Played a scramble yesterday

[Kyle M]

Had a scramble yesterday (business related) at the La Cantera resort course here in S.A. Now, we played the Silver tees (6,000 yards) so par was effectively 68. The winning score was 49. I was under the impression the teams were randomly selected but clearly this couldn't be the case. I am sure that if I chose three of my buddies we may have been able to birdie every hole and shoot 50, but in this format I just don't know how this happens...Anyone else ever have this experience? Oh, you could buy mulligans so maybe that helped a lot...

[valmario]

i played in one on monday, and we tee'd it up from the whites, it was kind of a joke, as only one of the par 5s were all in the 450-490yd range... we had 3 legitimate 10 handicaps and 1 of the guys was scratch, and shot a 53, par was 72. we won by one a stroke

[larrybud]

Had a scramble yesterday (business related) at the La Cantera resort course here in S.A. Now, we played the Silver tees (6,000 yards) so par was effectively 68. The winning score was 49. I was under the impression the teams were randomly selected but clearly this couldn't be the case. I am sure that if I chose three of my buddies we may have been able to birdie every hole and shoot 50, but in this format I just don't know how this happens...Anyone else ever have this experience? Oh, you could buy mulligans so maybe that helped a lot...

 

 

You were probably just pencil whipped.

[oregongolf]

Had a scramble yesterday (business related) at the La Cantera resort course here in S.A. Now, we played the Silver tees (6,000 yards) so par was effectively 68. The winning score was 49. I was under the impression the teams were randomly selected but clearly this couldn't be the case. I am sure that if I chose three of my buddies we may have been able to birdie every hole and shoot 50, but in this format I just don't know how this happens...Anyone else ever have this experience? Oh, you could buy mulligans so maybe that helped a lot...

 

 

You were probably just pencil whipped.

:wacko: Maybe.

 

It's not uncommon for people to go way low in scrambles. I've seen a group of five <5 handicaps shoot -22, so I imagine it could be done.

 

Maybe they just got the right group of guys?

[Gingurus]

-19 under is a super good score, but w/ a 4 man scramble that allows you to buy mulligans....definitely within the realm of possiblity. especially at a course that short.

[CowtownTexas]

Put together a scramble team a couple of years ago comprised of me as a 9 at the time and three guys who are all legit scratch or better. We shot -22 and lost. Not lost, didn't place. Some people interpret rules very loosely. The team that "won" was playing behind us, so we saw alot of their shots. No one in that group could break 100 on their own ball on any course in the world.

 

I use scrambles to practice, socialize, and nothing more. Doing any different is just a test of your sanity.

[scotton]

I play a 9 hole scramble once a week where the teams are pretty much random/even and if you don't shoot -8 or -9, you won yourself a shiny new hamburger and that's about it. Given an A player that can hit fairways and greens and read greens, a long hitting B player with short game issues, an old C player with no long game but that can chip and putt and a D player that can buy beer, -19 would be a good but reachable score.

[liveagua]

Shooting -22 isn't even that realistic...a lot has to go right for you.

 

I hate being able to buy all those mulligans, it allows peole to cheat too easily.

 

The best I have ever done is -20 at Springhouse (they used to play the Senior Bellsouth Classic there) and we had 5 guys in our scramble including Chuck Cecil (2 handicap who coaches for the Tennessee Titans)

 

Should be interesting this year, we are playing at a Palmer Course and we have 2 people who are 4 handicap, Punter Craig Hentrich (3 handicap) and two 8 handicaps. We should be in the high teens.

 

But then again, we could get pencil whipped

[BFC]

I'm sorry but when I see -22, I always think something is up. All birdies and 4 eagles......right! I wish people would get creative and post a - 24 in there, two hole out on top of a "perfect game" why not while we're at it, it can happen........

 

I think scrambles bring out the worst in golfers and I avoid them. I just can't handle it. I'm comited to playing one, every year and I usually leave before they give out prizes. It's just ridiculous.

[Gingurus]

OP has stated that it's a par 68 course, so it's not -22, but actually -19 under. which is reasonable. especially on such a short course.

[thenewbie]

uhhhgg, I'm just starting to hate scrambles in general. I played in one, and not only was the course impossibly hard, but no one in my team had ever been there before. I actually had to do 5 or 6 rulings for our team because the course was so hard. . .but if I hadn't been there my team would have had no clue what things like nearest point of releif would be, and even I don't know the rules THAT well. I'm sure there are a lot of "lax" rulings out there that people give themselves.

[Kyle M]

It di play like a par 68 because of how short the par 5's were playing. But I just can't fathom a 49 with 4 golfers who are supposedly randomly selected. I could see 4 players who are scratch to 7 hc doing it, but if you throw 2 bad golfers in there how in the hell does it happen? But all in all it was fun and really only for networking.

[Chairman7w]

Yep, people cheat at Scrables. I hate them.

