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Best Ball Tournaments

Create and manage Best Ball team tournaments where every player plays their own ball and the best individual scores count toward the team total.

Overview

The Best Ball Tournament system supports five variants — from classic Four-Ball to the popular Cha-Cha-Cha format used at men's clubs. Unlike a Scramble where the team plays one ball, Best Ball has every player complete each hole individually, making it more competitive while still being a team event.

Key Features:

  • Team-based competition (2-4 players per team)
  • 5 scoring variants (Best Ball, Two Best Balls, Three Best Balls, Cha-Cha-Cha, Best Balls by Par)
  • Individual USGA handicap allowances for fair NET scoring
  • Real-time "counting score" indicators during score entry
  • Player contribution tracking (see who carried the team)
  • Tournament branding (custom logo and banner)
  • Skills contests (Long Drive, Closest to Pin)
  • Flights for larger tournaments (10+ teams)
  • Mobile-friendly score entry

Premium Feature: Creating Best Ball tournaments requires an active Premium subscription. All users can participate.

Best Ball Format Variants

One Best Ball (Four-Ball)

Every player plays their own ball on every hole. The single best individual score on each hole counts as the team score.

Example: On a par 4, your team scores 4, 5, 6, and 5. The team score is 4 (the best score).

Best for: All skill levels. Very forgiving — one great hole from any player can carry the team.

Two Best Balls of Four

Every player plays their own ball. The two best individual scores on each hole are added together for the team score.

Example: On a par 4, your team scores 4, 5, 6, and 5. The team score is 4 + 5 = 9 (the two best scores).

Best for: More competitive events where every player needs to contribute. A bad hole from one player hurts more.

Three Best Balls of Four

Every player plays their own ball. The three best individual scores on each hole are added together. Only the single worst score per hole is dropped.

Example: On a par 4, your team scores 4, 5, 6, and 5. The team score is 4 + 5 + 5 = 14 (drop the 6).

Best for: Highly competitive formats — almost every score matters.

Cha-Cha-Cha (1-2-3 Best Ball)

Every player plays their own ball. The number of scores that count rotates in a 3-hole pattern:

HolesCounting Scores
1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16Best 1 score
2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17Best 2 scores
3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18Best 3 scores

The pattern repeats every 3 holes: "Cha" (1 best), "Cha-Cha" (2 best), "Cha-Cha-Cha" (3 best) — hence the name.

Best for: Men's club events, golf outings. The rotating format adds variety and keeps things interesting.

Best Balls by Par

Every player plays their own ball. The number of counting scores depends on the hole's par:

Hole ParCounting Scores (Default)
Par 3Best 1 score
Par 4Best 2 scores
Par 5Best 3 scores

The organizer can customize these counts during tournament creation.

Best for: Creative club events. Easy to understand — shorter holes = fewer scores count.

How Handicaps Work in Best Ball

Unlike Scramble tournaments (which calculate a single team handicap), Best Ball tournaments give each player their own individual handicap strokes based on their course handicap.

USGA Handicap Allowances

The USGA recommends a percentage reduction based on format and team size:

Variant4-Player3-Player2-Player
One Best Ball85%85%90%
Two Best Balls80%85%—
Three Best Balls75%——
Cha-Cha-Cha80%80%—
Best Balls by Par80%80%—

How Strokes Are Allocated

  1. Each player's course handicap is calculated from their handicap index
  2. The allowance percentage is applied (e.g., 85% for One Best Ball)
  3. The resulting adjusted handicap determines which holes the player receives strokes on
  4. Strokes are allocated to the hardest holes first (based on hole stroke index)

Example:

  • Player has a course handicap of 16
  • One Best Ball format uses 85% allowance
  • Adjusted handicap: 16 × 0.85 = 13.6 → 14 strokes
  • Player receives 1 stroke on the 14 hardest holes

NET vs GROSS Scoring

  • NET scoring (recommended): Each player's score is reduced by their handicap strokes before the best scores are selected. This levels the playing field.
  • GROSS scoring: Raw scores are used. Lower handicap players have a significant advantage.

Team Par in Multi-Score Formats

When multiple scores count per hole (Two Best Balls, Cha-Cha-Cha, Best Balls by Par), the team par is adjusted accordingly:

  • One Best Ball: Team par = hole par (e.g., 4)
  • Two Best Balls: Team par = hole par x 2 (e.g., 8 on a par 4)
  • Three Best Balls: Team par = hole par x 3 (e.g., 12 on a par 4)
  • Cha-Cha-Cha: Team par varies per hole based on the rotation

The scorecard shows the adjusted team par, and scores are colored relative to team par (e.g., a gross 7 on team par 8 shows as birdie).

How to Use

Creating a Tournament

  1. Open the menu (hamburger icon, top-right on mobile) → Games → Tournaments
  2. On the Tournament Hub, tap the Best Ball card
  3. Click "Create Tournament" (Premium subscription required)
  4. Follow the 4-step wizard:

Step 1: Tournament Details

  • Enter tournament name and description
  • Select tournament date
  • Search for golf course
  • Course rating and slope auto-fill if available
  • Select tournament type (Men's, Women's, or Mixed)
  • Select tees for the tournament

Step 2: Format Settings

  • Choose Best Ball variant:
    • One Best Ball
    • Two Best Balls of Four
    • Three Best Balls of Four
    • Cha-Cha-Cha
    • Best Balls by Par
  • Select team size (2, 3, or 4 players)
  • Select scoring type (Gross or Net)
  • For Cha-Cha-Cha: customize the rotation pattern (default 1-2-3)
  • For Best Balls by Par: customize counts per par value
  • Set max score per hole (optional — Double Par, Triple Bogey, Fixed 10, or No Cap)

Step 3: Registration Settings

  • Choose visibility (Private, Unlisted, or Public)
  • Set maximum number of teams
  • Enable/disable guest players
  • Choose start type (Shotgun or Tee Times)
  • Upload logo and/or banner image (optional)

Step 4: Review & Create

  • Review all settings
  • Click "Create Tournament"

Adding Teams & Starting

After the tournament is created it sits in Setup until you finish two required steps. The Setup Checklist at the top of the tournament page tracks both.

