4 man scramble in PGA tour event.

[Fulksy]

Just the ability to have one good player put a fairway ball and layup out there so the other 3 can have a go would be huge.

 

4 reads at a putt? I wish! I anchored one scramble last year and with 3 reads I made damn near everything.

 

4 chances to get up and down the odd time you miss a green with 4 good golfers? Easy as pie.

 

Bogeys would be rare and the tougher the course the higher they place IMO. 4 chances to hit fairways when pros are hitting hazards.

 

This team is shooting 4/5 under at worst at any track. That's making cuts and contending every week.

 

Completely agree the tougher the track the better they do. the course they do worse on are the ones where the big hitters on tour can just bomb it with little repercussion's and still 4 chances on every putt by 4 decent putters that is just such a monster advantage.

[cradd10]

Just the ability to have one good player put a fairway ball and layup out there so the other 3 can have a go would be huge.

 

4 reads at a putt? I wish! I anchored one scramble last year and with 3 reads I made damn near everything.

 

4 chances to get up and down the odd time you miss a green with 4 good golfers? Easy as pie.

 

Bogeys would be rare and the tougher the course the higher they place IMO. 4 chances to hit fairways when pros are hitting hazards.

 

This team is shooting 4/5 under at worst at any track. That's making cuts and contending every week.

 

Completely agree the tougher the track the better they do. the course they do worse on are the ones where the big hitters on tour can just bomb it with little repercussion's and still 4 chances on every putt by 4 decent putters that is just such a monster advantage.

 

 

Completely agree on both. It would be extremely rare to make a bogey. Probably pour in 6-8 birdies min per round.

[Mcgeeno]

And we've established this isn't a usual scramble team.

 

My scramble team would max out at 280 erratic (me) or 250 steady (a 9 cap)

 

With streaky putters and a surprisingly mediocre wedge game amongst the 4 of us lol.

 

We would struggle to make cuts but I think we could squeak out a couple with 4 cracks at every shot.

[JRS]

teams of strong players often shoot under 60 in our end of year scramble. far from a pga tour track though.

[mylo]

A few years ago a buddy with some connections got us onto the course that the Canadian Open was played at, we played it 3 days after the open. We played stroke play in the morning and did a 4 man scramble in the afternoon for fun from the tips. We shot a 61. I was a 4 at the time, the others were scratch, +1 and a 2.

Me and the 2 would hit first and get one in play and the others would bomb it over 300 every time. Having 4 putts and 4 chips made things a breeze. There was really nothing special about our round, we've gone lower than that many times since. I think a group like ours could definitely compete for wins every now and then.

[One_Putt_Blunder]

Won the Tommy Bahamas charity scramble 2 years in a row with a team similar to what the OP lined up. Even if we backed out 8-10 strokes due to tougher course set up distance etc. We would still be able to make pretty much every single cut.

 

Played in another one for my work where it was a more traditional A, C, C, D group. That group would have stood zero chance at making a cut. I'm the A in this one and not long enough at 7300+ yards to give the others a good look with 9 iron or less. The others are not good enough to make up too much ground if I hit one bad except the occasional once per round miracle shot.

[nix]

I think it would be a funny and awesome pga thing to do to have four players scramble the course prior to each tournament. Track their progress through the season and make a great pre-tournament show each week out of it. Am I alone? Probably.

[AZBearcat]

You would win every event. Hands down. The average scramble team wouldn't make a cut probably.

[cradd10]

A few years ago a buddy with some connections got us onto the course that the Canadian Open was played at, we played it 3 days after the open. We played stroke play in the morning and did a 4 man scramble in the afternoon for fun from the tips. We shot a 61. I was a 4 at the time, the others were scratch, +1 and a 2.

Me and the 2 would hit first and get one in play and the others would bomb it over 300 every time. Having 4 putts and 4 chips made things a breeze. There was really nothing special about our round, we've gone lower than that many times since. I think a group like ours could definitely compete for wins every now and then.

