Strategy for 3-Club 2-Man Scramble

[StuM]

I know this is a long post, but hopefully I give you enough information to give me some advice.

Next week I am playing in our league's 3-Club tournament which is also a 2 man scramble.  To mix things up we are also playing from the Red (Forward) tees so the 9 holes will play only 2,554 yards total and Par 5s will play like Par 4s.  I'm trying to figure out what clubs I should take.  I understand I need to count on my partner, but I'm looking at how I can best contribute to the team. Below is a chart of the clubs in my bag.  The "Short" is a bad hit.  The "Long" are the "Pure Shots" I occasionally get.  Typical is just that, typical, and that is what I consider when choosing a club.  All distances are "Full Swing".

	Short	Long	Typical
Driver	180	250	217
3H	170	225	185
4H			Rarely Use
5H			Rarely Use
6H	150	190	170
7i	145	175	157
8i	140	160	146
9i	135	150	140
PW	110	145	130
GW	100	125	115
SW	85	115	100
LW	70	100	85
Putter

Below is how I might play it if I had my full bag.  I've also tried to describe potential issues on each hole.  I figure I'm hitting Driver on 6 holes and Putting on 9 so those two clubs should get serious consideration.  Some people have putted with a driver or hybrid in this in the past but I've never tried that.  I figure I could take PW which can be used on #2, 7 & 8 Tee plus use partial swing for 2nd shot on #1, 2, 3 & 6.  PW on #9 could be issue with PA in play.  Not having 3H on #4 & 5 makes it virtually impossible to reach the green in two.  I could drop the driver and take the 3H instead but that would putt the PAs on #4 & 5 in play on the 2nd shot and also make getting on in 2 unlikely.

					Appx 2nd shot
Hole	Dist to Center	Description	1st Shot	1st shot Dist	Dist. To Center	2nd Shot	Comment
1	297	Straight, no PA or bunkers	D	217	80	LW
2	231	PA Left, Tall Grass Long/Right, Left & Right Greenside Bunkers	9i	140	91	LW	Would like D on tee but just too much to go wrong. SW also option on 2nd depending on pin placement
3	309	Front-left greenside bunker	D	217	92	SW	Pref. to be long on 2nd to take bunker out of play
4	405 (Par 5)	PA @ 60-25 yds short of green, Right greenside bunker	D	217	188	3H
5	413 (Par 5)	OB Left, PA @ 25 yrds short-right of green, Left/Right/Rear bunkers	D	217	196	3H	PA in play if mishit 3H
6	283	OB Left, Slight dog leg right @ 130 from Green, Trees right, Right & Left greenside bunkers	D	217	66	LW	Pretty sure can cut corner from Red tees
7	134 (Par 3)	OB Left, PA Right, PA @ 50-30 yrs short of green, left greenside bunker	PW	130	On Green	Putter
8	123 (Par 3)	PA 40-20 yrds short of green, Left greenside bunker	PW	130	On Green	Putter
9	359	PA @ 60-20 yrds short of green, right greenside bunker	D	217	142	9i

 

[KMP]

Is this 3 clubs plus putter? If so, I suggest driver, 7i and PW. You can cover 130 and down with PW, and 130-160+ with 7i. If you get a very long 2nd you can try driver.

[StuM]

41 minutes ago, KMP said:

Is this 3 clubs plus putter? If so, I suggest driver, 7i and PW. You can cover 130 and down with PW, and 130-160+ with 7i. If you get a very long 2nd you can try driver.

No, it is 3 clubs Including the putter.  That is why some leave the putter home and putt with a driver or hybrid.  The only time I've ever tried a Driver of the deck was on an approach that I wanted to keep real low and roll out.  Not something I've tried to get real long distances with.

[KMP]

That makes it tough. I would want my putter and definitely need driver so it would come down to a choice between 7 and PW. PW seems more comfortable/useful under the "typical" scenario you outlined. However, if you are comfortable being creative with your 7 from shorter distances that would decrease the gap to driver. My vote ate your course is driver, 7 and putter. Sounds like fun...enjoy!

[DaveP043]

I'd pick a "long" club so I could reach most greens in two shots.  I'd pick a middle club so you'd have comfortable shots into the par 3 holes.  One of you probably should have a putter, maybe not both.  That might leave room for the other to take a 3-wood or similar for tee shots.  Perhaps one of you should have a more lofted wedge, if your course requires that kind of shot.  Try not to duplicate one another, that means more shots were both of you are in-between.  

[iacas]

Each of you can choose a different three clubs, right?

[StuM]

We are not supposed to coordinate with our team mate.  Other than myself, none will know their partner until they show up, with clubs in hand.

I only know because I am setting up the teams.  Players could guess since we match a low HCP with a high HCP. 

[iacas]

14 hours ago, StuM said:

We are not supposed to coordinate with our team mate.  Other than myself, none will know their partner until they show up, with clubs in hand.

Oh, okay.

[Darkfrog]

I think I would go with 3-hybrid, 6-iron, and 9-iron. I'd just do my best to putt with the hybrid (and spend a bit of time on the putting green before teeing off to get a feel for it).

[ChetlovesMer]

I'd go Driver, 7 iron and putter. 

Other wise known as The longest club, the shortest club and something in the middle. 

[StuM]

This afternoon, weather permitting, is the 3-Club 2 Man Scramble.  I decided to go with Driver, 3H & PW and will putt with the 3H.  As advised I will practice ahead of the round but will also hope my partner brings his putter and putts well.  I'm nervous about leaving the putter home, the course is wet after rain all night and I really worry about speed/distance control on the greens.  Overall not a big deal.  1st place pays $130 team ($65 ea.) while last place pays $15 ($7.50 ea.).  Neither is relevant in the grand scheme of life.

[StuM]

Yesterday was the 3-Club 2 Man Scramble, unfortunately both my partner and I left the putter at home.   He brought 3W, 7i and PW and I had Driver, 3H & PW.  I putted with my 3H and he with his PW.  We never 3-Putted (which should never happen in a scramble) but we 2-Putted on 8 holes and only a single 1-Putt.  My guess is that with 2 attempts at the same putt with a putter we may have sunk 1 or 2 of the 10 footers that we missed.  We finished in 7th place with a 39.  Places were: 1st = 35, T2 = 37 (3 teams had 38 with 1 stroke HCP), T5 = 38 (2 teams) , 7th = 38 (my team), 8th = 40 & 9th = 42.  

For us, just sinking 1 more putt would have put us  at T5 while 2 less would have been T2.  I'm not blaming only putting, a couple better chips would also have helped.

One issue I had was my PW was too long for most of our approach shots and I would have preferred my LW.  Even the Par 3s that I thought would play 134 & 124 were set up at 90 & 91 (I think the score card lied🤬) .   My PW is typically 130 while my LW is @ 85.  I would have preferred a full swing and not worry about being overly long.  Additionally, with my Driver doing well and on many holes we had approach shots of 20-70 yards that would have been great for my LW with which I frequently do partial swings.  I just do not try my PW at those shorter distances and could not find the distance control and had a lot of short or long results which were not conducive to putting with my 3H, We needed shorter putts!

Still, it was fun and challenging.  We discussed next year and are going to make it a 3-Club Alternate Shot tournament instead of a scramble.  That will change things a lot since I would only be hitting driver on 3 or 4 holes so may not want to bring it.  Also, I think the Putter will be more important since we will not be getting 2 attempts at each putt so one bad putt could easily result in a 3-Putt hole.  I've got a year to figure that out.

Edited October 6, 2021 by StuM