Advice

[ButterCuts4Dayz]

I am playing in a 4 player scramble tomorrow. Any advice on how to attack each hole? Should the best driver go first? Who should putt first? etc...

[phillyk]

First person can bomb away off the tee.  If he misses, 2nd person should hit safe shot.  Then so on.  As for pitching, chipping, and putting, whoever has good "feel" go first, and whoever learns the best go last.  As for how to attack each hole. Try to get the ball as far down the fairway as you can on the tee ball.  For the approach shots make sure you are, at least, on the green in regulation, after that the next person can try and put it closer.  A putt is so much easier than a chip.  But mostly, have fun!! Don't take yourself so seriously with trying to birdie every hole.

[vangator]

I've played in many dozens of scrambles.  Usually, the D player is the highest handicap to the A player with the lowest handicap.

The A player usually calls the shots.  I'm usually the A player (love it when I'm not).  Usually I go D, C, B, A for driving and putting.  That assumes that each successive player is a little better than the previous.  You may want to change things up if your B player for instance is super steady down the middle.  Have him hit last.  Have the A player bomb it off the tee knowing the steady player can get it in play.

So, normally, I have the D player get a ball in play.  Then have each player successively goes for a better shot which usually calls for more risk.  For putting, have the D player go first to try to show everyone the line.  If they can lag the ball for a gimme, that's a bonus.  After that, have everyone give it a run.  It's a mortal sin to leave a putt short in a scramble (but you don't want to hit it so hard it doesn't have a chance to go in).

If you teams sucks, ty to drink a beer per hole, then you won't care what you shoot.

[ButterCuts4Dayz]

1 hour ago, vangator said:

I've played in many dozens of scrambles.  Usually, the D player is the highest handicap to the A player with the lowest handicap.

The A player usually calls the shots.  I'm usually the A player (love it when I'm not).  Usually I go D, C, B, A for driving and putting.  That assumes that each successive player is a little better than the previous.  You may want to change things up if your B player for instance is super steady down the middle.  Have him hit last.  Have the A player bomb it off the tee knowing the steady player can get it in play.

So, normally, I have the D player get a ball in play.  Then have each player successively goes for a better shot which usually calls for more risk.  For putting, have the D player go first to try to show everyone the line.  If they can lag the ball for a gimme, that's a bonus.  After that, have everyone give it a run.  It's a mortal sin to leave a putt short in a scramble (but you don't want to hit it so hard it doesn't have a chance to go in).

If you teams sucks, ty to drink a beer per hole, then you won't care what you shoot.

Great advice! I will be the B player tomorrow but probably the C or D putter. What do you think about changing up the order for driving, iron play, and putting? Or keep the same rotation for everything? I have only played in one scramble before so your expert advice is greatly appreciated

1 hour ago, phillyk said:

First person can bomb away off the tee.  If he misses, 2nd person should hit safe shot.  Then so on.  As for pitching, chipping, and putting, whoever has good "feel" go first, and whoever learns the best go last.  As for how to attack each hole. Try to get the ball as far down the fairway as you can on the tee ball.  For the approach shots make sure you are, at least, on the green in regulation, after that the next person can try and put it closer.  A putt is so much easier than a chip.  But mostly, have fun!! Don't take yourself so seriously with trying to birdie every hole.

I like the idea if first person putting the approach shot on the green and then the next players go pin hunting and try to stick it close

[Drive4ShowPuttOnPoa]

@ButterCuts4Dayz I think it's also good to consider the type of shot the situation calls for. Let's say we're sitting 150 out with a pin tucked in the back left guarded by a bunker and half the team can work the ball right to left and the others left to right. I'd probably have the ones who are most comfortable with working the ball right to left aim towards the center of the green and if it draws/fades(lefty) closer to the hole great. If not then you should be sitting middle of the green with a decent look for bird. With one ball safe on the dance floor have the others be more aggressive and take on the left side and try working it back to the hole.

Hit the green first then dial up the aggressiveness. 

