Claudia Laurent
Golf writer, Golf Handicapp · 17 July 2026
The short answer
Golf Handicapp now runs the classic team and pairs games: foursomes, greensomes, gruesomes, Chapman, Texas scramble and ambrose. Each side plays one ball, the app works out the combined team handicap, and the match is scored live like the Cup. Because they are team games off a shared ball, none of them touch your WHS handicap.
Society day, club match, a fourball that fancies something different: not every round is a straight medal. So we have added the formats golfers actually play when they want a team game. Here is what each one is, and how the app handles it.
The alternate-shot games: foursomes and greensomes
Foursomes is the purest pairs game. Two players share one ball and take turns hitting it, alternating tee shots too, so one partner drives the odd holes and the other the even. It is fast, nervy and brilliant fun, because every shot you leave your partner is a shot they have to play. The app gives the pair 50% of their two handicaps combined.
Greensomes takes the pressure off the tee. Both partners drive, you pick the better of the two balls, and from there you alternate shots to the hole. It rewards a pair who can get one good drive away and then grind out the hole together. The team plays off 60% of the lower handicap plus 40% of the higher.
The twists: gruesomes and Chapman
Gruesomes, sometimes called bloodsomes, is greensomes with a cruel edge: both partners drive, but the opposition chooses which of your two balls you have to play. Hit one great drive and one wild one and you can guess which you will be handed. Same 60/40 team handicap.
Chapman, also known as Pinehurst, is the connoisseur's pairs game. Both drive, then you swap balls and each plays your partner's drive for the second shot. You pick the better of those two, and alternate to the hole from there. Everyone hits a tee shot and a second shot, so it is a real test of both players. Also 60/40.
The scrambles: Texas scramble and ambrose
Texas scramble is the team game most societies know. Everyone tees off, the team picks the best ball, and all players then hit their next shot from that spot, repeating all the way to the hole. It is forgiving and sociable, ideal for mixed abilities, and usually carries a rule that a minimum number of each player's drives must be used across the round so nobody just carries the bag.
Ambrose is a scramble played off a combined team handicap, the handicapped version of the same everyone-hits-from-the-best-ball idea. It keeps a big, mixed field competitive because the team allowance does the levelling.
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How the app scores them
Setup is the same team flow as the Cup. You pick the format, split players into two named sides, and build the matches on the Teams and Matches screen. A side shares one card, so you also choose which player keeps it, which can be anyone in the group, handy when the other pair are guests.
From there it plays live as match play, side against side, with each side scoring off its one combined team handicap. Nearest the pin and longest drive credit the whole pair, and the scorecard shows both partners on one line. There is nothing to add up at the end.
One thing to know: these are all team games played off a shared ball, so they never post to your WHS handicap. Only the individual rounds you log update your index, exactly as before. If you want a comp that does count, a Stableford or medal tournament still updates every player's handicap automatically.
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About the author
Claudia Laurent · Golf writer, Golf Handicapp
Claudia writes about the World Handicap System, golf scoring and getting more from every round for Golf Handicapp. She is a mid-handicap golfer who logs every card, the good ones and the ones she would rather forget.
Last updated 17 July 2026.