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Scramble strategy?

I play in a regular scramble. About 20 of us show up at the same time every Sunday and they pick teams. Some of the most sought after guys are 75 years old and can just putt like crazy. Totally worthless outside of 100 yards, but deadly around the greens.

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Erky said:
I play in a regular scramble. About 20 of us show up at the same time every Sunday and they pick teams. Some of the most sought after guys are 75 years old and can just putt like crazy. Totally worthless outside of 100 yards, but deadly around the greens.

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I'm playing a charity scramble tomorrow, and we've got a guy like that - not quite that old, though. He's a 15-20 handicapper, but he consistently hits 200yd drives down the center and drains 20 foot putts. In between he's kind of a young Si Robertson, so we have a good time even if we can't compete. :act-up:
 
Scarnici said:
When I play in a scramble my goal is to have the most consistent driver of the golf ball go first. That way everyone feels very little pressure when its time to hit there drive. When it comes to putting its a little more complicated. You dont want the "worst" putter going first if there so bad nobody else can learn from the putt.
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I have to go with just the opposite. I played a lot of scrambles and the most successful teams usually let the weakest player go first, or a least had the better player for each type of shot go last.

If you have a long driver who tends to spray the ball around, make sure you have a ball in play before he is allowed to touch the driver - he can probably still outhit the rest of you with a 3W. If you have a guy who is consistent with his irons, maybe let him play first to middle of the green on a difficult pin, then the rest can go pin-hunting. On a normal pin he can go last to clean up the mess that the rest of them have left.

We always had the best putter go last. Even a poor putter can give the team some information, so let him go first and if it doesn't help much, so what? You haven't lost anything by it. Lightning might strike and he holes a long one (and letting him show the line makes him feel like a contributing part of the team). He has just a good a chance of hitting a lucky putt going first as in any other position. Having him go last sure isn't going to help.
 
Scarnici said:
When I play in a scramble my goal is to have the most consistent driver of the golf ball go first. That way everyone feels very little pressure when its time to hit there drive. When it comes to putting its a little more complicated. You dont want the "worst" putter going first if there so bad nobody else can learn from the putt.
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This is how I play a scramble too. Poke one out to the fairway everyone else swing for the fences.
 
If someone is not very good if they hit a good drive for them I want them to say something and the group will use that one. Or on a short par 5 it's easy to make up for a bad shot. I also like to have the most skilled golfer go first on the par 3's if they hit it close take the birdie and run.
 
Scrap Iron said:
If someone is not very good if they hit a good drive for them I want them to say something and the group will use that one.
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This is only important if the rules require you to use everyone's drive. Lots of scrambles don't make such a stipulation, so it's irrelevant.

Scrap Iron said:
Or on a short par 5 it's easy to make up for a bad shot. I also like to have the most skilled golfer go first on the par 3's if they hit it close take the birdie and run.
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If the good player goes first and doesn't hit it close, or worse, misses the green, then he just put the pressure on the guys who can't deal with it. If the best the player goes first all of the time then the poor players won't even feel like they are contributing. In a charity scramble it's more important to be sure everyone has a good time, because the teams with the ringers and cheaters are going to win 90% of the time anyway. Just go into it with the plan to have fun and feel good about contributing to the cause. To do that you need to get everyone on the team involved and interested.
 
Scramble strategy?

First of all, I get to play tomorrow and the weather looks great woohoo! Anyhow, I'm playing in a company outing in a scramble format. Pretty typical rules I think, pick the best shot, have to use certain minimums or maximums from each player, etc. I expect to be right in the middle skill-wise for the group I'm with.

So is there any particular strategy you like to follow in a scramble? Let the best players hit first or hit last? Do you go for every shot, or hold back more often?
 
I like to allow the most accurate player to hit first off the tee, ending with the longest player being able to 'swing away' if the other shots are good.

Around the greens, the least talented should go first to give a line. That way the others can build on that and hopefully drain a putt.

Also, fun. Lots and lots of fun.
 
Your best player should go last. Your shortest/straightest hitter should tee off first to put one in play. Once a ball is in play, it lets the other longer hitters be more aggressive with their tee shots (which rarely works out but is fun).

Your best putter should absolutely putt last getting 3 looks at the line.
 
Canadan said:
I like to allow the most accurate player to hit first off the tee, ending with the longest player being able to 'swing away' if the other shots are good.

Around the greens, the least talented should go first to give a line. That way the others can build on that and hopefully drain a putt.

Also, fun. Lots and lots of fun.
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Common and most logical strategy to put in place, and the one I would recommend, too. Good luck and have fun!
 
