A "Modified Alternate Shot" tournament, also known as a "Pinehurst" tournament, is a competition among teams of two. As the name suggests, players on a given team take turns (alternate) hitting the same ball until they hole out. This not only makes play go faster but can involve some interesting strategy when one of the players on a team is better at playing a tough lie, chipping, putting, etc.
Normally, the participants in the tournament will form their own teams and inform the outing coordinator with whom they will be playing. If League members want to play but don't have a teammate, the outing coordinator will help find one. Sometimes the outing coordinator may assign teams. For instance, the outing coordinator may try to ensure the ability level of each of the teams is roughly equal (based on total or average handicaps or similar). The outing coordinator for any tournament that uses the modified alternate shot format will identify the means of selecting teams when they publish information about the tournament.
Modified alternate shot tournaments typically do not use the handicaps of the participating golfers. Handicaps are generally a way to allow golfers to compete fairly in individual competitions. However, the outing coordinator can, at their discretion, come up with a way of giving handicap strokes to teams in a modified alternate short tournament. The outing coordinator may decide to do this to allow golfers of very different ability levels to team up and have a chance against other teams. The number of strokes to give could be decided by averaging the handicaps of the involved golfers, by selecting certain holes on which to apply a golfer's handicap strokes or something similar. If the outing coordinator chooses to give strokes to teams, the outing coordinator will announce how this will be done when they announce the tournamment. The coordinator will also provide a scorecard to be used by each team that contains this information.
Modified alternate shot tournaments may be played for prize money. When this is the case, the outing coordinator will announce the entry fee for each team or team member. The number of places for which prizes will be awarded and the amount of each prize will also be announced at the time the tournament is announced.
Players will usually be in a foursome of two teams particpating in the tournament. Teammates will always be in the same group (have the same tee time) whether or not there is another team playing with them. It could be that a team will be playing with one or two individuals that are not particpating in the tournament (and that may not be associated with the HAF League at all).
On each tee, both members of each team will hit tee shots. After both members of a given team tee off, the members of that team will confer and select one of the tee shots to play for the remainder of the hole. The team member whose shot was NOT selected hits their teammate's ball. That team member's original tee shot is picked up. Team members take turns hitting the same ball until they hole out. The number of strokes for the team to hole out, less any strokes given by the outing coordinator. is recorded as the team score on the scorecard.
At the end of the round, the team will total their scores from each hole (as one would for an individual round) and submit their scorecard to the outing coordinator. The outing coordinator will verify the totals on each scorecard and announce the results with teams ranked from first (lowest 18 hole score) to last. If the tournament was played for prizes, the outing coordinator will divide the prize pool according to the method announced for the tournament.
In an outing of 18 people, 16 people decide to play in the Mofified Alternate Shot tournament. The two thare are not particpating will go off last and play their own individual rounds but hang out with the League before and after.
Don is acting as the outing coordinator. The tournament is being played for prizes. Don decides to give handicap allowances based on the average course handicap of the particpants. Don collects $20 from each partipant for a total prize pool of $320. Don gives each team a scorecard showing the strokes they've been given on each hole. The prize pool is to be divided as follows:
| 1st Place | 2nd Place | 3rd Place | 4th Place |
|---|---|---|---|
| 40% | 30% | 20% | 10% |
For the purposes of the example of play, the focus will be on just one foursome on one hole, Team A comprised of Don and Kay and team B made up of Bob and Tua.
All four people tee off from their respecive tees (gentlemen and ladies). Don slices his tee shot into the trees while Kay's shot, although shorter, is in the fairway. Bob and Tua hit shots of similar distances but Bob's is in the fairway while Tua's is just off the fairway in the rough.
Don and Kay confer. Don really has no look at the green. Kay would have to play back into the fairway. Kay's shot is about 200 yards from the hole. They are confident that Don can reach the green from where Kay's ball lies. They decide to play Kay's tee shot. They pick up Don's ball and Don hits Kay's tee shot onto the fringe.
Bob and Tua huddle. They are both roughly 150 yards from the hole. They think they could get both of their tee shots on the green. However, Tua has a much better short game while Bob is a better iron player. They therefore decide to play Tua's tee shot even though it is in the rough. They pick up Bob's ball. Bob hit's Tua's ball and lands it about 12 feet from the hole.
For their third shots, Kay and Tua need to play. Since Team A chose Kay's tee shot and since shots need to alternate, Don hit the second and Kay needs to hit the third. Likewise, Team B chose Tua's tee shot so Bob hit next and it's Tua's turn again. Kay putts from the fringe to about 18 inches. Tua's putt catches the edge of the cup but lips out.
For their fourth shots, Don then holes the 18 inch putt and Bob taps in to complete the hole for their respective teams. Both teams write the 4 on their scorecard as the gross score for their team. They then subtract any strokes they've been given and write that down as their net score. For instance, if Team A gets zero strokes for this example hole and Team B gets one stroke, Team A would write 4 as both their gross and net scores and Team B would write 4 as their gross score and 3 as their net.
At the end of the round, each team totals their 18 hole net scores and returns their scorecards to the outing coordinator. After Don verifies the totals, the final results are as follows:
| Team | Score |
|---|---|
| Team C | 68 |
| Team F | 72 |
| Team B | 72 |
| Team G | 74 |
| Team A | 77 |
| Team H | 80 |
| Team D | 82 |
| Team E | 87 |
Don divides the prize pool accordingly:
| Place | Team(s) | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Team C | $128 (40%) |
| 2nd (tie) | Team F Team B |
$80 each (30%+20%/2) |
| 4th | Team G | $32 (10%) |