Alright, so I got out on the course the other day and we played a round using the Shamble format. Thought I’d share how it went down, kinda like a little diary entry of the day’s golf.
Getting Started – The Tee Shots
So, we got our foursome together on the first tee. The idea was pretty simple to start. Each one of us just teed up our ball and hit our drive. No pressure yet, just everyone taking their normal first shot. I tried to give mine a good whack, hoping it would be usable for the team, you know?
- I stepped up, took my swing.
- My buddy Frank went next.
- Then Steve.
- Finally, Bill hit his drive.
Picking the Best Drive
After we all hit, we hopped in the carts and drove out to see where our shots landed. This part’s key in a Shamble. We looked at all four drives. Some were in the rough, one was kinda short, but Steve’s was sitting perfectly in the middle of the fairway. So, we all agreed, “Okay, we’re using Steve’s drive.” It was the obvious choice, gave us the best position for the next shot.
Playing the Hole Out
Here’s where the Shamble is a bit different from a Scramble. We all went to the spot where Steve’s ball was. But instead of the whole team playing the next shot from the exact same spot and picking the best one again, each of us placed our own ball within a club length of Steve’s spot.
Then, from that point on, we all played our own ball into the hole. Just like regular golf from the second shot onwards.
- I hit my second shot from near Steve’s drive location.
- Frank hit his second shot from there too.
- Steve played his second shot (from his own drive’s spot, naturally).
- Bill also hit his second shot from that same area.
We continued like this, each playing our own ball, until everyone had holed out. So, if I shanked my second shot into the woods (which, let’s be honest, happens), I had to play my third from the woods. My bad shot didn’t get erased like in a pure Scramble.
Scoring It Up
At the end of the hole, we all had our own scores. For our little game, we decided to take the two best scores from our foursome on each hole as the team score. So, if we scored 4, 5, 5, and 6, the team score for that hole was 9 (4 + 5).
How It Felt
Honestly, I kinda liked it. It took some pressure off the tee shot, knowing that hopefully someone in the group would hit a decent drive we could all use. But after that, you still had the challenge of playing your own ball. It felt like a good balance – you get a bit of help, but you still have to execute your own shots. Made you focus on your own game more than a regular scramble might. We had a good laugh when someone hit a great second shot after using the best drive, and maybe a bit of quiet frustration when you wasted that great drive position with a duffed approach!
Overall, a pretty fun way to play. We just repeated that process for all 18 holes. Tee off, pick the best drive, everyone plays their own ball from that spot, record the best couple of scores. Simple as that. Definitely something I’d do again with the crew.
