Arizona Shuffle

Type Stroke
Alias Arizona
Format Tournament
Number of players 3, 4
Team or Individual play Team
  • This game is usually played with four-player teams but can also be played with three-player teams. This is a stroke play tournament, often with Stableford scoring.
  • In Arizona Shuffle, sometimes simply referred to as Arizona, players of each team tee off and play their own balls throughout the round. The catch is that on every hole, a different number of scores are combined to determine the final team score. How many scores are to be combined on each hole depends on the rules set by the tournament organizers. Some common variations of Arizona Shuffle are listed below:
  1. On par-3 holes, the best score among the team members counts as the team score. On par-4 holes, the two best scores of the team are combined to determine the team score. On par-5 holes, the three best scores of the team are combined for the final team score.
  2. On par-3 holes, the three best scores are combined for the team score. On par-4 holes, the two best scores are combined, and on par-5 holes, only the best score counts as a team score.
    For example, Player A scores a 5, Player B scores a 4, Player C a 6, and Player D also a 6 on a par-4 hole. The two best scores are 4 and 5, so the team score for that hole is 9.
  3. There is another version that only applies to four-player teams. In this version, all team members’ scores are combined on par-3 holes for the final team score, the three best scores are combined on par-4 holes, and the two best scores are combined on par-5 holes.
    For example, Player A scores a 5, Player B scores a 4, Player C a 3, and Player D a 4 on a par-3 hole. All scores are combined, and the final team score for that hole is 16.