To save you wading through the BBC’s gumpf, lottie, here’s an abridged version:
Golf has two ways of scoring, Stroke Play and Match Play. In Stroke Play a player’s total number of shots for the round are added up and the one with the fewest wins. In Match Play each hole is played individually and the player taking the fewest wins the hole. The player winning the greatest number of holes wins the match. When you hear of a player winning in Match Play by “Four and Three” it means he was four holes ahead when there were only three holes left to play.
The Ryder Cup works on the Match Play basis and consists of 28 matches: 8 “Fourballs”; 8 “Foursomes” and 12 Singles, 28 in all. A team therefore needs 14 and a half points to take the cup. The Fourballs are matches where two players from each side have a ball each and play each hole individually (hence there are four balls in play) and the player taking the fewest shots wins the hole for his team. The Foursomes also involve two players from each side, but only one ball is in play for each team, the players taking alternate strokes. The singles are just that – individual players playing against each other.
Before you get the wrong idea I have no interest in golf. I’m sure it is a lovely game to play (though I’ve never tried), but a spectator or TV sport it a’int. Watching a few chaps walk across a muddy field is not my idea of entertainment. However, I do take a passing interest in the rules and laws of most sports.