Explaining the Hollywood Golf Format

Hollywood is the name of a game in which four golfers pair off into two sides (2-vs.-2), and then change partners after every six holes. That way, each golfer partners each other golfer for six holes over an 18-hole round: one round, three partners.

We probably should have started our article by writing that, "Hollywood is one of the names of a game ..." That's because this format has multiple other names, and Hollywood is actually the least common of them. It is more often called Round Robin, or Sixes, or Rotation, and C.O.D. is essentially the same format. (Another game, 3-in-1, changes the scoring method every six holes while the partners remain the same.)

Hollywood — or whatever you want to call it — is all about that changing of partners. You can partner one another in whatever order you group wishes, changing partners after the sixth hole and again after the 12th hole.

The standard rotation is this:

• On Holes 1-6, A and B partner against C and D;
• For holes 7-13, A and C partner against B and D;
• On holes 13-18, A and D partner against B and C.

You can use any scoring format that works for 2-person teams, with fourball (better ball, meaning the lower score of the two partners counts as the side's score) being most common.

Who wins the Hollywood match? Your goal is, obviously, to win as many holes as you can, regardless of who your partner happens to be at any point during the round. Groups can count each 6-hole rotation as a separate match, with the losing side paying the winning side (assuming you've decided to wager, of course). Or you can give each golfer on the side that wins a hole one point, add up each golfer's points at the end of the round, and pay out based on that.

See our Round Robin golf format explanation for more details.

Related articles:

• Explaining the Low Ball-High Ball format
• The Russian Stableford golf format
• How to play the Split Sixes game

Sources:
(Book titles are affiliate links; commissions earned)
Kapriskie, Ron. Golf Digest's Complete Book of Golf Betting Games, 2007, Doubleday.
The Quick Series Guide to Golf Games, 1998, Luxart Communications.