20-Man Golf Trip Format: A 10v10 Schedule and Pairings

The four-round schedule

Each match is worth one point, split half each for a tie. That's 25 points in total; 13 wins outright. A 12½-12½ finish needs the tied-cup rule you've agreed before the trip.

In four-ball, both partners play their own ball and the lower agreed gross or net score counts on each hole. In a two-man scramble, both tee off, choose a shot, then both play from that spot. Repeat that process until the ball is holed. Each pair plays a match against the other pair in its foursome. See the R&A's four-ball rule and R&A scramble guide.

If Team A leads 8-7 after the three partner rounds, Team B needs six of the final ten singles points to win 13-12. Give the captains that target before they set their singles orders.

For a Friday-to-Sunday trip, play best ball Friday and Saturday morning, then the two-man scramble Saturday afternoon. Put the scramble in the second 18 on any two-round day. You've already had a round with your own ball, and a partner's good shot is welcome when you're starting to tire.

Five groups take time to get around the course. At ten-minute tee-time intervals, the last group starts 40 minutes after the first. Allow for that when planning dinner and the trip home.

Put names into these pairings

Keep the teams fixed. Label Team A's golfers A1 to A10, and Team B's B1 to B10. The numbers are labels, not handicap rankings. Replace them with names after you've balanced the sides.

Each row below is one complete foursome and one partner match.

First partner round

Second partner round

Nobody repeats a partner or an opponent in these first two partner rounds.

Third partner round

Across all three partner rounds, each golfer has three different partners. Two opponent pairings repeat: A2 faces B1 again, and A4 faces B3 again. Nobody faces the same opponent more than twice in those rounds.

Singles to finish

Each golfer appears once. Those singles opponents can include someone already faced in a partner round. If you want different singles matches, the captains can change the assignments while keeping one A player against one B player in every match.

The tables give you a complete starting schedule. You can also change which foursome gets the earliest tee time without changing the matches. Give a different group the early start each day if you can.

Handle changes before you send the final tee sheet

A 10v10 partner round depends on all twenty golfers being available. If someone drops out, change the competition before changing a name in the table. Eighteen players can make two teams of nine, but those sides won't divide into complete pairs. Choose a whole-round format that includes the remaining golfers, then publish new matches.

Keep the people in each match together when you move tee times. Confirm group sizes and starting arrangements with the course. A booking for five tee times doesn't automatically include permission for a shotgun or split-tee start.

For the accommodation and headcount side of the job, use the big-group planning guide.

Agree on the strokes and the finish

Write down the tees, handicap policy, tied-cup rule, and what happens if weather stops a round. A captain should be able to point to the same agreement everyone saw before the trip.

The USGA recommends 100% for singles match play and 90% for four-ball match play. Stymie's best-ball match setting currently uses 85%. Confirm that setting fits your agreed policy before using it for net matches. The Ryder Cup formats and rules guide explains the calculation and the decisions to settle before the first tee.

Give twenty people the same place to check

Once you've chosen the format, put the teams and matchups into Stymie with the round schedule. Players can check their match, and the cup standings update as scores are entered. You keep control of the pairings.