# Formats



## maschneid (May 19, 2007)

Hello everyone I am new to the forum and and golf aswell. I have played alittle probably get out 10+ times a year. So I know the basics, but there are formats im not familiar with such Scramble and Shotgun? Could you guys help me out with the rules for these formats? thanks everyone.


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## 65nlovenit (Dec 8, 2006)

A scramble is usually made up of 4 person teams, playing a best ball format. Every player hits his ball, and the team then picks the best of the shots, and each player then shoots from that best lie. Lots of fun, usually teams are made up of different levels of golfers, single and double digit handicappers.The wining score is usually well under par. A SHOTGUN, is usually a starting format for large groups. Companies will rent a golf course and in order to get a large number of players on the course at the same time, before the actual starting time, teams will move out to a predetermined hole and wait for a Horn or Shotgun blast, so that they all start at the same time. 

Del


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## maschneid (May 19, 2007)

ahhh it all makes sense now. Thanks alot.


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## BrianMcG (Apr 7, 2007)

65nlovenit said:


> A scramble is usually made up of 4 person teams, playing a best ball format.
> Del



Not to be nitpicky, your description of a scramble is correct, however, a scramble is not best ball. Those are two different formats.

Best ball means everyone playes their own ball and you take the best score on the hole.


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## Fourputt (Nov 18, 2006)

Ok... here goes.

A scramble is NOT limited to 4 players per team. I have played in 2 man, 4 man, and 5 man scrambles, I've read other posts about a game wherein 1 person scrambles with 2 balls. A scramble is NOT a Best Ball or Better Ball competition (a best ball competition is played wherein each player on the team plays his own ball all the way to the hole, and the best score of all the players on the team becomes the team score, thus the name "Best Ball"). 

A scramble is a format that the USGA doesn't actually even recognize under the rules. It is a game wherein each player on the team hits his tee shot. Then the best shot is "selected", either by the team captain or by consensus, and the other players on the same team pick up their balls and drop within a required distance (specified by the competition committee) of the point where the selected ball lay. Each plays his 2nd shot from there, following that general procedure until the ball is holed. Sometimes the selected ball is required to be played as it lies, other times it can be marked and picked up. Sometimes the players are required to drop at the selected location, other times they can place their balls. There are also a number of variations on the theme as well, such as the tournament my club plays that they call a Shamble where the tee shot is played as a normal scramble, then after dropping at the selected location, the rest of the hole is played as a better ball, with each player finishing from the 2nd shot in by playing his own ball as it lies.


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## bjterry62 (Jun 12, 2007)

Shamble, great name for it. I play in a little benefit tourny every year here in RI with that same format. However, they call it a "Texas Scramble". Kicker is, I moved here from Texas and I NEVER played that format there.  

In the Lone Star State, we played Scramble (as described above), Low Ball (Best ball) and Stableford (points). Club championships were usually Match play.

BT


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## 300Yards (Jan 23, 2007)

I need to try some of these..I never do much, other than stroke play.


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## stevel1017 (Apr 30, 2007)

What part of RI? I grew up in Barrington, graduated Barrington High (quite a few years ago now LOL)
One of my 1st jobs was raking sand traps at Rhode Island Country Club. This is the course where Faxon and Andrede host the CVS. They have 128 traps (or did when I worked there) and back them we raked em by hand. The best perk was we could play the course on Monday (caddy day). One of the worst parts was we had to stay away from the member's daughters.


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## bjterry62 (Jun 12, 2007)

stevel1017 said:


> What part of RI? I grew up in Barrington, graduated Barrington High (quite a few years ago now LOL)
> One of my 1st jobs was raking sand traps at Rhode Island Country Club. This is the course where Faxon and Andrede host the CVS. They have 128 traps (or did when I worked there) and back them we raked em by hand. The best perk was we could play the course on Monday (caddy day). One of the worst parts was we had to stay away from the member's daughters.


Smithfield. I usually play Triggs, Country View or Fenner Hill. I gotta join up somewhere though to get my handicap re-established. I took a hiatus from golf for a few years while I was raising my kids. Since they're mostly grown, I have a little extra money for golf. 

Moved up here for a change of jobs and the cooler weather. Cracks me up when I hear people saying they want to move south because they don't like the cold. Where I lived in East Texas, it usually hit 100 sometime in june and stayed there through Sept. We also got to enjoy that gulf moisture keeping the humidity between 40% - 60%. I would walk out to my truck in the morning to crank it and let the AC cool it off before heading into work, when I walked back inside, I was sweating. They want to move south, more power to them.

BT


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## stevel1017 (Apr 30, 2007)

I played Triggs a lot when I got out of the Army. Fun course (I wasn't very good back then though)


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