A tee group can contain players who are competing against each other, partners on the same side, or opposing sides in a match. The physical arrangement on the course does not explain the competitive relationship. Use the pairings and match sheet to identify who is partnered.
This matters in highlights because a camera can move between several balls or players. An excellent shot by a golfer in the same group may belong to the opposing side. Look at the side labels before adding the result to a team story.
Follow the session as well as the match
Events that use more than one partner format can change the arrangement between sessions. An earlier four-ball pairing does not establish who will play together in the next foursomes session. The official pairings provide that information.
When choosing a replay, include the format and session, not only the event name. That lets you distinguish an alternate-shot match from a programme in which both partners play separate balls. It also avoids treating the total score of the wider team event as the running score of one individual match.
Questions answered
Is foursomes just another word for four players in a group?
No. It is the alternate-shot partner format with one ball per side.
Which partner score counts in four-ball?
The lower score for the side on that hole.
Can the same event use both formats?
Yes. Check the specific session and its pairings.
Sources & further reading
Official references for the subjects discussed. Service terms and device software can change.