Foursomes

SEORG

I know it's not the most popular format for club competitions but with the inter club season beginning soon...how does your club prepare/practice for matches?

How would you play a practice round, hitting every second shot or hitting your own ball?

Do many of you play foursomes?

GreeBo

Lots of team training with the Pro.
the lots of practice matches sometimes against each other, often against other clubs

also this time of year our weekly comp is often foursomes qualifiers etc so those score are recorded (you are asked/expected to play with your partner)
finally, during the winter 12 holes one set of the 12 was blocked for foursomes practice matches for team selection.

Seve OB

I would think some of the best practice for foursomes is actually not golf related but sitting down and discussing tactics.

Who tees off first? Look at the card, know the course and decide which of the 2 players is better off teeing on the odd or even holes based on things like, how many par 3's are even or odd numbers & who is better at hitting in at par 3's? Looking at where the approach shots are likely to be hit from, maybe one of the players is better with long irons so would be better hitting longer second shots in at the greens. There can be lots to consider before standing on the first tee, looking at each other and saying, ah sure gwon so if you're ready.....

Other discussion should involve what to do when in trouble. What to do when opposition is in trouble. Direction should be given from team manager with a clear strategy in place rather than pairing guys up and letting them go out and do their own thing.

On the course, talk to your partner, ask him to lay up where you would like to play from. eg, a short par 4, maybe he would normally hit driver even though it might run into trouble if it's well struck. maybe an iron is a saver option to leave you in better position.... especially if your opposition is in the muck!!

when it comes to any kind of matchplay, the good players are not always the best golfers, but the better thinkers.

Barnaboy

I was only thinking about this yesterday. What constitutes a good score in foursomes? I played 9 holes foursomes yesterday with a 2-handicapper, I play off 14. Logic would suggest we should expect to play to +4. We went around in -1. But I have a feeling that we weren't really 5 shots better...

I'd imagine that we should do better because the low handicapper gives the higher handicapper easier shots but the low handicapper can recover poor shots from his partner?

or maybe I'm just being harsh on myself?

any thoughts?

Ben1977

I enjoy the format. We got drawn in the prelim for Barton cup and played on Sat just gone. Unfortunately my first match didn't go to plan, but at least the team won. Stevieob has some good advice. We have been practicing with matches against other pairings in our panel. For the last 2 months its been nothing but foursomes.