A Reverse Texas Scramble

[JuliWooli]

3 hours ago, ghalfaire said:who decides what the worst shot is? 

Opponents decide 

[ghalfaire]

19 hours ago, JuliWooli said:

Opponents decide 

Often scrambles are played in a 4 person team format.  Like ABCD events.  But certainly in 2 person team format, letting the opponent decide would work for me.

[HoganApexFan]

On 3/5/2021 at 6:53 PM, JuliWooli said:

On 2/28/2021 at 4:33 PM, HoganApexFan said:

BTW, if I wanted to be petrified and mentally exhausted...

@HoganApexFan They're called Balls.

LOL!  You are obviously a funny and classy woman.  I would have preferred that you quoted the entire sentence in your feeble insult, as it referenced my 20+ year career in the US Marine Corps.  FYI, the games we associated with having "Balls" included: pugil sticks, martial arts (MMA, boxing & wrestling), full-contact sports, endurance events, etc.; definitely not recreational games that children play.

As a 60+ year old who *LOVES* playing golf with my son regardless of how well either one of us is playing (and could not relate to your earlier Topic regarding soliciting help for your dad), I am starting to gain an appreciation for how a 60+ year old dad who can still play to a 5 handicap would be "grumpy" having to play golf with his child...

[JuliWooli]

1 hour ago, HoganApexFan said:

LOL!  You are obviously a funny and classy woman.

 

Thank you, I have my moments.

[JuliWooli]

2 hours ago, HoganApexFan said:

As a 60+ year old who *LOVES* playing golf with my son regardless of how well either one of us is playing (and could not relate to your earlier Topic regarding soliciting help for your dad), I am starting to gain an appreciation for how a 60+ year old dad who can still play to a 5 handicap would be "grumpy" having to play golf with his child...

As I said before, why do men get grumpier with age.

My dad only smiles or laughs at unhappy things. He absolutely loves when he passes a broken down car on the motorway. Or the family down the road has had their house repossessed, that makes his day.

Since the onset of Corona restrictions he says things like, "Mark my words, we'll be phoning the bastards for permission to have a shit next."

He totally refuses to visit the doctors saying, "All they want to do is fiddle with my balls and stick a finger up my arse."

He absolutely hates Christmas, birthdays, weddings, holidays, etc. Last year we went to Italy, planning to stay for 10 days and he hated it so much we were back home the next day.

And don't get him started on the internet. My young cousin, girl, 12 years old was talking to him about her favourite bike, a Raleigh Chopper which he had never heard of. She brought her laptop over to him and punched 'Raleigh Chopper' into google and up pops some explicit porno shit. He nearly had a heart attack.

And then there's his soccer. He sits in front of the TV telling every player in the team how bad they are, how the coach should be sacked and swears he will never watch another game. Now that's a promise I wish he would keep.

 

 

[Double Mocha Man]

2 minutes ago, JuliWooli said:

As I said before, why do men get grumpier with age.

My dad only smiles or laughs at unhappy things. He absolutely loves when he passes a broken down car on the motorway. Or the family down the road has had their house repossessed, that makes his day.

Since the onset of Corona restrictions he says things like, "Mark my words, we'll be phoning the bastards for permission to have a shit next."

He totally refuses to visit the doctors saying, "All they want to do is fiddle with my balls and stick a finger up my arse."

He absolutely hates Christmas, birthdays, weddings, holidays, etc. Last year we went to Italy, planning to stay for 10 days and he hated it so much we were back home the next day.

And don't get him started on the internet. My young cousin, girl, 12 years old was talking to him about her favourite bike, a Raleigh Chopper which he had never heard of. She brought her laptop over to him and punched 'Raleigh Chopper' into google and up pops some explicit porno shit. He nearly had a heart attack.

And then there's his soccer. He sits in front of the TV telling every player in the team how bad they are, how the coach should be sacked and swears he will never watch another game. Now that's a promise I wish he would keep.

 

 

How's your Dad's blood pressure?  And does he wear a mask?  The blood pressure can be checked at home without any wiggling fingers in latex gloves threatening him.

[JuliWooli]

22 minutes ago, Double Mocha Man said:

How's your Dad's blood pressure?  And does he wear a mask?  The blood pressure can be checked at home without any wiggling fingers in latex gloves threatening him.

Don't get him started. Between self checks for testicular cancer and being willed to probe his prostate, he's had enough. These days an invisible nanny is saying, "No carbohydrates, no salt, no alcohol, no tobacco, no sugar, oh yeah and don't eat meat to save the planet. And don't go out on a bicycle without wearing one of those stupid helmets. 

Yes, he wears a mask but I see him pretending to wash his hands with those cleansing devices at the entrance to every store.

[dennyjones]

1 hour ago, JuliWooli said:

Don't get him started. Between self checks for testicular cancer and being willed to probe his prostate, he's had enough. These days an invisible nanny is saying, "No carbohydrates, no salt, no alcohol, no tobacco, no sugar, oh yeah and don't eat meat to save the planet. And don't go out on a bicycle without wearing one of those stupid helmets. 

Yes, he wears a mask but I see him pretending to wash his hands with those cleansing devices at the entrance to every store.

I will say, as I've gotten older, I am less tolerant of stupidity.   I don't take pleasure in other's problems though. 

Is your dad widowed?  I could see that changing a person's personality.  

