Scramble Golf: Hole in Fun

Scramble golf is a perfect way to make you feel better about your game if you play golf infrequently.

Scramble is a popular choice for corporate events or tournaments, and it is more about having a good time than heavy competition. It’s more popular for terrible golfers to get together and play (kidding… sort of).

Jokes aside, it is actually a very fun format. It doesn’t just have to be played by beginner/high-handicap golfers. It is just a more relaxed golf style in an enjoyable environment. 

I will give you the rundown of scramble golf, including its definition, the different versions, how the scoring works, and some fun strategies.

Key Takeaways

• Played in groups of two to four players on the same team working together to get the lowest possible score.

• Each player hits a tee shot, then the team chooses the best tee shot and all players take their next shot from that spot.

• This continues until the ball is holed, and is repeated for every hole on the course.

• The lie for each shot cannot be made better than the lie of the original best shot.

What is Scramble Golf?

Scramble is supposed to be a fun (well, all golf is) and less overly competitive version of golf. It is more about teamwork and collaboration, which is why it is so popular for corporate events, charity events, and the like. 

It is usually played in groups of two to four players on the same team, unlike match play golf, where if you’re playing in a group of four, it is usually a two-vs-two team competition against each other. 

Scramble golf can be played on any type of course, whether it's regular parkland or links golf courses.

Scramble Golf Rules

Simplest form: you and your teammate work together to get the best possible (lowest) score. This is not different from the majority of golf formats.

This is where the fun begins. The difference is that in scramble golf, each player on the team tees off and hits their own ball. The team then decides which tee shot is the best, and they all get to walk (or cart) to where that best shot is. You want to have at least one person on the team who can hit a driver with consistency. 

From the spot of the best tee shot chosen, everybody gets to hit their next shot from that same spot. This process is repeated until the ball is holed.

As you can see, even less skilled golfers have a good chance to score decently (remember what I said about scrambles making you feel better about your game).

Here are a few extra rules to keep in mind:

• Everybody has to hit a tee shot on each hole, even if the first one is perfect. This helps keep everybody involved.

• The lie for each shot cannot be made better than the lie of the original best shot. It’s debatable how enforced this is each tournament (unless the obvious move from rough to fairway).  

Scramble Golf Scoring 

The scoring system for scramble golf is straightforward. 

Just like you would in stroke play individually, the team records its score after each hole. At the end of the round, the team's scores from all holes are totaled to get their cumulative gross score. 

The team with the lowest gross score wins; this is not different from most golf formats. Scramble Golf is more relaxed and enjoyable for players of all skill levels. 

The format encourages camaraderie and is less stressful than traditional stroke-play golf. So even if your team isn’t the winner, there are probably a bunch of cool other prizes and raffles in your tournament or charity event. 

Scramble Golf Games

While scramble golf in its basic format is a fun and quick moving style of golf, there are also a few other variations with slight rule changes to make them more unique and, in some instances, more strategic.

Those other variations include: 

2 Man Scramble Golf

The 2 Man Scramble Golf format reduces the team size to two players. 

Aside from the teams being halved, 2 Man Scramble’s main features are the same as the traditional scramble, with each golfer hitting a shot and players selecting the best ball after each stroke.

2 Man Scramble makes it a bit more challenging because you have only two shots to choose from, making the margin for error thinner. 

Texas Scramble

Variation of basic scramble where certain restrictions are placed on the number of tee shots each player can contribute to the team effort. 

In Texas Scramble rules, each player must contribute a minimum of two drives in a round. This rule ensures that everybody on the team has a chance to contribute meaningfully to the game, even if one person can’t hit a tee shot for their life. The entire team has to play at least 2 drives from the meaningful bushes. 

The rest of the Texas Scramble rules are the same as a “regular” scramble, where you choose the best drive, and each player hits from that spot on and on until the hole is completed.

Florida Scramble

The Florida Scramble or Step Aside Scramble puts a unique twist on the traditional scramble format. 

Again, like in the Texas Scramble rules, where one slight variation made the scramble a bit more interesting, the rules for Florida Scramble are generally similar to basic EXCEPT the player whose shot is selected must step aside, leaving the remaining team members to choose the next best shot. This continues until the ball is holed.

So basically, all 4 players hit a tee shot, and the player whose tee shot is selected doesn’t play the next shot. The same goes for the next shot; whoever shot is selected as best, THEY don’t hit that shot.

Effectively, only 3 people on the team hit each stroke after the tee shots. 

This adds to a bit of the strategy because if you have two relatively similar tee shots, the team may choose the “worse” one because the player who hit the better shot might be an outstanding iron player and can help the team with a great approach shot into the green on the team's 2nd stroke. 

Little strategy difference is adopted with that slight rule wrinkle in Florida Scramble. 

Las Vegas scramble

On par with its name, this four team format uses a 6 sided die. 

On every hole, all four players on the team hit a tee shot. 

The team then rolls the dice depending on what it lands on (1, 2, 3, or 4).

The player's tee shot that coincides with that number (based on the order they hit) is the one used. 

If a 5 or a 6 is rolled, the team gets to choose which tee shot; it essentially reverts to a regular scramble for that hole.

Golf Shamble

This is where the fun turns up since it takes scramble and stroke play and gives them a little twist. 

Each team member plays their tee shot, and then the team picks the best shot from those tee shots. You’re thinking, “Wait a minute, that is a scramble!”

Well, here is the twist:

From that point, each golfer plays their own ball through the remainder of the hole. So, I like to essentially think of it as stroke play with a head start. The score is still counted as the best team score on the hole at the end. 

Shambles can be played in teams of two, three, or four players. 

Playing this format and scramble gives newer golfers a safety net since they always have their teammates' scores (or shots in a scramble) to back them up if the newer golfer starts getting a case of the shanks during the round. 

Golf Shamble Format Summed Up:

• Each golfer tees off.

• The team picks the best tee shot of all.

• Each golfer plays their own ball from the selected best tee shot location until they complete the hole.

• Repeat steps 1-3 for all 18 holes.

Scramble Golf Strategy

Strategize with your teammates to maximize each player's strengths for whichever variation of scramble golf you play.  

You want to have some skill balance on your team, including at least one player knowing how to putt better than others because sinking some longer ones on the green will help the overall team score. 

Make sure you know the scramble format you’re playing in, as slight rule changes can also change your strategy (see what was mentioned in Florida Scramble above). 

Lastly, but more importantly, have fun playing scramble and keep up the pace of play so the fun doesn’t dwindle because the round is taking too long. 

Scramble vs Best Ball 

While both scramble and best ball formats involve team play, they have distinct differences. 

In a best ball format, each team member plays the entire hole individually, and only the best score among the team members is counted for each hole. 

In a scramble, each player contributes to a single team score by hitting from the same chosen spot after every shot.

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