[ButterCuts4Dayz]

6 minutes ago, Drive4ShowPuttOnPoa said:

@ButterCuts4Dayz I think it's also good to consider the type of shot the situation calls for. Let's say we're sitting 150 out with a pin tucked in the back left guarded by a bunker and half the team can work the ball right to left and the others left to right. I'd probably have the ones who are most comfortable with working the ball right to left aim towards the center of the green and if it draws/fades(lefty) closer to the hole great. If not then you should be sitting middle of the green with a decent look for bird. With one ball safe on the dance floor have the others be more aggressive and take on the left side and try working it back to the hole.

Hit the green first then dial up the aggressiveness. 

Very good advice. I like that call and I like how you really gave me a visual on a situation that might occur tomorrow. What about going for the green in 2 on a par 5? Do you put a safe ball out there and then let the big hitters pull out the 3 rescues/woods and bombs away?

[vangator]

2 hours ago, ButterCuts4Dayz said:

Great advice! I will be the B player tomorrow but probably the C or D putter. What do you think about changing up the order for driving, iron play, and putting? Or keep the same rotation for everything? I have only played in one scramble before so your expert advice is greatly appreciated

I like the idea if first person putting the approach shot on the green and then the next players go pin hunting and try to stick it close

Typically for putting, I go with the poorest to the best, so the A,B,C,D may not be that.  I generally go last in putting even though I'm generally a sucky putter.  My problem is reading greens, but in a scramble, I've seen 3 putts on my line.  I can hit my line, so I'm a good scramble putter.

Same is true for the tee shot.  Worst to best.  I typically leave the bomber last.  The first 3 get the ball in play.  I love it when I can hit 3rd.  I can hit the ball long and if I know there's someone behind me that can get it in play, it's bombs away!

1 hour ago, ButterCuts4Dayz said:

Very good advice. I like that call and I like how you really gave me a visual on a situation that might occur tomorrow. What about going for the green in 2 on a par 5? Do you put a safe ball out there and then let the big hitters pull out the 3 rescues/woods and bombs away?

Yep.  In a scramble, a bogey really sucks.  I've been in scrambles where par really sucks.  I think the best score a team I've been on is -21.  Four eagles and a par.  I was playing to about a 2 HCP then and I was the C player.  One guy had PGA length and we had a girl on the team that played from the red tees and she could hit it longer than me!

In a scramble, you have to make putts, but you have to get the ball close enough on approaches that birdies are realistic.  Twenty foot birdie putts suck.

[SavvySwede]

I know it's tempting and I know we're all guilty of it during scrambles, but do not swing out of your shoes. Playing "aggressive" should be about your choice of shot (line, club, trajectory) The teams that seem to play worst are the ones where one guy gets it into play with a 3 wood and the others all try to hit the longest drive they ever hit. It just ruins your swing for the approaches into the green. Quality, controlled swings with good contact off the tee create the rhythm you need for your other shots. (The approach shots are the most important statistically)

[vangator]

14 hours ago, SavvySwede said:

I know it's tempting and I know we're all guilty of it during scrambles, but do not swing out of your shoes. Playing "aggressive" should be about your choice of shot (line, club, trajectory) The teams that seem to play worst are the ones where one guy gets it into play with a 3 wood and the others all try to hit the longest drive they ever hit. It just ruins your swing for the approaches into the green. Quality, controlled swings with good contact off the tee create the rhythm you need for your other shots. (The approach shots are the most important statistically)

In general, I agree about swinging out of your shoes.  I will do that if there is a ball in play that the only way to better it would be to swing out of my shoes.  Every once in a while I pull it off, but mostly not.

There are some par fours I use a 3W off the tee during a normal round because of the risk, but in a scramble I'll use a driver if one is in play.  There is one par 4 that has at least a 260 yard carry to clear a ditch.  I used to clear that years ago, but now I lay up always.  If there is already a good layup, I'll bring out the big dog.

