Is there a proper etiquette for 4 Man Scramble?

[mddubya]

I played in a 4 man scramble Saturday. Is there some unwritten rule that says you're supposed to cheat and lie you a$$ off? My 4some shot 8 under par on what was a pretty tough private Country Club course. I didn't expect to win with a 8 under by any means, but the winning team shot 25 under!! WTF!!!!!, this was a amateur tournament, I didn't realize that we were going to playing Pros. Am I wrong, or does that sound awfully low for hacks?

[King Par]

When I played in one the winning team shot 13 under. And this was a really tough course. The people that won it all have memberships at the course and play it every day. So it's easy to see how they'd shoot that low.

[SiberianDVM]

In a scramble, you can pretty much expect the winning score to compute to eagleing all par 5s, and birdieing all par 3s and 4s. Any lower then that, and I would suspect that the winners were too drunk to add properly.

Scrambles are not golf. I only played in one Hooters Pro-Am because it was a scramble format. Complete waste of time and money.

[mddubya]

I agree, this wasn't golf, it was actually more of a beer drinking fest. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time, and I even tried telling my playing partners that I figured everyone else was cheating their a$$es off while we were putting down our legit scores.

So apparently this is the way it's usually done then? Just curious so I'll know how to score the next one,

[DaGris]

I know how you feel. I played in one a few months ago....the entire time I was telling the guys on my team it didnt matter what we shot, someone out there was going to lie and cheat to win....

[Eracer]

They should give no prizes to the low scores in those things. You want to cheat and turn in a low score? Good on ya! Have fun bragging about it! But you'll have to buy your own cheezy trophy. And that new driver they gave away? Went to some total hack in a random drawing.

But how will they attract folks to these tournaments if they don't reward the lying, cheating adolescents who show up and win them? Don't care... I'm just there to hack it around with the rest of the guys who play golf for THE FUN OF IT.

[King Par]

In the one I played in, the winners just got some cheezy plaque. But every 4 man group got a prize. They ranged from a dozen ProV1's, to gift certificates. Our group got a sweet rain jacket and a $25 gift certificate. That was a great way to run a tourney, IMO.

[ualtim]

The thing I do not like about it is the "accepted" dishonesty. I have been to scrambles where they have given awards to the worst scoring team for being the "honest foursome". Personally, I love the scramble format. It allows you to get together with people of varying abilities and have a good time on the course without having anyone worry about a poor shot. We play a scramble every other week for 9 holes after work, but no prizes are involved. Just a way to get people away from work for a few hours and enjoy playing some golf.

Why some folks feel the need to lie about their score in a scramble is beyond me, it goes against everything the game is supposed to be about. I have had fun shooting over par in a scramble and coming in 20 strokes or so behind the "winner". If someone feels the need to prop themselves up by submitting a false score so that they can tell all of their buddies how they smoked the field, so be it. I have no control over their lifestyle and how they choose to play the game, I will have fun no matter what the score sheet says at the end of the day. Besides, do I really need another driver anyway?

[DouginGA]

Originally Posted by mddubya

I played in a 4 man scramble Saturday. Is there some unwritten rule that says you're supposed to cheat and lie you a$$ off? My 4some shot 8 under par on what was a pretty tough private Country Club course. I didn't expect to win with a 8 under by any means, but the winning team shot 25 under!! WTF!!!!!, this was a amateur tournament, I didn't realize that we were going to playing Pros. Am I wrong, or does that sound awfully low for hacks?

did they sell mulligans? gotta look at it as a day out with the crowd usually supporting some charity or another. but serious compititon????:big lol:

[Wi-Golfer]

I have fun playing the scramble format in our Wisconsin shottalk outings. I also know for a fact that we all played it honest, no prizes other than personal pride. We shot 3under & it could have been a bit better but we also had "rules" that you had to use everyones drive at least once, etc.

I don't understand the concept of cheating in a scramble but whatever floats their boat I suppose.

[King Par]

Originally Posted by Wi-Golfer

I don't understand the concept of cheating in a scramble but whatever floats their boat I suppose.

Ditto, I don't think I'd ever be able to have a plaque hanging on my wall saying I won something when I outright cheated. It's all about honesty, some people got it, others don't.

[Wi-Golfer]

I have a last place trophy sitting on the top of my desk from a work outing we had about 5 years ago. It wasn't a scramble format & looking back now it should have been. Anyways teams of 4 & they simply added up all 4 scores. My team came in dead last for 2 reasons, we nall pretty much sucked at golf & cared more about drinking, plus we didn't cheat & if 1 member got a 12 that's what we wrote down.

[West Coast Duffer]

I played in one this morning, is was a club tournament and a charity fundraiser, Our team consisted of myself a 15, my dad a 20, my uncle a 4 and my cousin whos a beginner and female so we didnt really expect to win, we finished 1 over. The course was pretty tough built between the canyons and lots of elevation changes and doglegs. Well the winning team shot a 56. I think the 1st place prize was like $200 bucks for the team but even a 56 is still kind of crazy, we hit some great shots and still had a tough time. One hole was a closet to the pin par 3 242 yards and stuck it under 2 feet. thats a fricken driver for most people and to stick it under 2 feet with a severe elevation change. C'mon. Our team had fun though.

[mont86]

Originally Posted by SiberianDVM

In a scramble, you can pretty much expect the winning score to compute to eagleing all par 5s, and birdieing all par 3s and 4s..

Right on the head..Same thing happens at our srcamble every year.

[chollyred]

I play in a couple of charity scrambles a year. I always go out with no other expectations than having a couple of beers and having a little fun.

I played in one Thursday with my brother, my sister's boyfriend, and a buddy from high school (his company paid our entry fee). My brother and buddy both score in the mid-80s, I'm usually in the mid-90s, and my future BIL has never broken 100. Everyone had two mulligans (We had three that were never used). We came in at -13 and expected to be in the middle of the pack. Last year, we were 3rd from the last. This tournament is notorious for cheating. Turns out we came in 1 stroke behind the winners, but lost 2nd in a tie breaker. Won a $50 check-card each for 3rd place. I believe the usual group of cheaters didn't play this year.

One year, the (ahem) winners were in the group ahead of us. They had 2 mediocre players, a serious drunk, and a guy that had never played before. I never saw a drive over 230 yards, saw them hitting from OB, never saw them hit a green on a par 3, and never saw them make a putt over 3 feet. But, they claimed a -20 when they came in. That was their idea of fun.