  1. Add teams — Teams tab → Add Team (minimum 2 teams)
  2. Assign playing groups — Manage tab → Manage Playing Groups. Every team must be in a group; groups carry the tee time or starting hole and cart assignments
  3. Start the tournament — Manage tab → Start Tournament, which opens scoring

Start stays locked until every team is assigned to a playing group. The button shows a padlock, and Manage Playing Groups is flagged with an amber Assign badge until setup is complete.

If you delete or rebuild a team, re-check your groups. A deleted team is removed from its playing group automatically, and a re-created team is a brand-new team that starts out unassigned — even if you give it the same name and players. Open Manage Playing Groups and re-assign before starting.

Settings lock when you start. Once the tournament is started — and permanently afterwards, including once it's completed — these can no longer be changed:

  • Date, course, and tees
  • Best Ball variant, team size, scoring type (Gross/Net), max score per hole, default handicap
  • Registration settings and flights

You can still edit the tournament name, description, visibility, and logo/banner at any time. Get the format settings right before you hit Start — changing them afterwards would rewrite how every score already entered is counted.

Entering Scores

Best Ball score entry captures individual scores for every player on each hole:

  1. Open the tournament page
  2. Find your team and tap "Enter Scores"
  3. For each hole, you'll see:
    • Hole number, par, yardage, and stroke index
    • "Best N of M" indicator showing how many scores count on this hole
    • A score entry row for each player showing their name and handicap strokes
    • Use + and - buttons to enter each player's gross score
  4. As you enter scores, the app automatically:
    • Calculates each player's net score
    • Highlights which player scores are counting toward the team total (★)
    • Shows the team score for the hole
  5. Tap "Save" to record the hole score

Score Entry Tips:

  • Your live team position (e.g. 2nd of 6) shows in the header and updates in real time as any team posts a hole — track your place without opening the leaderboard
  • The counting indicators (★) update in real-time — change any score and see immediately which ones will count
  • For Cha-Cha-Cha, the header changes each hole (Best 1, Best 2, Best 3...)
  • If a player picks up, use the "Pickup" button to auto-fill max score
  • Scores save as drafts offline and sync when reconnected

Using the Leaderboard

The leaderboard works the same as Scramble tournaments:

  • Teams ranked by score relative to par
  • Expand any team row to see their scorecard
  • Filter by flight (if flights are enabled)
  • Favorite teams for easy tracking
  • Real-time updates as scores are entered

Tiebreakers (when teams finish with the same score):

  1. Back 9 net score
  2. Back 6 net score
  3. Back 3 net score
  4. 18th hole net score

Player Contributions

After the round, the app tracks how many times each player's score counted toward the team total.

Example:

"John's score counted on 14 of 18 holes — Team MVP!"

This adds a fun, competitive element within the team and helps everyone see how they contributed.

Cha-Cha-Cha Quick Reference

For the popular Cha-Cha-Cha format, here's the full 18-hole breakdown:

HoleBest NHoleBest NHoleBest N
1171131
2282142
3393153
41101161
52112172
63123183

Total counting scores across 18 holes: 36 (6 × 1 + 6 × 2 + 6 × 3)

Playing Over More Than One Day

Multi-round Best Ball isn't supported yet — a Best Ball tournament is a single round. If you want a multi-day team event, Scramble, Shamble and Chapman can each run 2–4 rounds.

Flights (Skill-Based Divisions)

Best Ball tournaments support the same flights system as Scramble:

  • Minimum 10 teams required
  • NET scoring tournaments only
  • Auto-Balance or Handicap Ranges mode
  • Flight names: Championship, Flight A, Flight B, Flight C

For full flights documentation, see the Scramble Tournaments — Flights section.

Best Ball vs Scramble — When to Use Which

FactorBest BallScramble
Skill rangeBest for groups with similar abilitiesBest for mixed abilities (weaker players contribute less pressure)
Competition levelMore competitive — every player's score mattersMore relaxed — team picks the best shot
Pace of playSlightly slower (everyone finishes each hole)Faster (play from best position)
Individual contributionHighly visible — contribution tracking shows who carriedLess visible — hard to tell who contributed
Popular atMen's clubs, competitive outingsCharity events, corporate outings
Variants5 variants (Cha-Cha-Cha most popular)4 variants (Texas most popular)

Troubleshooting & FAQs

"How many scores count on each hole?"

It depends on the variant. Check the "Best N of M" indicator at the top of each hole during score entry. For Cha-Cha-Cha, this changes every hole.

"Why does my handicap show a different number than my actual handicap?"

Best Ball formats use a USGA-recommended allowance that reduces your course handicap (e.g., 85% for One Best Ball). This is standard practice for tournament play.

"Can we play Cha-Cha-Cha with 3 players?"

Yes! The format works with 3 or 4 players. With 3 players, on "Best 3" holes all scores count.

"What if a player can't finish a hole?"

Use the "Pickup" button to assign the maximum score (Double Par by default). The team can still count the other players' scores.

"Is Cha-Cha-Cha a scramble?"

No. In Cha-Cha-Cha, everyone plays their own ball the entire hole. It's a rotating best-ball format, not a scramble. The team never plays from a shared position.

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