Fourball supports two distinct voice flows on mobile, designed for very different moments on the course. Both use the same transcription engine, but they capture different information and live in different parts of the app. Pick the one that matches how you are scoring today — or mix them as you go.

Individual voice scoring — for the player tracking their own round

When you are entering scores for yourself on the per-hole player screen, the microphone button captures a richer set of details for that one player on that one hole. It is built for a quick spoken note as you walk off the green.

Start every utterance with the hole number — Fourball uses it as the anchor for the rest of the sentence. For example: "Hole six, driver, seven iron, and two putts."

What it understands after the hole number:

  • Total shots on the hole ("five", "bogey", "birdie").
  • Number of putts ("two putts", "one putt").
  • Clubs used off the tee or into the green ("driver", "seven iron", "pitching wedge").
  • Short notes about the hole when relevant.

You do not need to say your name — the screen is already scoped to one player — but the hole number at the start is required so the entry lands on the correct row even if you have scrolled away.

Group voice scoring — for the player marking the whole foursome

When one person is keeping the card for the group, open the group score entry screen and use its microphone button. This flow is optimised for speed across multiple players at once.

What it understands:

  • One player at a time: "Ray five."
  • Multiple players in one sentence: "Ray five, John four, Dermot six."
  • An explicit hole number anywhere in the sentence: "Hole four, Dermot five." The score is written to hole four no matter which hole is on screen.
  • Mixed hole numbers in a single utterance: "Hole seven, Ray five, John four." Everything after "hole seven" is applied to that hole until another hole number is spoken.
  • Strokes relative to par: "Birdie", "par", "bogey", "double bogey" are converted using the par of the hole being scored.

Names are matched against the group roster, so first name, last name, nickname or a close phonetic match all work. If a player's card is already locked, Fourball will tell you in the confirmation toast and skip that entry rather than overwriting it.

How to choose — or combine them

The two flows are not exclusive. A common pattern in a society or outing round is:

  • The card-keeper uses group voice scoring to log all four scores quickly as the group walks to the next tee.
  • Individual players, on their own phones, use individual voice scoring later to add their putts, the clubs they hit, or a note about the hole — without changing the group total.

Both flows write to the same round, so the leaderboard, scorecards and end-of-round summaries always agree.

Tips for clean recognition

  • Hold the phone close to your mouth and speak in short, natural sentences.
  • Use first names that match how the player is saved in the roster — nicknames work, but consistency helps.
  • If you make a mistake, just tap the relevant cell and edit it the normal way. Voice is an input method, not a separate scoring system.
  • Recording auto-stops after a few seconds, so there is no need to long-press or remember to release.

Voice scoring is designed to make the awkward moments — wet hands, gloves on, walking between holes — feel effortless. Use whichever flow fits the moment, and Fourball keeps the card honest.