Scramble
Everyone on the team hits, you all play from the best shot, and the team takes one score a hole.
How it works
Everyone tees off, and the team picks the best drive to play the second shot from.
Keep picking the best shot until the ball is in the hole, for one team score per hole.
The team handicap is a share of each player's, the biggest from the lowest. The lowest net total wins.
Good to know
- Teams with the same score on every hole share the place. Otherwise the tie is broken hole by hole, from the hardest hole to the easiest, net in a net game, and the lower team score wins. The host can choose the last holes or a shared place instead.
- If the host chooses the last holes, in a shotgun start the last nine means holes 10 to 18, whatever order you played them in.
- On a nine-hole round, the nine holes played are compared hardest first, and the last-holes choice uses the last 6, 3 and 1.
A worked round
Teams of four, the team handicap a share of each player's, 25, 20, 15 and 10 percent from the lowest handicap up.
The momentTeam A shot one fewer, 65 to 66. Team B's handicap is two strokes more, so Team B won by one, 58 to 59.
- Team A: handicaps 4, 8, 12 and 14 from the lowest up. 25, 20, 15 and 10% of those is 5.8, so 6 strokes.
- Team B: handicaps 6, 10, 16 and 20 from the lowest up. 25, 20, 15 and 10% of those is 7.9, so 8 strokes.
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 72 |
| Team A | 65 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Team B | 66 |
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | |
| Team A | ||||||||||
| Team B |
| Hole | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 72 |
| Team A | 65 | |||||||||
| Team B | 66 |
| Hole | Par | Team A | Team B |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | ||
| 2 | 4 | ||
| 3 | 3 | ||
| 4 | 5 | ||
| 5 | 4 | ||
| 6 | 3 | ||
| 7 | 4 | ||
| 8 | 5 | ||
| 9 | 4 | ||
| 10 | 4 | ||
| 11 | 4 | ||
| 12 | 3 | ||
| 13 | 5 | ||
| 14 | 4 | ||
| 15 | 4 | ||
| 16 | 3 | ||
| 17 | 4 | ||
| 18 | 5 | ||
| Gross | 72 | 65 | 66 |
One team score per hole, before strokes. A circle marks a birdie. The team's strokes come off across the holes, so the net total is the gross total less the team handicap.
Handicaps
The team handicap is a share of each player's: 25, 20, 15 and 10 percent from the lowest handicap up for four players, 30, 20 and 10 for three, 35 and 15 for two. A team with fewer players than the game is set for uses the shares for its own size.
Why that number? Each format has its own usual handicap allowance, set so a 20 and a 5 both have a fair shot.
House variations
Other ways to play it.
- Two-player scramble for a quick game: ask for it when you describe the round.