Tee Box Shuffle Format Explained

Tee Box Shuffle is the name of a golf game for a group of golfers, or a format for a tournament, that has the golfers using different tee boxes throughout the round. And which teeing ground you use is determined by your score on the previous hole.

In Tee Box Shuffle (sometimes called a Red, White and Blue tournament or format, although that name can also refer to different games) makes use of the back tees, middle tees and forward tees throughout the round. This is how it works:

• On the first tee, golfers tee off from the middle teeing ground.
• After that, which tee box is used — forward, middle or back — depends on the scores being made.
• If a golfer or team makes a net par on the first hole, they tee off from the middle tees again on No. 2.
• A net birdie or better means you tee off from the back tees on the next hole.
• A net bogey or worse means you tee off from the forward tees on the following hole.

Note that Tee Box Shuffle typically uses net scores to determine the next teeing ground used. It doesn't have to, though. If your group is comprised of low handicappers, you should play it at scratch. If your group consists of mid-handicappers and higher, though, you'll probably want to use net scores.

Another option for higher-handicap groups is to re-set the paramaters as opposed to using net scores: Play it so that bogey means using the middle tees, par or better means using the back tees, double bogey or worse means moving up to the forward tees.

More golf formats:

• How to play the Honors game
• How to play the Tombstone tournament format
• Full list of golf games, side bets and formats