Shamble: Mini Rant

[MackJL06]

So I participated in a Shamble for work this past Friday to support a co-worker's cause for his son. The rules of this Shamble were that each team of 4 tee'd off, you selected the best drive and everyone played their own ball for the rest of the hole from the selected drive. On Par 3's, you played your own ball the entire hole. Handicaps would be applied (85%) at the end of the round. Best 2 scores for each team will be taken for each hole.

My team consisted of me, a 2.9 Index, a 24 index, 20 index and a 28 handicap.

We carded 1 bogey the entire 18 holes (which ended up being a net par). We made several net eagles and enough net birdies to make it feel like we would be in contention at the end of the round. We waited around for the scores at the end of the outing and a group carded a net 103. .......a net 103......let me say that again.....a net 103. At this point I cant even remember what our team's score was. The lowest handicap in the winning group was an 18, highest was given a 31. When they announced the 103, I asked the organizer if that was some kind of joke and he assured me it was not. The group of guys happily got up and accepted their group's $500 prize.

For the life of me I couldnt figure out how they could have legitimately done this...for me to have been in contention (using my own index) I would have had to card a true Birdie on EVERY hole!....and then have one of my teammates shoot even par!

I laughed it off and left, but add me to the group of people who will no longer play in Scrambles unless my entree fee is paid for or the cause is something I truly believe in.

[MEfree]

Offhand, I would say 85% of index is too high in a format that allows a 30 capper to play the drive of a scratch.

With that said, a net of 103 (51 on your best ball and 52 on your second best ball) seems like fraud especially considering that they supposedly didn`t have any low handicappers to select a drive from.  Now if the guy who played as a 31 was really a +3.1 and the 18 was really a +1.8, it starts to make some sense.  Or maybe they were really bad and confused about the format and thought you were suppose to divide your best ball score by 2 instead of taking 2 best balls.

[MackJL06]

that is kind of what i was thinking. there was some confusion that the score may have even been 113, not 103....but still. its your coworkers, and prize money involved. if youre going to pencil whip, at least donate the prize money back to the charity.

[Topper]

I see thread after thread on these issues and it's disheartening.  Sandbaggers and outright cheaters run amok and organizers are simply "powerless" to address the issue.  As a relatively new golfer, I watch in disbelief as I see guys drop a ball in a decent lie near OOB, woods, or a hazard and proclaim they must have gotten a lucky break.  They're not playing for anything other than "bragging rights' when they get back to the clubhouse after the round.  There's no money or trophy on the line and they still cannot simply man-up, take a penalty, and re-hit from the correct spot. WTF

Golf is full of cheaters that are attracted to scrambles and club competitions like moths to a flame.  You just have to change your perspective and consider your entry fee the cost for food and entertainment....not a real opportunity to win.

If I decide to play in a scramble, it will have to be for a worthy charity or cause where I know most of my entry fee is going to do some good and not go to lining some cheaters' pockets.

[MEfree]

Although it has been 10+ years, I have enjoyed the few scrambles that I have played in and do think it is a good format for guys that don`t play much golf in that their bad shots don`t typically mean much while letting them enjoy the one good shot that helps the team.

I have also seen that there are a lot of golfers out there that either do not know the rules, don`t care to know the rules or prefer to cheat.  I think simplifying the rules of golf would help with this some, but not entirely.

I was out of town, but Keystone has a WOO (we`re official open) tourny at the beginning of the season that is a two man scramble...at least with that you are paired with two other guys who can attempt to verify your score.

Another format that might help to combat the cheating problem while also not having to have every hacker play out every hole might be some sort of blind draw after the round that takes a guys 3-6 best holes per round.  i.e. 6 holes from the A player, 5 from B, 4 from C and 3 from D.  The idea is to have guys playing with guys who are NOT their teammates while at the same time allowing them to pick up and take an X on blow-up holes.

[MEfree]

I just got this started http://thesandtrap.com/t/62586/scramble-alternatives

[newtogolf]

In my short experience playing scrambles I've found that you need to approach it as a charitable donation and forget any expectations of winning anything if you plan to play by the rules except maybe a closest to the pin competition (if it's monitored and not self-regulated).

Half the people in scrambles don't understand or play by the posted rules, the other half cheat, so in effect it comes down to who has the balls to write the lowest score on the score card and deal with the fallout of everyone calling them a cheater.

[Fourputt]

  Topper said:

Originally Posted by Topper

I see thread after thread on these issues and it's disheartening.  Sandbaggers and outright cheaters run amok and organizers are simply "powerless" to address the issue.  As a relatively new golfer, I watch in disbelief as I see guys drop a ball in a decent lie near OOB, woods, or a hazard and proclaim they must have gotten a lucky break.  They're not playing for anything other than "bragging rights' when they get back to the clubhouse after the round.  There's no money or trophy on the line and they still cannot simply man-up, take a penalty, and re-hit from the correct spot. WTF

Golf is full of cheaters that are attracted to scrambles and club competitions like moths to a flame.  You just have to change your perspective and consider your entry fee the cost for food and entertainment....not a real opportunity to win.

If I decide to play in a scramble, it will have to be for a worthy charity or cause where I know most of my entry fee is going to do some good and not go to lining some cheaters' pockets.

You know how they prevent blatant cheating on the course?  You use 2 man teams instead of 4 man teams.  2 guys paired up at random with 2 guys they probably don't know, then they swap scorecards to each act as the other team's marker.  At least that narrows the cheating down to phony handicaps.

[VegasRenegade]

I see why you named your scramble a Shamble

[Golfingdad]

  Fourputt said:

Originally Posted by Fourputt

You know how they prevent blatant cheating on the course?  You use 2 man teams instead of 4 man teams.  2 guys paired up at random with 2 guys they probably don't know, then they swap scorecards to each act as the other team's marker.  At least that narrows the cheating down to phony handicaps.

Not necessarily, sadly ... do you remember that thread a few months back about the guys who won a scramble for a trip to Pebble Beach, and they won the same tournament the previous year for some other super expensive trip, and in both cases, I don't remember the scores, but they were something comically absurd (like more than 18 under par, I think) ??  That was a twosome.

On a similar note, I played in a charity scramble a couple of weeks ago.  It was me (10), my dad (21-vanity, should be 30), my brother (22) and a friend (non-golfer, they gave him a 30) and we managed a 66 (-6) and I was quite proud of us.  Figured we'd finish right in the middle of the pack (which we did) with our net 61.2.  (Not sure how they do the math for handicaps for scrambles but I imagine its complicated - ours was 4.8)  What I wasn't ready for was the winning score ... 49.5 net, 52 gross.  50-flippin-2!  Their handicaps were 4,11,13, and I think 22.  But -20??  Regardless, the joke was on them, because their prizes were windbreakers with the "Central California Alzheimer's Foundation" logo on them.

[Topper]

  Golfingdad said:

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

Regardless, the joke was on them, because their prizes were windbreakers with the "Central California Alzheimer's Foundation" logo on them.

Damn it.  I've been looking for one of those forever!