Two points on every hole: one for the better low ball, one for the better high ball. The partner having a rough day still decides half the money.
Compare the two teams’ best scores for one point, then compare their worst scores for another. Suddenly the player having a rough day is worth just as much as the one making birdies, because somebody has to cover the high ball.
High-Low — also called Low Ball-High Ball or just Hi-Lo — fixes the one real flaw in best ball: the moment your partner makes birdie, your own ball stops mattering. Here every hole is worth two points. One goes to the side with the better low ball, exactly like best ball. The other goes to the side with the better high ball — the two worst scores on the hole play their own little match, and it pays the same as the good one.
The effect on a foursome is immediate. The player who's out of the hole is suddenly grinding a four-footer for double bogey, because a six beats a seven and that's a point. It's the most reliable way to keep all four players in every hole of a 2v2, and it's why the format is a staple of member-guests and buddies trips where the handicap spread is wide.
Worked example. Net scores on the 7th: your side makes 4 and 7; the other side makes 5 and 6. Low ball: your 4 beats their 5 — you win that point. High ball: their 6 beats your 7 — they win that point. The hole is halved 1–1, and the player who made 7 just cost their team a point they could have saved with a bogey. Now flip it: you make 4 and 6, they make 5 and 6. Low ball to you, high ball tied and washed. You win the hole 1–0.
High-Low-Total. The most popular expansion: add a third point for the better combined two-person score. It brings the game closer to a full team format and makes blow-ups expensive twice over — once on the high ball, once on the total.
Carryovers instead of washes. Rather than voiding a tied point, carry it to the next hole. Two ties in a row and there are four points on the 12th, which does interesting things to everyone's course management.
Subtraction scoring. A harsher variant: keep the point for the better low ball, but deduct a point from the team with the worse high ball. Same shape, meaner arithmetic, and a much bigger incentive to avoid the disaster.
Birdie doubles. Win the low ball point with a natural birdie and it counts double. Costs nothing to add and gives the better player something to chase once the high ball point is already decided.
Presses. High-Low takes presses cleanly — a side that's down three points can press the remaining holes into a second, separate match, exactly as in a Nassau.
Handicap allowances. Full handicap by stroke index is standard for casual play. In tighter games, play off the low handicapper: subtract their index from everyone, so the scratch plays off zero and a 15 plays off 15 minus their index.
High-Low is scored in Duck Hook Pro. The pro or organizer sets up the game and keeps the card there, and Duck Hook Pro works out the result and the settle-up and shows it on a TV leaderboard. It isn’t in the free app yet.
See Duck Hook Pro Browse all 42 gamesHigh-Low, also called Low Ball-High Ball, is a 2-vs-2 game where every hole is worth two points: one to the side with the better low score and one to the side with the better high score. All four players play their own ball, so nobody's score is ever irrelevant.
By comparing each team's worst score on the hole. If your side's high score is a 6 and the other side's high score is a 7, you win the high ball point. It's a match between the two struggling players, worth exactly as much as the match between the two good ones.
Most groups wash the tied point — nobody scores it. The alternative is to carry it to the next hole, so a tied low ball point makes the next hole worth two low ball points. Decide before the round.
A three-point version. You keep the low ball and high ball points and add a third for the better combined two-person score on the hole. It rewards teams that are good together rather than good in one direction.
Yes, in any group with a spread. Strokes fall by stroke index and both points are judged on net scores. Full handicap is standard casually; tighter games play off the low handicapper's index.
Best ball only counts each team's lowest score, so a player out of the hole has nothing to play for. High-Low keeps that low ball contest and adds an equally valuable one between the two high scores, which keeps all four players engaged on every hole.
Same energy, different game. Everything below has a full rules guide of its own.
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