4 Man Scramble Strategies?

[Bloom]

I play some big $ scrambles and agree with most of what's said. One other point to consider though is when deciding on what ball to take on the green, with things being mostly equal, go with the down hill putt.

 

You're less likely to leave a down hill putt short, and you never want to come up short when you're in a scramble. If you really want to tick your partners off, consistently leave putts short.

[jtcooky]

Yeah a lot of the scrambles I play will have an 8some off the tee. It can work the opposite way though too. A buddy of mine just played in a 4 man scramble where it was just a 4some per hole, and they shot 15 under, but because no other team was any better than 9 under, the ppl running the outing didn't believe them, and they didn't win s*** lol

[JohnnyC]

I've won the majority of charity scrambles I've played not by having an eraser or having a buddy check scores before turning in ours, but by just having lots of friends who are very strong players. Outside of having a strong team I recommend:

 

On holes where farther = better, players hit shortest to longest using their control swing until one is in play and serviceable, then using their max swing they are comfortable with. All players should have their 80% control swing and max swing grooved on the range.

 

If you are constrained by using X # of tee shots per player, use the weaker player's shots early if they are reasonable. ie: take 130 into a par 4 instead of 105 if it is obvious that it was a miracle your weak player hit a usable shot.

 

Use the closest shot the majority are comfortable with. If you have a 30 yard severe downhill with no green to work with that only one player is confident in, a 50 yard fairway, and a 100 yard fairway, go with the 50 yard fairway. There will be some who say its better to hit a full shot than a 7/13th power pitch. Punch that person in the face, pitch up tight, and take your birdie.

 

On mid to long iron approach shots, ignore the flag and shoot for the center of the green until you have a putt. If you are a higher level player hitting without a putt at it, aim for the center of the green but shape your shot (ie pin on right, aim for center with a cut shot) before going flag hunting.

 

On putts, go B,D,C,A. The B putter will have good line/speed for D and C to emulate/tweek. Have everyone give their opinion on the read of the putt but have your 2nd best putter end up choosing their line/speed and putt. Do a quick appraisal of results and adjust as necessary after each putt. Make goal to run 24" past if you don't make it. Putts that don't make it to the hole are useless and can be punished with buying drinks for the card after the round.

 

When rules allow, all players putt every hole, even if your B or D player has already made their putt. Your C and A player will likely putt better if it hasn't been over an hour since their last putt.

 

Take it easy on the booze for the first 12 holes or so. Have a beer every few holes but hold off on shots/pounding a beer/hole until you are in the home stretch and can make it into the clubhouse with most of your faculties in-tact.

 

Stay positive even when your last player misses the easy shot you need. One par isn't going to kill your tournament but a pessimistic toxic vibe will.

 

Don't think on it when you see the group behind you put all 4 drives in the drink then come in with a birdie to beat you by 1. Some people play that way, just focus on what you have control of and don't sweat the asshats.

[spartan6910]

Actual strategy thought:

 

Whenever I play in scrambles, we usually have the shortest (distance) player go first and put one in play, then let the longer players bomb away. Likewise, for non-tee shots, we have the weakest player go first and ascend to the "best". Same with putting, for the most part. This is especially apparent when the skill level of the 4 players varies widely.

 

Shameless bump. Had a scramble yesterday with my preferred team; we employed the above strategy and came in at -15. It helped that our "weakest" putter (i.e. he goes first) made the putt on probably 7 holes.

[llewol007]

By the sounds of it, you are going to be the anchor of the group. Typically I would have the longest hitter hit first as he does not have the pressure on him if the first three happen to screw their drives up. Then after that, I would typically play the closest and best angle into the hole. Sometimes not the closest but for sure, would give the group the best angle into the hole. Then after that, I would have the worst putters to best putters in that order as to test break of the hole if anything.

[cradd10]

We always try to make a lot of birdies and eagles.

[deadsolid...shank]

You know, my strength is putting. I hate going last.

 

I prefer to read my own putt and show others a line.

 

I don't like having a questionable putter go in front of my and leave a 20 foot putt 8 feet short.

 

I typically hit iron shots last. Not because I'm a good iron player, because I have been known to hit a lateral shot or two. I don't want guts to try and hit a golf shot when they just watched my skewer one.

 

That’s one of my buddies. One of the best putters in the area. He likes to go first for the same reason. Drives me nuts though, I still think having a read or two is beneficial. His choice though, and he makes a lot of them.

[DaddyCaddieIU]

Iron players and 1 long player

[MUNIGRIT]

No matter how good you cheat, someone will always cheat better!

[HappyGilmoresBoots]

We took 3rd overall in a church scramble a number of years ago. We were late to register, and didn't have a fourth player assigned to our team, so whoever had the worst shot got to take a free gimme (to make up for the missing player). It helped out TREMENDOUSLY by allowing one person to reassess their shot and come at it again. This set us up with 3-4 free shots per hole.

[eddiebigeddie]

Old thread, but just seeing this so I'll throw in my 2 cents. I have a 4some that plays 5-6 scrambles a year and also play a lot of golf together throughout the year, so we know all of our games very well. One guy is a 3-5 handicap, two a 7-9, and 1 (me) in the 12-14 range. The low handicap guys isn't long but average (250-260), but almost always puts the ball in the middle of the fairway and does everything else really "good". The other guys are Longer (275-285+) but wilder, everyone is a good iron player, wedges good and bad depending on the day, and putting (2 guys good, 1 guy great, 1 guy putting is his strength-me ;)

Here's our game plan almost every time:

Tee shots with Driver: Low handicap tees off first and puts one out in the fairway, then the other 3 bomb away as long as we have one in the fairway. By doing it this way it lets the bombers know we can swing away because we have one in play. Also if there's opportunity to cut a corner etc. there's not a lot of risk because we have one in play.

Tee shots with Irons: All 4 are pretty much on par so, it doesn't matter...but myself and the low guy always go after one or the other because our yardages are the same.

Wedges/Pitching/Chipping: same as above.

Putting: Lefty goes first (he likes going first, he wants to give us a read & he's lefty), then guy #2, then Low handi (good putter and reads lines well), then myself (best putter of the group and take the opportunity to get several reads on the putt). Occasionally I'll go third in front of the Low guy because I've got the read and want to make the putt and if I don't I've given our next best putter the line. He and I play a lot of golf together like 40 rounds a year so it helps to know what you've got.

Now, we go to these scrambles knowing we have a very good legitimate team that can shoot -15 to -21 depending on the course & gimmicks...but every year we finish in second or tie for first with a team we've seen driving around looking for balls in opposite fairways, taking multiple shots before reaching greens, 1 or 2 players that you can tell can't play the game or can barely move (old man with a cane one year) or drunk off their azz's. We go to play and have a good time with the opportunity to win, but we ALWAYS know that theirs a team out there that's going to pencil whip us just because. One of the worst ones was 2 years ago, we turned in scorecard first (if you go low, you usually play fast and get done fast) and the winning team turned in score LAST and not at the table, but supposedly at the clubhouse across from where they were collecting everything and having the festivities.

So just go expecting to have a good time, and someone cheating for sure.