8 golfers / 14 rounds / 2 Man Teams!!!

[Dave_Mack]

I'm going on golf tour with seven others and we have fourteen rounds of golf set up. All play will be fourball matches, i.e we will play as two man teams. Whilst I believe we can balance the schedule so that everyone is paired with everyone else twice am I right in saying that there is no way that every pair plays against every other pair. (I guess that would take 49 rounds - or is it 21?)

A secondary desire is to mix up the fours as evenly as possible so everybody gets to play in the company of everybody else the same number of times. (i.e. although they won't necessairly be matched as pairs against everybody else they will get to play golf in the same group an equal number of times.)

So I think my final question is what is the best schedule to use with the aim of getting as much balance as I can over the 14 rounds? The 8 player round robin schedule and have "Match 1" play "Match 2" and "Match 3" play Match 4" or the Whist tournament schedule for 8 players? If I used the latter what would be the best way to mix it up after the first 7 rounds of matches are complete?

This is my first visit to the site. I'm so grateful to find it but like other posts I've read, I appear to get more confused the more I think about it!!!!

All help and suggestions welcomed. Thanks.

[Dave_Mack]

Let me have another go at explaing my challenge more specifically.

If I use the the 8 player "Whist Tournament" schedule, after playing 7 rounds everyone has been teamed up with everyone else once and they have played in the same fourball (sat at the same table) with a balanced spread of partisapants. (It appears to be 3 times each. Would that be right?)

This is great as although you can't play against every other pair in 7 rounds, as we're on tour together we want to mix the players around the two tee times we have per round so that they get to play as evenly as possible in the company (either with or against) everyone else.

My question is ... What's the best thing to do for the next 7 rounds? (We're playing a total of 14 rounds whith two fourball tee times in each round.)

If I just repeat the rotation we're playing with everybody else again which is good but we're playing against the same pairs again which is not so good. If I mix up the Whist Schedule for the second set of rounds so that now Pair 1 play Pair 3 and Pair 2 play Pair 4, I produce different opponents but the partisapation amongst the fours is imbalanced with some playing in the company of a given individual 5 times and only 2 times with another.

I'll go with repeating the first rotation unless some can come up with a better solution.

BTW, am I right in saying that it would take 21 rounds to allow everyone to be paired with and play against every other pair .... or would it be 49???!!!

[Dave_Mack]

"A fool who persists in his folley will become wise"!!

On reviewing the "Whist Schedule" I realize it works perfectly. By having "Pair 1" play against "Pair 2" and "Pair 3" play against "Pair 4" over the first 7 rounds and then switching it to "Pair 1" against "Pair 3" and "Pair 2" against "Pair 4" for rounds 8 to 14 we have everyone paired up twice and a different match opponents everytime. (It would take 21 rounds for everyone to play with and against everyone else in pairs so we can only get two thirds through in 14 rounds.)

The best thing which everyone who goes on golf tour will recognize  is that everyone gets to play in a foursome with (or against) everyone else the same amount of times - 6.

How I wish my golf and the Scottish weather could work out so perfectly!!

Thanks so much for the great website!