How to Play the 4-Point Game Golf Format

The reason this format/betting game is called the 4-Point Game is straightforward: because on each hole, four points are at stake. At the end of the round, the side with the most points wins the game.

Four-Point Game, sometimes just called "4 Points," is a game for a group of four golfers who pair off into 2-person teams. So the competition is 2-vs.-2. (Note that this game is less commonly called 2-1-1.)

This is how the four points available on each hole are earned:

• Two points for the lowest of each side's low scores. Compare Team A's low ball (e.g., if Player 1 scores 5 and Player 2 scores 7, Team A's low ball is 5) against Team B's low ball. The better of those two scores earns two points for its team.
• One point for the lowest of each side's high scores. Same as above, but applied to each side's high ball.
• One point for the low team total. Combine the scores of the two golfers per side, lower total earns this point.

You can bet this game several different ways. Make winning the overall, 18-hole bet worth a set amount (say, $10), and at the end the losing team owes that much to the winning team.

Or make each point worth a set amount and at the end, pay out the difference in points. (If points are worth $1, for example, and Team A wins by seven points, then Team B owes Team A $7.)

Or make it a Nassau with separate bets covering the front nine, the back nine and the overall total.