Understanding Scramble Golf Rules And Tips

Scramble golf is simply a form of playing golf in which you work together with your team and use your best collective shots in our to achieve the lowest score. Golfers all drive the ball and the team chooses which drive they would like to use.

All members of the team then shoot from the location of the chosen drive. You then choose which players second shot to use and so on and so forth.

Rules of scramble golf

  • A scramble means that your team members tee off on each hole and then pick which tee shot your team will use. You will then mark the area in which you will shoot.
  • Then your team will then pick up their original drives and place them close to the marked spot. Each team member hits their next shot from the marked spot.
  • This procedure is followed on every shot for the remainder of the round, including putts. The ball should be marked on the putting green also.
  • If the ball you choose to play is in a hazard (sand, water, etc.), the rough, or out of bounds, you cannot drop the ball outside of the hazard or rough even if relief is within one club-length away. You must either take the penalty or choose a different ball.

All your regular golf rules you typically play with are still in play as well.

Golf scramble vs Best ball?

Though sometimes the definitions of these games can change based on your location the majority of golfers consider best ball versus scramble to be different games.

Best ball refers to a game in which the golfers on the same team go forward with the best score between the teammates on that hole. For example, if one team member got a bogey and the other a par, their score on that hole would be a par.

A golf scramble, on the other hand, refers to a game which the team picks the best shot between the golfers and shoots from there.

Fun Golf Scramble Games

One great way to make the most of your golf scramble is to try some different variations. There are tons of different ways in which you alter the rules of a golf scramble to make it a little more fun.

One Drive One Putt

One interesting variation is the one drive one putt. This style of game ensures that each member is involved.

Throughout each set of nine holes you will have to use a drive and a putt from each team member. This brings a little more strategy into the game and makes it include each member of your team in multiple facets of the game.

Reverse Scramble

Reverse scramble is a fun twist on this game that makes it quite important to have a solid team. In a reverse scramble, there is typically one hole that is chosen in which players must choose the worst shot of the group as opposed to the best.

This includes drives, approach shots, chips, and putts. This makes it incredibly tough to score well. This style of scramble golf will certainly add some laughs and some frustration.

Elimination hole

An elimination hole is a hole in which no golfers shot can be used multiple times. This means whoever drive is chosen is then no longer able to contribute any more shots that hole.

This carries on until you finish the hole or until there is only one golfer left. If you are down to a single golfer they must finish off the hole himself.

2 man scramble golf

Two-man scramble golf follows the same rules as other scramble golf formats. Each player will tee off and the teammates choose which drive they will choose. The golfers will then shoot from the location of the best drive and choose their next best shot between the two.

This continues for each shot including putts.

Golf Shamble Vs Scramble

Shambles and scrambles are two very similar ways of playing golf that are often confused due to their similar names.

A golf scramble consists of a team of golfers choosing the best shot from the group continuously until the hole is complete.

A shamble on the other hand only uses the best drive of the group then each golfer is two finish out the hole on his own.

Scoring in a golf shamble may very as some tournaments use the combined score of the team while others use to the top score.

Scramble team names

  • Weapons of Grass Destruction
  • Par Then Bar.
  • Par-tee On
  • Foot Wedge Crew
  • Grip It and Sip It.
  • The bogey bunch.
  • How’s My Driving?
  • Fringe Players.
  • The Mighty Mulligans.
  • Sultans of Swing.
  • Worm Burners.
  • The Bogey Men
  • Hack Attack

Golf Scramble Strategies

One way to make sure you get the most out of your golf scramble games is by properly strategising. Using the proper strategy in your golf scramble will considerably increase your team’s chances of winning the tournament.

Make Sure You’re Using The Best Shot

Hmm, this one sounds a little obvious but there’s more to it than you think. Often times each team will just choose the drive or the shot the went the furthest when there is a lot more that goes into it.

Be sure to check out the lie of the ball as well as the path that your ball will have to travel to get to the green. For example if you longest drive requires you to hit a draw to the green and your team tends to fade the ball it may be wise to choose a ball with less distance but a better path to the green.

Choose The Proper Order

Choosing the order in which your team shoots is incredibly important. Your first tee shot could be a great example of this. If you have a guy that can kill drives then it may be wise to allow your other teammates to go first.

This way your big driver can be sure you have a safe ball to go to and he can put everything into his drive.

The green is another place where this strategy can come in handy. Do you have a team member that is better at reading putts than the others? Make him go first so those that have trouble reading the green can get a look at how the putt will play out.

Golf Prize Ideas

Prizes are always a great way to cap off a golf tournament and make a great keepsake for golfers to remember your tournament.

A few things you should keep in mind when choosing your prize ideas.

  • Make prizes appropriate for the Entry Fee Of The Tournament
  • Give A Small Welcome Goodie Bag To All Players
  • Custom Brand Products So Golfers Remember Your Tournament

Now there are many ways to go about dividing up your golf prizes so there technically is no right answer but here are a few ideas that are often enjoyed by golfers.

Focus on the big prize. One way to have golfers talk about your tournament is to focus on a large first place prize.

Spending more on the top prize and less on the others will often result in a more memorable winning as well as more excitement during your tournament.

The obvious prize are obvious for a reason. Golf-themed prizes like balls and clubs are common because they are well-liked among golfers.

Have fun with a last place prize. One example of this could be to give out badminton racquets to the last-placed team. Funny gags like this make the tournament a little more light-hearted.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed our guide to understanding scramble golf rules. If you have any questions regarding our article we encourage you to reach out in the comments below.

If you would like to read more about golf tournament formats you check out our guide to golf shambles.

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