Okay, so today I decided to finally try out this “shambles” golf format I’ve been hearing about. I’ve played plenty of scrambles, but shambles was new to me. Grabbed a couple of buddies, and we headed out to the local course.
Getting Started
First thing we did was decide on teams. Since it was just three of us, we played every man for himself. Normally, you’d do teams of two, but hey, we were there to experiment.
We teed off on the first hole, all pretty decent drives, thankfully. The whole point of a shambles is you pick the best drive, and everyone plays their own ball from that spot. So, we looked at where our balls landed, picked the one that was furthest and in the best position, and marked it.
Playing the Hole
From there, it was like regular stroke play. We each went to the spot where the best drive landed and played our own ball. I shanked my second shot – no surprise there! My buddy, Mark, he nailed his, right onto the green. My other buddy, well, let’s just say he found the sand trap. We all played it out from our own shots, keeping our own scores.
- Tee Off: Everyone hits their drive.
- Select Best Drive: We all agreed on the best-placed ball.
- Play Your Own Ball: From that spot, we each played our individual shots.
- Keep Your Own Score: Each of us recorded our scores like a regular round.
We repeated this process on every hole. It was kinda cool because even if you had a terrible drive, you still got a chance to recover thanks to the best ball placement. It definitely took some of the pressure off.
My Thoughts
Honestly, it was a lot of fun! It sped up the game a bit, especially since we didn’t have to spend forever looking for lost balls after bad drives. Plus, it felt a little less competitive than a straight-up stroke play round. It kept all of us playing. My scores were improved! It felt good to be finishing a round.
I’ll definitely play this format again. It’s a great way to mix things up and maybe even help improve your game a little, especially if you’re playing with people of different skill levels.