My mother was 85 and her doctor told her no bacon.  Bacon, can you imagine?  She was very stringent on her no carb, no salt, no alcohol, no sugar and no red meat diet but she loved bacon.   Probably not so much the taste but bringing back memories from days gone by.   I told her to eat the bacon and not worry what a doctor was telling an 85 year old woman to eat.    Life expectancy is lowering as we speak and somebody elderly shouldn't be denied a "small" pleasure on occasion.   

[StuM]

2 hours ago, JuliWooli said:

My dad only smiles or laughs at unhappy things. He absolutely loves when he passes a broken down car on the motorway. Or the family down the road has had their house repossessed, that makes his day

This is not “Grumpy”, it is either Sad or Nasty to take pleasure in someone else’s misfortune. 
Not sure I would enjoy golfing with him having him laugh when I miss a putt or slice a drive OB.

[JuliWooli]

7 hours ago, StuM said:

This is not “Grumpy”, it is either Sad or Nasty to take pleasure in someone else’s misfortune. 
Not sure I would enjoy golfing with him having him laugh when I miss a putt or slice a drive OB.

He doesn't show any pleasure, he's grumpy. You wouldn't know he was enjoying your bad shots, but he is.

[JuliWooli]

7 hours ago, dennyjones said:

I will say, as I've gotten older, I am less tolerant of stupidity.   I don't take pleasure in other's problems though. 

Is your dad widowed?  I could see that changing a person's personality.  

My mother was 85 and her doctor told her no bacon.  Bacon, can you imagine?  She was very stringent on her no carb, no salt, no alcohol, no sugar and no red meat diet but she loved bacon.   Probably not so much the taste but bringing back memories from days gone by.   I told her to eat the bacon and not worry what a doctor was telling an 85 year old woman to eat.    Life expectancy is lowering as we speak and somebody elderly shouldn't be denied a "small" pleasure on occasion.   

My mother is fit and well. She is definitely not grumpy, I believe its an older man thing.

[StuM]

1 hour ago, JuliWooli said:

He doesn't show any pleasure, he's grumpy. You wouldn't know he was enjoying your bad shots, but he is.

Maybe it is a cultural difference in definition of “Grumpy” but what  you are describing sounds more like “Schadenfreude” to me. Of course it could be both.

https://health.usnews.com/wellness/mind/articles/2017-03-01/the-roots-of-schadenfreude-why-we-take-pleasure-in-other-peoples-pain
 

Edited March 8, 2021 by StuM

[iacas]

Off topic.

And small sample sizes.

[Darkfrog]

A worst-ball scramble does not sound fun to me. It reminds me of some of the awful high school football conditioning drills our coach had us do at the end of practice. For example, each position group would have to run a quarter mile in full pads at the end of a 3 hour practice. The RB/WR groups had 60 seconds (not totally sure on the time, it was over 25 years ago). If anyone didn't finish in time, we had to do it again. And again. And again. Until everyone made it in the allotted time. It was completely miserable.

That said, "fun" is personal preference. My sister loves running marathons, which sounds awful to me.

[JuliWooli]

17 hours ago, Darkfrog said:

It reminds me of some of the awful high school football conditioning drills...

Those drills are physically painful.

The reverse scramble is mentally challenging and should only be played occasionally and treated as a character builder. I've read about some of the playing strategies on TST and these would be strengthened playing this format. For example...

Not aiming at flags, lag putting, middle of the fairway etc.

I much prefer the reverse format because every shot from every player is crucial.

[pganapathy]

On 2/24/2021 at 6:03 PM, JuliWooli said:

Up to about 7 years ago I used to play a reverse scramble with friends. It was a game that had to be played in the evening when the course was quiet. There might be an official name for this game, or it doesn't exist because it takes too long, but its great fun.

Instead of taking best ball, worst ball counts. I have never played it with more than 3 to a team because it would just take too long.

Realistically, it can only be played if the team consists of lower handicappers, add a player with double figures at your peril.

Putting is the most difficult as the worst approach from the worst tee shot is normally quite a long putt. Although all 3 players try to lag it as close as possible, the team normally faces a tricky 4 or 5 footer which in turn all 3 must hole. Get my drift.

Have any of you every played this?

It's a great character builder.

This is basically worst ball.  The more players you have in the team, the longer it takes.  The most time consuming part is on the green because everybody is putting and needs to hole out. I like to play this because it challenges you to grind and play well

[JuliWooli]

22 hours ago, StuM said:

What you are describing sounds more like “Schadenfreude” to me. Of course it could be both.

Schadenfreude is experienced to some extent by everyone but they don't voice their opinions. Grumpy old men tend to do this more openly. Perhaps a little decorum would be appropriate but they enjoy other people's misery too much.

I would imagine that most golfers would love the reverse scramble because their natural tendency towards 'schadenfreude' could be experienced without feeling the guilt that is associated with it.

I am looking forward to attempting the individual version of this as soon as the new season gets underway. I will be playing against an opponent, every shot with two balls, and progressing through every stage with worst ball (opponents choice). I would imagine playing alternative holes this way when or if the pace of play allows it. I am looking forward to giving more accurate feedback when this occurs.

[JuliWooli]

2 minutes ago, pganapathy said:

This is basically worst ball.  The more players you have in the team, the longer it takes.  The most time consuming part is on the green because everybody is putting and needs to hole out. I like to play this because it challenges you to grind and play well

"Grind", that's the word I was looking for. The closer you get to the hole, the harder it gets. I have only played the 3 player version with two teams and that takes an average of 30 mins per hole. Having discussed this on this thread, I believe playing individually against a partner or 2 vs 2 would be formats that could be possible.

As you could imagine, the further you are from the hole is always the most time consuming with O.B., lost balls, provisionals and water etc.