How to Play the Waltz Golf Game

Waltz is the name of a golf game for groups of three or four in which the number of team members' scores used on each hole changes throughout. The Waltz format is another version of a type of best-ball game commonly known as 1-2-3 Best Ball.

In addition to 1-2-3 Best Ball, Waltz is sometimes called 1-2-3 Waltz. There is also a version called Reverse Waltz that we'll explain below.

In Waltz, the teams are three or four players. It's a best ball, which means that each player on the team is playing his or her own ball throughout, attempting to make the lowest score they can. Stableford points are typically used when this format is called Waltz, but standard stroke-play scoring can also be used.

The key to Waltz is the hole rotation that governs how many team members' scores are used on each hole for the team score. And it goes like this:

• On Hole 1, the one low score among team members is the team's score.
• On Hole 2, two low scores among team members are combined for the team's score.
• On Hole 3, the three low scores among team members are combined for the team's score. (If playing in teams of three, this means all scores count.)
• On Hole 4, it's back to the one low score.

And that is the scoring rotation. (Hole 5, two low scores; Hole 6, three low scores; Hole 7, one low score, and so on.)

This rotation means that the team's score will consist of the one low score among its players on Holes 1, 4, 7, 10, 13 and 16. The two low scores will combine for the team score on Holes 2, 5, 8, 11, 14 and 17. And three scores will combine for the team score on Holes 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 and 18.

Note that names for identical or very similar games, in addition to 1-2-3 Best Ball, include 4-Man Cha Cha Cha, Irish Four Ball, and Arizona Shuffle.

What Is a Reverse Waltz?

A "Reverse Waltz" is just the same game but with the hole rotation flipped. Instead of starting on Hole 1 with one low score, in Reverse Waltz three scores are used on the first hole. On the third hole in a regular Waltz, three scores are used. But a Reverse Waltz uses only one score on the third hole.

The Reverse Waltz rotation is this:

• On Hole 1, three team member scores combine for the team score.
• On Hole 2, two players' scores combined for the team score.
• On Hole 3, the one low score among players is the team's score.
• On Hole 4, it's back to three players' scores, and so on from there.

It's just a slightly different way of playing the game. In a normal Waltz, the game ends on the 18th hole with three players' scores counting. But in Reverse Waltz, the game ends on the 18th hole with only one low ball counting for the team.

More golf games:

• How to play the Various Pars format
• How to play the 4-Point Game
• How to play the Joker Stableford format