How doubles works in disc golf, and why best shot rules matter

In best shot doubles, both players throw from the tee and the team chooses the better lie. Appendix B of the Professional Disc Golf Association rulebook defines a doubles team as two players, keeps the Official Rules of Disc Golf in force unless Appendix B overrides them, and swaps the word team for player in the relevant scoring sections.

How the PDGA defines doubles

Appendix B is the PDGA’s dedicated doubles section, and the main rules index now points players there directly; the rules page was updated on Dec. 31, 2025. Every doubles format still sits inside the same rules system, even when the team version supersedes the single-player version.

The team is a shared scoring unit, with its own obligations, its own misplays, and its own strategic tradeoffs from the tee to the green.

Best shot: the format that rewards smart aggression

Best shot is by far the most popular doubles format. Both players throw from each lie, and the team chooses the better resulting lie and continues from there until the hole is completed. That single choice after each throw is where the whole format lives: one player can attack the gap or the pin while the other protects the team with a safer landing zone.

That creates a clear division of labor. On a tight tee, the more aggressive player can chase the green while the steadier partner aims for the widest lane, because best shot lets the team keep the better result. On an approach, the same logic applies: one throw can be a run at a tucked basket while the backup shot is designed to sit in the circle or avoid trouble long. The best teams use that split to turn one good drive and one calm putt into birdie chances that a single player might not manufacture alone.

Best shot also demands discipline. If a disc is picked up before the lie is chosen and marked, that throw cannot be selected, which makes communication and etiquette competitive necessities rather than manners. If one partner is injured or disqualified, the other may continue alone, and the team effectively becomes a singles player for the rest of the round.

Why best shot changes risk tolerance

Best shot is at its best when the team is willing to mix boldness with restraint. If one player has the power to reach a green but the other has the shape control to keep the disc in play, the team can take the ceiling-finding line without fully abandoning safety. On a windy hole, one player can challenge the putt while the other focuses on a tap-in-friendly miss, because the team only needs one putt to count.

The same idea works in reverse when the hole demands caution. If a basket is guarded by OB or a bad miss creates a nasty comeback, the team may choose the shot that leaves the cleanest next look instead of the shot with the highest upside.

Alternate shot is a different kind of pressure

Alternate shot strips away the safety net. It uses one sequence of throws on each hole, with teammates alternating from tee to target until the hole is finished. There is no doubling up on mistakes, no second launch to cover a bad first one, and no way to hide behind a partner when the rhythm breaks.

That makes the tee shot a strategic handoff, not just a first throw. If your partner is more reliable from a tricky lie, the value of placing the first shot in the middle of the fairway rises sharply because the next throw belongs to the other player. A missed short putt can be costly in alternate shot because the sequence keeps moving, and the team has to live with the consequences of each miss rather than erasing them with a second attempt.

The penalty structure adds even more pressure. In PDGA doubles formats, if the wrong player throws in alternate shot, it is a misplay and can carry a two-throw penalty. Championship pages also designate teeing order on the scorecard for modified alternate throw.

Modified formats exist to keep both players involved

The PDGA’s championship doubles formats do not always use pure best shot or pure alternate shot. Modified best throw has been used so one partner’s tee shot cannot be used three holes in a row, and modified alternate throw assigns tee order on the scorecard. They are designed to make sure both teammates contribute meaningfully and that the results reflect a true team performance using both players’ skills and abilities.

The 2017 Pro Worlds Mixed Doubles event results list winning MPO and FPO scores of 104 for the top listed teams. That same championship page used Round 1 modified best shot and Round 2 modified alternate throw.

The 2021 Mixed Doubles event was held June 19, 2021, at The Fort DGC in Ogden, Utah. The 2022 Masters Worlds divisional doubles player meeting was scheduled for July 9, 2022, at Northwood Park, and the 2025 Mixed Doubles at PDGA Professional World Championships was held July 26, 2025, in Nokia, Finland.

Why doubles matters beyond the scorecard

Many clubs host weekly random-draw best-shot nights, and that structure makes doubles one of the easiest ways for newer players to step into organized competition. It also gives established players a chance to combine strengths, compare styles, and learn how another golfer sees the same hole.

Doubles can reveal strengths and weaknesses more clearly than singles, because one partner’s distance game, putting confidence, or approach accuracy becomes visible to the other in real time.