What do you hate most about Scrambles?

[Spyder]

I recently played in an outing and a scramble which turned out to be absolutely terrible and a waste of money. I experienced nearly all of the poll selections above in both events combined.

The problem is that I joined the Outing due to a friend being short 1 guy (4 man teams) at literally 12 hours away from tee-time (received a call at 7PM to golf the next morning at 7AM). The cost of the outing was $75.00/ea. and the food was terrible, there were obvious signs of cheating (I can explain in a post later on), the event in general was so disorganized that the tee-offs did not start until 8:30 AM (1.5 hour delay) and there were drunks literally playing demo derby with a porto-potty. Mind you, I found out at the last moment that this was  Legion Outing for a VFW post and I expected to do some drinking myself, but this was excessive and similar to tailgating an NFL game apparently.

A recent scramble I entered randomly selected teams and our supposed "A" player turned out to be worse than anyone else in our group and repeatedly used the "It's one of those days" lines. We could clearly tell he was no "A" player when he'd constantly ask what club to use, which way the break on the green is going, chunking/topping consistently, etc. I golf at this course probably 2-3x a week on average and have been doing so for 3 years. An elderly gentlemen would not stop offering me advice on what club to use, where to line up my putt to give them a read, how to play each lie, to roll my ball to get a better lie because the lie I chose was not to his liking, etc.

All in all, August was a terrible month for me as far as scrambles/outings are concerned and I'm wondering if any of you have had a similar stretch of bad luck with them.

(I'm sure "Cheaters" will be the #1 result)

[David in FL]

Simply that it's not golf. If I'm going to spend 4+ hours on a golf course, I want to play golf.

[Spyder]

I personally selected " Group members who are not playing as a team"

The reasoning behind this is because it is a hard decision to make when you're thinking of over-stepping your bounds to tell someone else how to play, even if it is going to benefit your team. I caused a very heated argument once when I asked one of our team members to play a layup with a 7i to lay us up short of a channeled fairway (water both sides 200 yards out, leading to a very large green 260 out), so that myself and a buddy of mine who drives longer than me could shoot for the green in 1 on this Par 4. They were so offended and did not want to let it go for 4 more holes. I think this is the hardest part of playing an outing/scramble with people, especially if you're playing to win.

[Spyder]

Originally Posted by David in FL

Simply that it's not golf.

If I'm going to spend 4+ hours on a golf course, I want to play golf.

lol It's fine if it's not your "thing". I typically do not like entering either of them myself, but occasionally it is nice to change it up and play with some buddies and see what we can do. Last year I entered two different 2 man scrambles at our home course and we ended up winning close to $400.00 each, both times.

[Dave2512]

Definitely the drinking. Not that I oppose it but like most others out there I am a lush and getting home is tough. I had to call for a ride home at the last one. They gave us at least $200 in drink tickets. It was nuts. We came in last and they gave us each a $75 gift cert. We were zonked.

Edit to add I don't like what those types of tournaments can do to a course. My home course hosted a scramble for a local new car dealer and they tore the place up. Carts through wet areas. Marks on greens that looked like putters being slammed down. It was a mess the next day.

[bigwave916]

Not listed was Mulligan's that can be purchased. The argument being that it is a charity event and it helps bring in more money. Trouble is some teams given that many extra shots (2 per player, 8 per foursome) are gonna come in with scores like 20 under. Last outing I played in it took 10 under to win the C flight. (A,B,C flights based on total handicap of the foursome)  Its not good for your regualr game either, overswinging, getting sloppy on shots you don't need to make.  I've probably played my last of these types of outings.

[Beachcomber]

I rarely play in events like this because they are a waste of time IMO.  But find myself in a team scramble once to twice a year on average via work functions, etc.

For the thread poll... I picked that I don't like them mainly because of the 'cheating'.  At a recent scramble I played in - each team was allowed to buy mulligans and putts.  Basically you could only use the mulligans off the tee or approach shots.  And the putts on the green.  To me, this is cheating... And the scores were ridiculously low.  The winning team was -16 on a windy day where conditions were not friendly as the fairways were wet.

The only good thing about the scramble was the charity - which was funding research for the blind.  So while I understand the reason for the 'mulligans' - as a golfer, it is a lame way to post a better score.

[xmanhockey7]

If I'm playing in a scramble I'm playing for fun. I guess if I'd say there's anything I don't like it's the slow play but I really just like to have fun.

