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8-Man Golf Trip Format: Four Rounds, Two Teams of Four
With eight golfers and four rounds, you can give everyone a partner round with each of his three teammates, then finish with singles. Book two foursomes each round. It is a small enough cup that you'll see the other match on the course, while still having a separate result to follow.
Four rounds and the cup points
Split into two teams of 4. Keep the sides fixed and change partners in each of the first three rounds. Each match is worth one point; a tied match gives half to each side. Set the terms so a match tied after eighteen holes ends there.
| Round | Format | Matches | Cup points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friday | Best ball match play | 2 | 2 |
| Saturday morning | Best ball match play | 2 | 2 |
| Saturday afternoon | Two-man scramble match play | 2 | 2 |
| Sunday | Singles match play | 4 | 4 |
That's 10 points in total, with 5.5 needed to win outright. Agree what happens if the cup is tied. A trophy holder keeping the cup is one possible house rule; a shared result is another. Decide before either side knows which rule would help them.
Everyone can play with every teammate
Label one side A1 through A4 and the other B1 through B4. There are three ways to split four teammates into two pairs. Use a different split each partner round.
| Partner round | Team A pairs | Team B pairs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A1 + A2; A3 + A4 | B1 + B2; B3 + B4 |
| 2 | A1 + A4; A2 + A3 | B1 + B4; B2 + B3 |
| 3 | A1 + A3; A2 + A4 | B1 + B3; B2 + B4 |
These are the partnerships, rather than a full opponent schedule. The rotation guide shows how to match the pairs into foursomes. Opponents will repeat: each player has six opponent encounters across three partner rounds and only four golfers on the other side.
Give the second 18 to the scramble
Play best ball Friday and Saturday morning, then a two-man scramble Saturday afternoon. Best ball lets everyone play his own ball. The scramble gives the pair one shot to choose and one score to make together. Change partners again for that afternoon round so everyone completes the teammate rotation.
Confirm the afternoon tee times when booking the morning rounds. Two groups are easier to move than a large field, but a replay time still needs space on the course. Leave the second morning group enough time to eat.
Four singles matches in two groups
On Sunday, put two separate singles matches in each foursome. If the cup stands 3-3, either team needs 2½ of the four singles points to win outright. A 2-2 split leaves the cup at 5-5, so have a rule for that result.
You can agree singles opponents together or submit two orders without either captain seeing the other. Use the same method each captain understood at the start. Picking it after seeing who is in form invites an argument you can avoid.
If the group wants casual rounds instead
Fixed teams suit a cup, but they limit who can be your partner. If the trip is mainly about playing with all seven other golfers, rotating full foursomes may fit better. You can run an individual net competition across those rounds without maintaining A and B teams.
Choose which arrangement you want before drawing teams. Changing the sides halfway through a cup makes the earlier points difficult to interpret. The general formats guide covers the individual options.
Sources
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