Four-man scramble shoots a 47?

[smitty]

I would estimate that in 25 to 40 percent of the scrambles in which I have played, I have some doubt about the winning score. Based on the conditions everyone is playing under, the quaility of golfers in the various groups, the groupings of the other scores, you can generally estimate pretty well what the winning score should be. Sometimes, it just doesn't seem kosher. I attribute this in part to the fact that scramble tournaments often involve participation by the very casual golfer (hence, the reason why a scramble is chosen as the format), who may not have the pride in the integrity of the game that regular players do and who might not be terribly bothered by shading a few strokes here and there.

[bames]

What chaps me the most is not the fact that we did not win - we were happy with being within one shot of our -10 goal, its the fact that its a charity event for teachers to buy school supplies! If you have to shave strokes to win a charity event, you have some serious issues you need to work out with yourself.

[smitty]

Originally Posted by bames

What chaps me the most is not the fact that we did not win - we were happy with being within one shot of our -10 goal, its the fact that its a charity event for teachers to buy school supplies! If you have to shave strokes to win a charity event, you have some serious issues you need to work out with yourself.

Actually, IMO, the fact that it's a charity event may contribute to sandbagging or a little cheating to win. The thinking may be that it's not a serious event, the real purpose is to raise funds for the charity, and who really cares if we did this or that to get a little trophy for our group. I'm not supporting this logic, of course, but we live in a world where people use all sorts of rationalizations to justify their ethical lapses.