 

4 61's would win every event.

[straightshot7]

Well take your team, go play a round in scramble format and add about 10 strokes. Multiple that score by 4.

 

I think that's about what you'd shoot on a moderately difficult PGA Tour stop.

 

And that's your team, not a team of average golfers.

[Rosco1216]

4 scratch to low single digit cappers(like the team you described) could, and should, win pretty easily.

[UCBananaboy]

The key to an elite scramble team is to have four putters who are capable of making every putt. As a scramble, you're probably never facing a par putt outside 15 feet. You are never taking a penalty stroke. You are also never 3-putting.

 

TOUR pros are making only half of their 8 footers and we get 4 tries at it. That's an enormous advantage.

 

People are grossly underestimating the scramble team's performance here.

 

With the team OP presented, that team wins events in bunches and doesn't sniff any missed cuts. I'd bet your high score is right around even, median score would be around 5-6 under, and the group shoots 63 or lower quite frequently.

[umassgolfer]

Good topic!

 

I agree the OP's team wins at least a couple times per year - at the non-birdie fests, especially. I'd think the average Tour setup might cost 2-4 strokes per round MAX at the beginning - getting used to the conditions, etc. But as others have mentioned - the team really shouldn't take a bogey, three-putt, lost ball, etc...EVER.

 

I'm sure a bogey would creep in here or there, especially in tough weather conditions, but averaging 67/round seems like a conservatively high scoring average. That gets you to -12 to -20 on a weekly average, pending the course's par.

 

The one thing being overlooked or not specifically called out...normally a scratch or +1 playing for a score is aiming at the middle/safer spot on a lot of. For a scramble team, there are going to be multiple times per round that the "Weaker" iron player puts an approach on the green to allow the other 3 to go flag hunting. That's a totally different mindset.

[golfandfishing]

Well take your team, go play a round in scramble format and add about 10 strokes. Multiple that score by 4.

 

I think that's about what you'd shoot on a moderately difficult PGA Tour stop.

 

And that's your team, not a team of average golfers.

 

Even at a mediocre round of 60, add the 10 for 70 = 8 under playing just decently.

[cdnglf]

The key to an elite scramble team is to have four putters who are capable of making every putt. As a scramble, you're probably never facing a par putt outside 15 feet. You are never taking a penalty stroke. You are also never 3-putting.

 

TOUR pros are making only half of their 8 footers and we get 4 tries at it. That's an enormous advantage.

 

People are grossly underestimating the scramble team's performance here.

 

With the team OP presented, that team wins events in bunches and doesn't sniff any missed cuts. I'd bet your high score is right around even, median score would be around 5-6 under, and the group shoots 63 or lower quite frequently.

 

I agree with your opinion that the scramble team would be great.

But if I was building a team, I'd be way more inclined to pick bombers than great putters.

 

4 short hitting great putters will have trouble making some greens in regulation, and will have fewer birdie/eagle opportunities on the par 5s. The relative putting weakness of the bombers is largely erased by having 4x the number of putting chances.

[Mcgeeno]

I was gonna say something similar.

 

The best scramble teams have a straight hitter and a bomber.

 

Or just 4 guys under 2 handicaps hahahah.

[bigmoneyp]

The gallery add a lot of pressure for many ppl.

[UCBananaboy]

The key to an elite scramble team is to have four putters who are capable of making every putt. As a scramble, you're probably never facing a par putt outside 15 feet. You are never taking a penalty stroke. You are also never 3-putting.

 

TOUR pros are making only half of their 8 footers and we get 4 tries at it. That's an enormous advantage.

 

People are grossly underestimating the scramble team's performance here.

 

With the team OP presented, that team wins events in bunches and doesn't sniff any missed cuts. I'd bet your high score is right around even, median score would be around 5-6 under, and the group shoots 63 or lower quite frequently.

 

I agree with your opinion that the scramble team would be great.

But if I was building a team, I'd be way more inclined to pick bombers than great putters.

