How to Play the Patsome (Patsomes) Golf Format

Patsome, or Patsomes, is the name of a game for 2-player teams in which the golfers rotate formats every six holes. Fourball (better ball), greensomes and foursomes (alternate shot) are the three formats used, each played for six holes.

There are other golf games in which the partners stay the same for the full 18 holes, but the format changes every six holes. In many of those, the choice of formats and rotation of formats is left up to tournament organizers or to the group of golfers that is playing the game.

In patsome, however, the rotation of formats is prescribed. And it usually goes like this:

• On Holes 1-6, the 2-person teams play fourball (also known as better ball).
• On Holes 7-12, the teams play greensomes.
• On Holes 13-18, the teams play foursomes (also known as alternate shot).

In fourball, both golfers play their own balls into the hole, and the lower of the two scores counts as the team score. In greensomes (also called Canadian Foursomes), both golfers hit tee shots, the better shot is selected, and they play alternate shot from there into the hole (the one whose drive was not used plays the second stroke). And in foursomes, the golfers alternate playing strokes: If Golfer A plays the tee shot, Golfer B plays the second, Golfer A the third, and so on. (The partners also alternate hitting drives in foursomes, one on all the odd-numbered holes, the other on the evens.)

In the end, low strokes wins. But it is also common to find patsomes played using Stableford scoring, rather than stroke totals. That version is often called Patsomes Stableford.

If playing patsome with handicaps, both golfers get their full course handicaps in the fourball (better ball) segment. In the greensomes and foursomes (alternate shot) segments, the team plays off 50-percent of the players' combined course handicaps.

More formats:

• How to play St. Andrews Foursomes
• The Chapman System golf format explained
• How to play the Gruesomes game