[Hathstauwk]

I enjoy playing scrambles but mainly because i get to practice my game without the dire consequences. I have played in many and one annual tourney I used to play had about 36 teams or so (yes, large group, sometimes had more groups so used 2 courses but generally totally filled one course). There were non-golfers and golfers and some "stacked" their teams. The best winning score ever was -15. I have placed anywhere from 2nd to 10th in the tourney but never won. People get very creative with the rules and even more creative with their pencil. I do not understand why. If there was $100,000 up for grabs, I could see it but when you are talking a few hundred dollar gift certificate? Come on!!! One of the years we finished 2nd was at Torrey Pines South (remodeled). Even palying from the whites, that is 6900 yards!!!!! We finished at 11 under becasue each person in our group at some point came up with some ridiculously miraculous shot, including me hitting a 3 wood from 250 out on the 12th hole, into the wind, drawign to 4 feet. I never, ever make a shot like that! Other guys were sinking 40 foot putts and even our D player was hitting approach shots that he did not know how he did them. With all that, we shot 11 under and the winners shot 13 under and one guy in my group knows them and their scoring tactics. even in a scramble, 13 under there is pretty unrealistic, particularly when you realize the lowest handicap in the group was 10 and the highest was over 20.

 

People cheat and that is their own problem. I enjoy seeign how well we can do and winnign is a bonus but not why I am there.

[deRaiLeD]

Had a scramble yesterday (business related) at the La Cantera resort course here in S.A. Now, we played the Silver tees (6,000 yards) so par was effectively 68. The winning score was 49. I was under the impression the teams were randomly selected but clearly this couldn't be the case. I am sure that if I chose three of my buddies we may have been able to birdie every hole and shoot 50, but in this format I just don't know how this happens...Anyone else ever have this experience? Oh, you could buy mulligans so maybe that helped a lot...

 

 

You were probably just pencil whipped.

 

Yeah honestly that sounds pretty unlegit to me. I wouldnt believe that lol. Theres no way.

But atleast you got to play a really nice course. I played there a couple years ago it was so nice!

What place did yall end up getting?

[Veritas]

It di play like a par 68 because of how short the par 5's were playing. But I just can't fathom a 49 with 4 golfers who are supposedly randomly selected. I could see 4 players who are scratch to 7 hc doing it, but if you throw 2 bad golfers in there how in the hell does it happen? But all in all it was fun and really only for networking.

 

Randomly selected does not guarantee evenly matched. It is not ridiculous to think that if they were drawing out of a hat or something that 4 better players could be put in a group. The best way to avoid it would be to actually select the players based on skill and not do a random selection.

[MrJones]

My home course came up with a solution for pencil whippers a long time ago. when they hold scrambles, it's always 2 or 3 man teams. that way there's always 2 teams per hole. Keeps people from cheating. We've very rarely ever have a winning score better than 15 under.

[jones137]

This is a topic that annoys me.

 

I get into a scramble usually a couple times a year with a few of my golfing buddies who happen to be really really good. Along with my 6-8 hdcp (Probably a +2 on the short game but about a 20 handicap on the long game) the other three are in the 2-4 hdcp range. Two are extremely long hitters (320+ drives). We consistently shoot -14 to -19. The last time we played we were -19 under........nobody believed us. I felt like we were going to get our butts kicked during the handing out of prizes.......it was actually pretty nasty.

 

Golf is game of honor. If people are cheating, they're cheating themselves and the game. I always assume that people in scrambles are telling the truth and honoring the game. If they're not, then they're only doing themselves a disservice.

 

If I'm in a scramble playing for serious $$, it's almost always monitored to keep it honest. If it's not for serious cash then who cares......they're only hurting themselves. Again, I assume everybody has the integrity to tell the truth.

 

It makes me angry though when we shoot a -19 and get our lives nearly threatened over a $50 box of golf balls (the prize).

[Ty_Webb]

I remember seeing, around 12 or so years ago, a pro texas scramble event. Teams of four pros. Winning score was -17. I can't remember what it was called, or where it was played, but it was televised and it was proper tour pros playing in it.

 

Read into that what you will.

 

Texas scrambles back at home are normally played off handicap, where your handicap is one tenth of the combined handicaps of your team. If these scores being bandied about here are net, then fine, otherwise, I can't see any way in the world that a group of amateurs are going to shoot -22, even if the course is short.

[CowtownTexas]

I truly don't remember our real score, so -22 may not be right. I do know we had a double-eagle, but it was on a jicky hole that is a severe dog leg that resembles a horseshoe. Basically, to play down the fairway, you hit 5 iron twice and then a wedge into the green. We had a big hitter who just cut off the whole dog leg and we had about a 10 foot putt for double eagle. I know we didn't birdie all the par 3's, so -22 might have been stretching it. I don't really remember our score as it's been some time, but we all played well and were probably the strongest team in the field.

 

Regardless, my point was that scrambles are an excuse for people who don't play golf to get out on a golf course. They don't know the rules and really can't be faulted for that since they've had no reason to learn them. Of course, some are just cheating, but that's just life. I figure a person who will cheat at a fund-raising golf tournament has bigger issues than just being dishonest on the golf course.