 

4 short hitting great putters will have trouble making some greens in regulation, and will have fewer birdie/eagle opportunities on the par 5s. The relative putting weakness of the bombers is largely erased by having 4x the number of putting chances.

 

A bomber definitely helps but I was more speaking to the fact that a 4 handicap, as your worst player on the team, is still a very competent putter. You don't have that one or two guys in the group who bashes a putt 12 feet buy and who is effectively a lost turn. Every putt attempt from the four players that OP outlined will likely either be an average-to-above-avg lag or have a reasonable chance of going in. To do that 4x on each putt is a HUGE advantage on the field.

[cdnglf]

The key to an elite scramble team is to have four putters who are capable of making every putt. As a scramble, you're probably never facing a par putt outside 15 feet. You are never taking a penalty stroke. You are also never 3-putting.

 

TOUR pros are making only half of their 8 footers and we get 4 tries at it. That's an enormous advantage.

 

People are grossly underestimating the scramble team's performance here.

 

With the team OP presented, that team wins events in bunches and doesn't sniff any missed cuts. I'd bet your high score is right around even, median score would be around 5-6 under, and the group shoots 63 or lower quite frequently.

 

I agree with your opinion that the scramble team would be great.

But if I was building a team, I'd be way more inclined to pick bombers than great putters.

 

4 short hitting great putters will have trouble making some greens in regulation, and will have fewer birdie/eagle opportunities on the par 5s. The relative putting weakness of the bombers is largely erased by having 4x the number of putting chances.

 

A bomber definitely helps but I was more speaking to the fact that a 4 handicap, as your worst player on the team, is still a very competent putter. You don't have that one or two guys in the group who bashes a putt 12 feet buy and who is effectively a lost turn. Every putt attempt from the four players that OP outlined will likely either be an average-to-above-avg lag or have a reasonable chance of going in. To do that 4x on each putt is a HUGE advantage on the field.

 

Yeah, I agree with you completely - with that many chances I think you could go months without a 3 putt.

 

What I was saying is that I'd pick guys whose relative strengths were distance and ballstriking over those who are good at putting and short game. When you've got 4 chances at every shot, you're never going to need to hit it out of a bunker or make a crazy recovery shot. Its a much bigger disadvantage if nobody on the team can hit it more than 250.

[cardoustie]

My team wins every event, me and two +3's and a +5

We r usually -15 to -20. Worst we'd be on a tour track is -9

 

Today I played w a new buddy that flies it 320 (can be wild) and flies his 8 iron 185. Wonder if we'd be better w a beast like this on the roster?

 

Fwiw ... The +5 shot the course record this week at his home club ... 60

[Hilltopper413]

Some of you all are giving too much credit to the tour guys. They are incredibly good, but not robots. My scramble foursome/ normal playing group is very similar to OPs: a +2, 1, 3, and a 5. If we're playing from 6700 or less we're shooting -16 to -20 depending on the difficulty of the course. We've never shot anything less than -16. With four good players you're always in the fairway, so the rough isn't going to be a factor. Moved back to tour length will make approach shots more difficult however with four good players almost always one of them will hit a quality enough shot to have a putt. With four decent players three putts won't happen. So, the likelihood of making worse than par is extremely low even with the added distance. With four quality players you are going to birdie the Par 5's. With 14 other looks at birdie with four putts each, something will go in even if you have 30 footers all day. I'd say a safe estimate is -6 to -8 each round. Multiply that out and you're looking at -24 to -32 for the tournament. That's going to win the event most times out.

[deadsolid...shank]

Yeah, your team is very far from average. Even so, you'd be lucky to make the cut. If you had rules in place like three drives/three second shots per teammate, you miss the cut. Throw in a couple of 10 to 20 hcp golfers, and you miss it by a mile. In other words, while your team is certainly capable of shooting -17 on a 6000 yard muni course, on a US open course they'd be lucky to be even par. Yes, I think the difference in top level PGA tour golf is that much better than scratch golf at your local muni...

