The Format for the Rest of Us

The U.S. Open has been called the most democratic tournament in golf, but you have to carry a 1.4 index or lower just to enter a local qualifying tournament. That eliminates all but one or (maybe) two percent of the golfers out there. No, for most of us, the lowly scramble is the “tournament” we are most likely to play. And that’s OK.

If you’ve played golf for more than a year, you’re probably familiar with the scramble. Most scrambles are fun events, fundraisers usually. It’s the most popular team foramt in golf, and it is played all across the country. I know of one scramble that is held almost every day of the summer and is simply known as the Pot Game. It’s open to all comers at a little nine-hole course near me. Whoever shows up each day is in the field, and they adjust between three and four-man format to fit. Trash talk and joking around is the rule, not the exception, and it pretty much continues through swings and putts (playing the Pot Game is great for developing your concentration). A little money changes hands each round (hence the name), but, never fear, it almost always reverses directions the next day or the day after.

In its simplest form the scramble is played like this… each player hits a drive. You pick the best of the bunch, and the whole team plays the next shot from there. You continue like that until you hole out. You play within a club’s length of the “best shot,” but from the same type of lie (sand, rough, fairway). There are many variations, like the “Shamble,” where the team picks the best drive of the bunch and then each player plays his or her own ball in from there and records an individual score (shambles are usually handicapped). Some scrambles require a certain number of shots or drives (more commonly) to be used from each player.

Some accomplished golfers snub their noses at the scramble and with good reason – scrambles are not, strictly speaking, golf. In a scramble, you do not play the ball as it lies (you don’t only “roll it,” you can usually even place it if you want). Scrambles get blamed for instilling bad habits: swinging too hard, bad course management, and over-indulgence in adult beverages, to name a few.

The scramble is guilty as charged, but it also has many redeeming qualities that make it the “Format of the People” for golfers everywhere.

Number Five: Anyone Can Play
You don’t have to be good to play (and even contribute) in a scramble. You can have a pro and someone who’s never touched a club before on the same team, and the pro will not hit all of the team’s best shots. The rank amateur usually contributes a putt or chip.

The best scrambles have comparable A, B, C, and D players (assuming it’s a four-man format). If all the As are equally matched as well as all of the subsequent ranks, the scramble should be very competitive. In scrambles, it’s the B or C player shooting lights out or the A player playing like a C or D that often determines success or failure.

Scrambles can be handicapped (sometimes called an Ambrose Scramble) to give each team a fair chance. Handicapping is usually accomplished by adding the players’ handicaps and then dividing by four for a two-man scramble, six for a three-man, or eight for a four-man. They can also be handicapped by forcing teams to use a certain number of drives from each player, making different teams hit from different tees, or any number of other methods.

Number Four: Your Best Chance to Shoot 59
Honestly, what are your chances of going really low on your own?

My best score to date is 77. Playing in a four-man scramble, I’ve been on a team that posted a 56. On my own, I get an eagle putt every once in a while. In a scramble, I feel cheated if we don’t get two or three such putts, and I fully expect to make an eagle in each scramble (it doesn’t always happen).

It’s a lot of fun to post scores that you, otherwise, could only dream of. Scrambles are great for the team mentality, which is probably why they are so popular as corporate events. It’s four (or three or two) golfers against the course, trying to go as low as possible. What’s not to like about that?

Number Three: Short Shots Make All the Difference
Scrambles aren’t usually won by the team that hits the ball the farthest. Usually, scrambles are determined by having one or more hot putters on your team.

I’ve been on many teams that just couldn’t make the birdie putts. Often, we’d have a decent birdie putt on virtually every hole, and still card just a few strokes under par.

But then, I’ve also been lucky enough to be on teams that just couldn’t miss. The last time that happened our team was four-under through eight holes. Then we caught fire. I made a 45-footer for eagle, and then we birdied out, going 11-under for the last 10 holes. Over that stretch, we made several putts over 20 feet, often on our very last chance, and we won by a couple strokes.

The point is, we didn’t win that tournament because we were hitting irons tight to the pins, we won because we were putting out of our heads. With four chances, almost every team will hit greens and make the shorter putts. It’s the 15-20 footers that win scrambles (and dropping a couple bombs doesn’t hurt either).

Number Two: Be a Hero
When you’re trying to shoot a score, chances are you don’t try overly risky shots very often (if you do, you probably don’t score consistently well).

But in a scramble, once someone hits a “safe” shot for the team you can take all the chances you want. For that matter, in a four-man scramble you’re probably going to end up with a decent drive even if you all let the big dog eat. Go ahead and try that 250-yard carry over the lake; try to hit a Phil Mickelson flop shot tight to a short-side pin; or hit that draw around the trees, over the hill, and onto the green tucked behind a bunker. Who knows, every once in a while, you might just pull it off. Then you’ll be the most popular player in your group… at least until the next hero shot is made.

Number One: Scrambles are Fun
If you don’t find a scramble fun, you might be taking your game a little too seriously. You’re playing golf (sort of) with one or more others and you’re on the same side. You work together against the course. You might even “take one for the team” and hit 3-wood off the tee so the big hitters on your team can go for it. Or maybe you putt first to show everyone else the line. It’s fun to be on a team. Even if you’re not doing well, you can commiserate over missed putts.

Another fun thing about scrambles is that they usually have prizes. I’ve played in scrambles with big screen TVs, cars, and cash as prizes. There are usually skill prizes for long drives, closest to the pins, and longest putts. Sometimes there’s a raffle or other games as well. Depending on the outing, you can win some pretty interesting prizes. At a recent real estate outing that I played in (despite having nothing to do with the industry), I won a portable picnic kit and an area rug in the raffle, and a chocolate fondue fountain for a closest to the pin. Now, I ask you, what’s not fun about a chocolate fondue fountain?