# Rule 22: Foursomes (Also Known as Alternate Shot) (The R&A and USGA Rules of Golf)

Golf · Rule 22: Foursomes (Also Known as Alternate Shot) · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/golf/laws/rule-22-foursomes-also-known-as-alternate-shot/)

Two partners playing one ball: acting for the side, alternating strokes and tee shots, the wrong order, starting the round, sharing clubs and standing behind the partner.

## 22.221 Foursomes

Acting for the side, alternate strokes and tee shots, the wrong order, the start of the round, shared clubs and Rule 22.6.

### Test 1: Foursomes and acting for the side

- Two partners share one ball, playing it in turn. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.1)
- Rule 22's title gives both names. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22)
- Any allowed action for the side may be taken by either partner. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.2)
- A partner may help in any way the other partner's caddie may. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.2)
- Any breach by either partner or either caddie applies to the side. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.2)
- Rule 22.2 lets either partner certify for the side. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.2; Rule 3.3b)
- An individual plays against two partners who alternate shots. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.1)
- One ball, two balls, then four tee shots. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.1; Rule 23.1)
- A caddie's breach is the side's breach. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.2)
- A has two partners with one ball. B is two partners with a ball each, and C and D are three and four players. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.1)

### Test 2: Alternate strokes and alternate tee shots

- The partners must alternate who plays first from the teeing area of each hole. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)
- Who holed out does not matter; tee shots alternate. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)
- Strokes alternate for the rest of the hole. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)
- Penalty strokes are added to the score but do not change whose turn it is. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)
- The out-of-bounds stroke counts, so the turn passes to Yellow. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3; Rule 18.2)
- When a stroke is cancelled or replayed, the same partner plays again. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)
- A provisional is played by the partner whose turn it is for the side's next stroke. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)
- Each partner plays every other stroke of the hole. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)
- Tee shots alternate hole by hole. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)
- The penalty stroke does not change the order, so the other partner plays the side's next stroke. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)

### Test 3: Strokes in the wrong order

- Rule 22.3 carries the general penalty. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)
- The general penalty in match play is loss of hole. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3; Rule 1.3c)
- The correction is made from where the first stroke in the wrong order was played. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3; Rule 14.6)
- The wrong-order stroke and any more before the correction do not count. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)
- An uncorrected wrong-order stroke disqualifies the side. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)
- On the final hole the deadline is the return of the card. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)
- The general penalty in stroke play is two strokes. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)
- In Stableford this breach costs the hole's points, not the competition. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3; Rule 21.1c)
- The correction keeps the side in the competition. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)
- B is where the wrong-order stroke 3 was made. A is the tee, D is where stroke 2 began, and C is where 3 ended. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.3)

### Test 4: Starting the round

- The side chooses, unless the Terms of the Competition name the partner. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.4a)
- The round starts when that partner makes a stroke to start the first hole. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.4a)
- That partner must be ready to play at the starting time and point. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.4b)
- The second partner may wait at the starting point or out on the hole near the expected landing spot. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.4b)
- The first partner must start at, and not before, the starting time. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.4b)
- If either partner is not present as required, the side is in breach. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.4b)
- Rule 22.4b adapts Rule 5.3a for the two partners. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.4b)
- The round begins with the first stroke. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.4)
- The chosen partner starts, and the tee shots alternate from there. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.4a; Rule 22.3)
- C is on the practice green by the clubhouse. A is at the starting point, and B and D are near where the drive should land. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.4b)

### Test 5: Sharing clubs and standing behind the partner

- Rule 22.5 allows sharing, so long as the total is not more than 14. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.5)
- Shared clubs count together: 8 + 7 is one over the limit. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.5; Rule 4.1b)
- The limit is the extension of the line of play behind the ball. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.6)
- Standing there could give information for the side's next stroke. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.6)
- Rule 22.6 carries the general penalty. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.6)
- Rule 22.6 adds to the limits in Rule 10.2b(4). (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.6)
- Rule 22.6 carries the general penalty, which in a match costs the hole. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.6)
- The limit applies to the total the partners have together. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.5)
- Yellow keeps off the line behind the ball while Blue putts. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.6)
- In A the other partner is on the line behind the ball. B and D are to the side, and C is beyond the hole. (Source: Rules of Golf (2023), Rule 22.6)

Sources: Rules of Golf, effective January 2023 (The R&A and USGA), Rule 22 (paraphrased in original wording; original questions authored from the Rules, not reproduced)

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