Hi Linda,
You are spot on with your response to your NZ questioner.
Playing two singles matches at once is what we have done here in NSW Australia for our pennants and can be confusing even though the older hands are pretty much used to it.
In general, there seems to be no real issues from tee to green when strict order of play for the four players is easy to follow and doesn’t slow pay at all.
It’s when on the green that issues can arise and my advice to players is to have each pair play out there (in strict order within the pair) rather than allow the four to putt (in strict order) which is where it does get confused … and sometimes troublesome. I recall an opposing player not in my pair picking my ball up incorrectly (but with no malice) on one green and having to replace it in some embarrassment. He wasn’t following my match closely enough to make any call in it.
Regards,
Lou from Australia
