Ever Played Foursomes (Alternate Shot)?

[mchepp]

I have played it a few times, but I always feel it is tough format for me. When you hit a bad shot playing your own ball you accept that your are gonna have to punch out and take your medicine. For example, I am decent half wedge player. So I feel very comfortable taking my medicine after a bad drive and hitting it to 75 yards.

With alternate shot someone else has to take your medicine. Your partner may not like the 75 yard wedge and so when I punch out to that distance the team struggles. So I feel a game mismatch can make the format stressful.

[Buckeyebowman]

Hey, mchepp, it's not just a tough format for you, it's a tough format period! And I think you nailed the reason why. If you hose up your shot, you put your partner in trouble and they have to recover for you! 

Long ago I read a story about a newb to the Ryder Cup, don't remember his name, being paired with Arnold Palmer in a foursomes match. They set it up so that Arnie teed off on the longer par 5's. On one of them Arnie bombed it down there a mile, and the competition kind of sailed one off to the right toward some trouble. They walked down there and waited while the competition hunted around a bit, and then someone waved for Arnie to come over. He said, "Let me go over there and see what the problem is." After a bit, he walked back and told the newb to go ahead and hit their second shot since they needed to wait for an official. 

Well, the newb almost laid the sod over the ball, barely scraping it up on the front fringe. Arnie comes back and asks, "What happened? Did you have a bad lie?"  The newb said, "Arnie, I'm choking so hard I can't work up any spit!" Arnie just laughed and said, "Welcome to the Ryder Cup!"

[DeadMan]

6 hours ago, mchepp said:

So I feel a game mismatch can make the format stressful.

The format is always stressful, no matter how good you and your partner are matched. There's a reason it's called f*** your buddy in some places. 

Not that I would know anything about that 

[DaveP043]

10 hours ago, DeadMan said:

The format is always stressful, no matter how good you and your partner are matched. There's a reason it's called f*** your buddy in some places. 

Not that I would know anything about that 

Its an interesting thing, isn't it.  It never bothers me when my partner hits a poor shot, I'm accustomed to playing from my own difficult positions.  But if its ME that hits it into trouble, I feel awful, even though my partner is equally accustomed to playing from those kinds of difficult positions.  

[Bucki1968]

I play with  a group of guys who gets together every year or two and we have a "Ryder cup" type of competition for three days. The thing you have to remember when you play that format is that the other team is going to hit it in the crap too so no matter how bad it looks you will probably still have a chance to win/tie the hole. 

Edited January 10, 2020 by Bucki1968
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[cutchemist42]

No but I think the format is a fun concept. It's just my friends and I dont play at a membership golf course where I think it smore common. They have the mindset that they dont want to pay a full green fee to hit half of the shots which I get and believe as well mostly.