Alright, so I decided to get out there and play in a golf scramble last weekend. Heard about these things, thought it might be a bit of fun, a different way to whack the ball around, you know?
Getting Started with the Scramble
Showed up at the course, and they put our foursome together. A couple of guys I knew vaguely, one complete stranger. You never quite know what you’re gonna get with these things. The idea is simple enough: everyone hits a tee shot, you pick the best one, everyone hits their next shot from that spot. Repeat until the ball is in the hole. Sounds like a recipe for crazy low scores, but it’s never that straightforward.
We got our cart, grabbed a scorecard, and headed to the first tee. There’s always that little bit of awkwardness at the start, figuring out who’s got what kind of game. Are they serious? Are they just here for a laugh? Took a few swings on the practice range, mostly to loosen up. Didn’t want to pull anything on the first hole.
Playing the Round – The Ups and Downs
So, we teed off. My first drive was… well, it was okay. Stayed in play, which is always a bonus for me. One of the other guys, let’s call him Dave, absolutely smoked his. Dead center, miles down the fairway. So, naturally, we all picked up our balls and went to his.
That’s the thing with scrambles. You can hit a terrible shot, and it doesn’t matter if someone else in your group nails one. Kind of takes the pressure off, but also, you feel a bit useless if you’re not contributing. We got to Dave’s ball, and then we all took our second shots. One guy chunked it. I thinned mine a bit, but it ran up near the green. The stranger, Mark, he hit a beauty, right onto the dance floor.
Putting was a group effort, or a group disaster, depending on the hole. Four guys looking at a putt, four different reads. We actually made a few decent ones. Had a couple of good birdie opportunities. There was this one par 3, over water. Pure chaos. One in the drink, one in the bunker, I hit one fat, but Dave, again, stuck it to about 10 feet. We managed to make the par, felt like a win on that hole.
- Tee shots: Mostly relying on one or two guys.
- Approach shots: A bit hit or miss for everyone.
- Putting: Let’s just say it was an adventure.
The pace of play can be a bit weird too. You hit, then you wait. Then everyone walks to the best ball, then everyone hits again. It can drag on if the group in front is slow, or if your own group is spending ages deciding which mediocre shot is the “best” one.
What I Reckon About It All
We didn’t break any course records, that’s for sure. Ended up with a score that was respectable, I guess. Better than I would have shot on my own, but that’s the whole point, isn’t it?
It’s a different kind of golf, this scramble stuff. Less individual pressure, which can be nice if you’re having an off day. But then, if you’re the one carrying the team with your drives, you sort of feel the pressure to keep doing it. It’s a team game, but not really in the traditional sense. It’s more like… borrowing other people’s good shots.
Overall, it was an experience. Got to spend a few hours outside. Saw some good shots, hit a few myself that weren’t entirely embarrassing. Would I do it every week? Probably not. But for a change of pace, yeah, it was alright. It’s just another way to chase that little white ball around a field, I suppose.