Another frustrating thing is when one of the first three guys hit there tee balls out of play and I have to take the conservative route.  It cost us this year in a scramble where we bogeyed a hole and we ended up tying for first but lost in a score card comparison.  I think that happened 3 times.  I kept telling them (especially the B player) to get something in play.  Sometimes the group will not listen and I'm not the Captain Ahab type.

Also, I hate when 3 guys can't get a long putt within reasonable gimme range so I can go for it instead of trying to lag to assure the par.  Three putts in a scramble really blows.

[dak4n6]

I have always preferred least skilled first to most skilled last. That will usually dictate the same rotation throughout, but if you have a lights out putter, I would always put him last for putting no regardless of his other skills. Worst to best puts less pressure on the hackers and more pressure on the players who are better able to handle it. (usually)

[Pretzel]

Generally you keep your longest driver at the end of the tee shot rotation, that way he can either swing big (and potentially miss big, but only if you have a ball in play) or play conservative depending on prior tee shots. The other big thing is to just make sure that you have your best putter go last so he can get a good read from everyone else. Other than that it doesn't matter much, though for short game you might want the best to go last so he could get an idea of what the ball will do from those ahead of him.

[ButterCuts4Dayz]

Everyone thanks for all the advice. We brought home the trophy and won the Guns n Hoses tournament at Eastlake Country Club in San Diego!!! It was a good tournament supporting local law enforcement in San Diego Country. It was a little different format with 3 players playing a scramble from the blue tees and 1 person (rotating each hole) playing their own ball from the ladies tees on each hole. Combine those scores for each hole. We finished 14 under in the scramble and 1 over with people playing their own ball. The advice you guys gave us was great and we applied it on every hole. Thought we as a group did a good job of playing aggressive but not dumb and managing the course well.

Edited January 26, 2016 by ButterCuts4Dayz

[vangator]

12 hours ago, ButterCuts4Dayz said:

Everyone thanks for all the advice. We brought home the trophy and won the Guns n Hoses tournament at Eastlake Country Club in San Diego!!! It was a good tournament supporting local law enforcement in San Diego Country. It was a little different format with 3 players playing a scramble from the blue tees and 1 person (rotating each hole) playing their own ball from the ladies tees on each hole. Combine those scores for each hole. We finished 14 under in the scramble and 1 over with people playing their own ball. The advice you guys gave us was great and we applied it on every hole. Thought we as a group did a good job of playing aggressive but not dumb and managing the course well.

Never heard of that format.  Interesting.

A different scramble format we've played was 6 from the blues, 6 from the whites 6 from the reds.  Team's choice.  Do you play the par 5's from the reds?  The par 3's?  Make drivable par 4's?  Where do you take the blues?  Short par 4's?  Par 5's if they are not reachable in 2 anyway?  Short par 3's?  Long par 3's?

At first I thought the format was corny, but after playing, it made a very strategic round.  Throw in skins and it really makes choices interesting.  I was wanting to play all reds!

Could be fun for a normal round too.

[Dave325]

19 hours ago, ButterCuts4Dayz said:

Everyone thanks for all the advice. We brought home the trophy and won the Guns n Hoses tournament at Eastlake Country Club in San Diego!!! It was a good tournament supporting local law enforcement in San Diego Country. It was a little different format with 3 players playing a scramble from the blue tees and 1 person (rotating each hole) playing their own ball from the ladies tees on each hole. Combine those scores for each hole. We finished 14 under in the scramble and 1 over with people playing their own ball. The advice you guys gave us was great and we applied it on every hole. Thought we as a group did a good job of playing aggressive but not dumb and managing the course well.

Congrats on the win. Sounds like you had a great round there!

[ButterCuts4Dayz]

10 hours ago, vangator said:

Never heard of that format.  Interesting.

A different scramble format we've played was 6 from the blues, 6 from the whites 6 from the reds.  Team's choice.  Do you play the par 5's from the reds?  The par 3's?  Make drivable par 4's?  Where do you take the blues?  Short par 4's?  Par 5's if they are not reachable in 2 anyway?  Short par 3's?  Long par 3's?

