Golf Games: Alternate Shot

I'm not sure whether this post should be in the Friday Fun category or the Friday stress category. "Alternate shot" is a two man team tournament or match format which is very intense.  Very simply, the players on each two player team play one ball and alternately strike it until the hole is finished.  This is a popular format, even appearing in the Ryder Cup. Examples We'll take a par-5 for a good first example.  On the tee player A hits the first shot into the fairway.  Player B plays the 2nd shot from the fairway.  We'll say that player B hit a layup shot to 100 yards.  Player A hits the 3rd shot from 100 yards onto the green.  Player B hits the first putt and assuming the team two-putts, player A putts the 2nd putt into the hole. A tough personal example is one I played in with a partner recently.  He was a much higher handicap, and felt the stress.  His tee shot on one hole left me behind some trees.  I had to chip out of the trouble on the 2nd shot of a long par-4.  He then had to hit the 3rd shot and try to reach the green, which he hit thin and missed the green.  I then had to chip as close as I could where he missed about an eight foot putt.  Before you know it as a team we score a double bogey and player A (me) didn't hit a bad shot. Tough And Stressful This is one of the toughest and most stressful tournament formats there is, one that Tiger Woods didn't typically play well, even in his prime.  The stress comes from worrying about leaving your playing partner in a bad position, or when your playing partner leaves you in a bad position.  Even short putts are hard because you don't want to miss and force your partner to have to putt. The alternate shot format is a challenging two man team format.  Suggest it for one of your local club's tournaments!