I've also used the strategy to have your second best putter go first so everyone gets an accurate read on the putt. Sometimes the worst putters put a weird spin on the ball giving everyone a bad read right off the bat. In all honesty though it really doesn't matter you will have a blast playing in the event and good times will be had by all. Don't be to hard on yourself, scrambles tend to raise everyones expectations and a shot you would be proud of playing by yourself quickly becomes frustrating to you because it wasn't within 3 feet of the hole.
 
Thanks guys, sounds like a good plan. I can't wait to get out there.
 
Depending on your placement rules, don't rule out shots that might have awkward lies.
As an example, I was playing one the other week and the rule was to drop within a club length, we had one particular tee shot, one guy was behind a tree but fundamentally a much better position than anyone else. He took his from where it lay, essentially sacrificing that one, to give the other three a much easier 2nd shot dropping within a club length.

And not much value in leaving putts short if there are players behind you.

Good luck and most importantly, enjoy!
 
OhioMatt said:
I've also used the strategy to have your second best putter go first so everyone gets an accurate read on the putt. Sometimes the worst putters put a weird spin on the ball giving everyone a bad read right off the bat. In all honesty though it really doesn't matter you will have a blast playing in the event and good times will be had by all. Don't be to hard on yourself, scrambles tend to raise everyones expectations and a shot you would be proud of playing by yourself quickly becomes frustrating to you because it wasn't within 3 feet of the hole.
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I agree with the putting advice. Also have someone get one in play and then let the long guys grip it and rip it. Scrambles are a ton of fun
 
Let the most sober of the foursome keep track of the scorecard.
 
I also like this "let the 2nd best putter go first" thing. Myself and the guy I am with aren't the best, so it will help us much more to see a true attempt rather than rely on our putting eyes. :) (Though putting is one of my strengths!)
 
Splendorlex said:
I also like this "let the 2nd best putter go first" thing. Myself and the guy I am with aren't the best, so it will help us much more to see a true attempt rather than rely on our putting eyes. :) (Though putting is one of my strengths!)
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And don't forget to talk about the putt as a team. Talk about break and where you're aiming.

I've been in foursomes before that the guy going first wanted so bad to be the one to make the putt that he just did his own thing, off of his own read. No discussion of where he was aiming or anything.

If the scramble is using the two-putt rule, putt aggressively.
 
I do plan on one more difference from my normal round: I'm going to try to hit Driver all day. I can be wild with it, so on some rounds (like earlier this week) I just about retire it completely and just hit my Adams Idea 3H that I tend to hit a lot straighter. :)
 
I would let the second best player go first and the best player go last.

If the second best player gets something into play off of the tee or puts his shot on the green, it makes the No.3 and No.4 players a little more relaxed about their shots, which gives them a better chance to succeed. The best player can then try to really go after a tee shot/approach or play conservatively if needed. This format still allows the best player the chance to perform with all of the pressure, but it generally takes the pressure off of the No.3 and No.4 guys.

My group followed this approach in a scramble a few weeks ago, and it was really successful. The first player to hit just went and played, knowing that the best player was sitting behind him. And, the No.3 and No.4 guys (both 18ish handicaps) hit some really quality golf shots without the pressure of needing to perform.
 
I'm also hoping to win a raffle prize or two that I could use, like a new bag or putter! :)
 
Don't let coming back to the clubhouse and finding what might seem like impossible scores posted ruin the fun round that you just had with three friends. If there's a banquet, just let the fun continue and remember that your entry fees were probably a charitable donation anyway.
 
I have no expectations of winning, so no worries there. I'm in for golf, fun, food and maybe some raffle luck. :)
 
Splendorlex said:
First of all, I get to play tomorrow and the weather looks great woohoo! Anyhow, I'm playing in a company outing in a scramble format. Pretty typical rules I think, pick the best shot, have to use certain minimums or maximums from each player, etc. I expect to be right in the middle skill-wise for the group I'm with.

So is there any particular strategy you like to follow in a scramble? Let the best players hit first or hit last? Do you go for every shot, or hold back more often?
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Just have fun.....its a scramble.......
 
Have fun but definitely make sure the best player for each shot goes last...don't wait until the last holes to get everyone their shots either since you are playing a minimum shot per person scramble


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sharkhat said:
don't let coming back to the clubhouse and finding what might seem like impossible scores posted ruin the fun round that you just had with three friends. If there's a banquet, just let the fun continue and remember that your entry fees were probably a charitable donation anyway.
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absolutely great advice!
 
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