At first I thought the format was corny, but after playing, it made a very strategic round.  Throw in skins and it really makes choices interesting.  I was wanting to play all reds!

Could be fun for a normal round too.

It was a very interesting format that required some pre-round planning. It also lowers the overall score because you cannot expect to birdie every hole that the person plays from the reds. We had 2 eagles on par 5s from the reds but also had 2 double bogeys that hurt us big time. I like the format that you played in. Sounds like it would make for a great round. If I had to choose I would play the par 5s from the reds, the par 4s from the white, and the par 3s from the blues. What did you choose to do?

[dbuck]

If time is not a constraint, it is sometimes nice to let the D and C players drive first, because they may be tempted to not hit at all if the B and A have good drives. If time is a constraint or the D and C players prefer not to hit especially off intimidating tees, then they may hit last. I think if either the B or A are both decent drivers, the one who is most consistent should go first and put one in good position and the one that is more of a bomber should hit last. With one in play they can have a freer swing which sometimes results in length and reasonable accuracy. As others have said, a free swing but not swinging out of your shoes.

[DaveP043]

First, congratulations to @ButterCuts4Dayz on the win!

Second, I'm going to disagree just a little with some of the other posters.  I prefer to have a reasonably good putter go first most times.  For me, its tough to learn much from a putt that either starts well off of the intended line, or is way long or short of the hole.  You want someone that generally hits his (or her) line with about the intended speed, and sometimes that might be your overall B or C, or even your D, player.  I like having the best "pressure" putter go last, and that's probably the A player in the group, but I don't often like having the worst putter go first.

[vangator]

7 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

First, congratulations to @ButterCuts4Dayz on the win!

Second, I'm going to disagree just a little with some of the other posters.  I prefer to have a reasonably good putter go first most times.  For me, its tough to learn much from a putt that either starts well off of the intended line, or is way long or short of the hole.  You want someone that generally hits his (or her) line with about the intended speed, and sometimes that might be your overall B or C, or even your D, player.  I like having the best "pressure" putter go last, and that's probably the A player in the group, but I don't often like having the worst putter go first.

There are lots of tactics to skin that cat.  I'm not sure I'd like to "waste" a good putter on the first putt when you're just trying to get some reasonable shot at a line.  For instance, if the group thinks the initial putt breaks two feet but the first putter shows you it breaks about six inches, then that better putter can have a better shot at making it when he knows the line a little better.

I normally suck at putting, but I can hit my line so when I know the line, I become a much better putter.  I prefer to putt next to last if there is a better putter in the group.

21 hours ago, ButterCuts4Dayz said:

It was a very interesting format that required some pre-round planning. It also lowers the overall score because you cannot expect to birdie every hole that the person plays from the reds. We had 2 eagles on par 5s from the reds but also had 2 double bogeys that hurt us big time. I like the format that you played in. Sounds like it would make for a great round. If I had to choose I would play the par 5s from the reds, the par 4s from the white, and the par 3s from the blues. What did you choose to do?

We've played a few different courses with this format, but I remember one where there was a tough par 3 from the blue (over 200) and lots of trouble.  A par wouldn't be a given.  But the reds were just over 100 yards.  Easy choice there.

If the reds, whites and blues weren't much different, they'd be candidates for blues.  Having a real short par 5 is appealing of course if eagle is realistic.  Drivable par 4's make eagle possible.

It was really interesting seeing everybody's choices because everybody seemed to play a different course.  A lot of teams wouldn't share their picks beforehand.  They must have thought they'd give away some ingenious strategy or something.

Also, with any scramble, I try to play a practice round on the course before hand.  I remember one round at Diamondback Golf Club, playing my own ball, I had back to back eagles on the par 4 9th and par 5 10th.  The next day during the scramble we took a par and a birdie.  We played normal tees during that scramble.  We still won that tourney.  Usually about 6 to 9 under wins our scrambles.  I've never heard of any cheating either which I hear is a rarity.