 

Luck to be even par? A team like that is never going to be over par on any course.

[playa]

Good Christ. Your standard scramble team has 4 "A" players. Your scramble team could probably win given a few starts. I don't think you win first try out of the gate, but you guys would figure it out. The average scramble team of an ABCD type of roster from most clubs wouldn't finish a round on tour. The slow play penalties alone would be astounding.

If I'm reading this right the OP means his scramble team straight up against individual pros? If that is the case the team he put up would lap the field every round. They would make Tiger look like a chop. Hell they would make EA Sports Sunday Tiger look useless. I would guess the 72 hole winning score would be arlund -50 or so.

[UCBananaboy]

A better debate on this topic IMO would be which of the following would fare better at a TOUR event?

 

* 4-some of 14 handicappers playing a scramble

 

* 4-some of 0-2 handicap golfers playing single best ball (play your own ball the whole time and keep the best score on each hole)

[golfandfishing]

^^^^^

 

The 14's don't finish on the same day they started.

[NorthMNgolfer]

This makes me think that a 2 man scramble with PGA Tour players picking their partner with all winnings going to their charity of choice would be fun to watch. Everyone all mic'd up and just a fun event. Can you imagine a team like Rickie and Bubba out there. "Alright Bubba I laid one out there in the fairway about 300, so you can go after it".

 

 

As far as a standard ABCD scramble making the cut.....No way. But it would be fun to watch......at least for the first 3 hour 9. LOL

[BLLDWG23]

Is the question about an average team or is it a bunch of scratch or better golfers? You got to remember what average is and it's like 14.2. If you are a four or better you are in the top %10. Yes 4 scratch or better can win and do damage playing a scramble if they are truly legit handicaps. But 4 scratch on a 4 man scramble isn't average. You stick a scratch, 5, 10, 15 on a team in tour conditions playing the ball down. having to drop the ball not place, 150 people watching, walking 7,000 yds and see what they come in with. I promise you it won't be be a 62. Put 4, 4 handicaps on a team with those conditions and they will do good to make the cut.

 

Just for reference here is how men's handicaps break out. I'm sure most of you know but some may not.

http://www.usga.org/...s-d24e6096.html

[MattyO1984]

Reminded me of our Scramble team from a few years ago - +3, +1, Scratch and myself off 3. Played 5, won 5 and then the band broke up.

[tiderider]

Saw an interesting question the other day on Twitter. What would an average 4 man scramble team do in a PGA tour event? They would play the same tees.

 

I think my standard 4-some playing a scramble would win any event on the PGA tour.

 

My foursome includes the following:

Player A. 0.2 handicap. 300 yard driver, avg iron/wedge, avg putter

Player B +1 handicap. very accurate driver, very good iron/wedge. very good putter

Player C 4.5 handicap. wild but 280 yard driver. below avg iron, very good short wedge, decent putter

Player D 3 handicap. steady driver 275, steady iron wedge and putter

 

ridiculous to claim you'd win 'any event on the pga tour' ... your top two will contribute 90 % of the shots, and your top two are a zillions miles away from a tour winner ...

[cdnglf]

Saw an interesting question the other day on Twitter. What would an average 4 man scramble team do in a PGA tour event? They would play the same tees.

 

I think my standard 4-some playing a scramble would win any event on the PGA tour.

 

My foursome includes the following:

Player A. 0.2 handicap. 300 yard driver, avg iron/wedge, avg putter

Player B +1 handicap. very accurate driver, very good iron/wedge. very good putter

Player C 4.5 handicap. wild but 280 yard driver. below avg iron, very good short wedge, decent putter

Player D 3 handicap. steady driver 275, steady iron wedge and putter

 

ridiculous to claim you'd win 'any event on the pga tour' ... your top two will contribute 90 % of the shots, and your top two are a zillions miles away from a tour winner ...

 

'Any event' is too weak an assertion... 'every event' is closer to the truth.