[Golfingdad]

I usually only play in a couple of these events a year.  Both are charity fundraisers, and neither of them give out ridiculously good prizes for winning, so cheating doesn't really bother me.  (Plus I play on a team where I am, by far, the best golfer ... therefore our team always stinks anyways)

I voted for "Group members who don't stop offering advice."  There is one player who frequently plays on our team (hopefully not this year) who thinks he is a star on all accounts.  He plays to a 16 HDCP or something but we estimate he is more like a 30.  He always "knows" which drive to take, and doesn't really listen to anybody elses opinions.  Takes a little of the fun out of the whole thing.

I would never go into an event like this expecting people not to cheat or drink a lot, so that stuff never really bothers me.  They are for charity and they can be fun in their own right.

[wadesworld]

I won't play in a scramble with random people.  I can play golf for far less than the entry fee of most scrambles and not have to experience any of the headaches.  If a friend asks me to play, I'll play, but honestly, I'd rather just play a round.

The reason I dislike scrambles is I have no way to judge whether I've played well not.  Since I'm not playing my own ball around the course, I really can't get a sense for how the day went.  Sure, if they use a lot of my shots, I probably did well, but that's a far cry from actually playing.

[saevel25]

I guess thats the point its suppose to be a team game in a sport were you usualy only play solo. I like scrambles a lot because there different. I really don't car if i worry about playing well, as long as i make a few shots anda  few putts that help the team play good, thats what matters.

Really the best way to play is a shamble, take the best drive than everyone plays in and take the top three scores. But scrambles are fun.

[turtleback]

Originally Posted by David in FL

Simply that it's not golf.

If I'm going to spend 4+ hours on a golf course, I want to play golf.

+1000

[Stewie007]

The only scrambles I have ever played were those that my employer holds occasionally. Never participated in a publicly organized scramble.

However, I could care less if people want to cheat to make themselves feel better in an obviously meaningless tournament.

I remember one such scramble where the usual suspects all went home with "prizes." I didn't have a great day, but I didn't have a horrible day. I made a lot of good shots, and I felt pretty good about how I played. If they need a prize to make themselves feel better, so be it.

I tend to question the excellent scores that some of these guys roll in with. Its quite clear that they had no more skill, and in some cases less skill than I; so how did they under cut us by over 30 strokes with a -22, when we had a +9. Not because they made all birdies and eagles. Maybe a group of low handicappers, but this was a somewhat impromptu tournament organized by "a guy at work."

Doubt there is that much of a talent pool. hehe

[bigwave916]

Not to get sidetracked here, but another thing that gripes me is that in the Make-A-Wish event I've played in the last couple of years, I never hear of anyone donating their prize money back to the charity. I've never won anything but I think I'd feel bad if my foursome took home the $300 first prize in the flight and no one thought to give it to the charity.

[Stewie007]

Really? One would think that the proceeds from a charity event should GO to charity....

However, there is a logical explanation that I can think about. There has to be an incentive to get as many people to the event as possible. If they didn't give these prizes, then I bet statistics would show that they'd take in less donations. So while they took away the $300, they took in more donations from greater participation that the incentive brought to the event.

Although, I would give it directly to the charity.... I wouldn't fault anyone for taking the prize, knowing that it had a positive outcome regarding participation.

[vo-man]

What irritates me with scrambles is finding out that a bunch of hacks who can't shoot under 100 individually won the tournament with a score in the high 50s.

[zipazoid]

I voted cheaters in other groups, but a close second would be excessive drinking.

The paradox of the whole format is, you want to at least 'try' to win, and a good rule of thumb would be to agree that one person makes to call on choice of shot to take; usually the 'A' player. That may save debate/arguments later. In any event, invariably somewhere along the way the attitude tends to change from trying to win to eff it, gimme another beer. Often I am the 'A' player & am pretty good at strategy - for example choosing a longer approach cuz of better angle to the pin & so on - but invariably (and as the drinks are consumed) someone will challenge the decision. Eventually I just say fine...and then I start giving up on trying to win the damn thing.

I'm with David in FL - I just don't care for them. More of a hassle than fun.

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by bigwave916

Not to get sidetracked here, but another thing that gripes me is that in the Make-A-Wish event I've played in the last couple of years, I never hear of anyone donating their prize money back to the charity. I've never won anything but I think I'd feel bad if my foursome took home the $300 first prize in the flight and no one thought to give it to the charity.

This is a very good point.  I never actually thought of it this way ... but I should.  The one tournament I play in every year is for the Alzheimer's Foundation in Central California.  I don't believe that they give cash prizes, but if they give anything worth donating, I think I will do that this year.  (Not planning on winning anything from playing, but they have a lot of raffle prizes)

Thanks for the idea!