Three Ways to Win a Scramble

A scramble is a great way to have a ton of fun playing golf. Why? The recipe is pretty simple.

In a scramble, you're taking the best shot of the group, so the pressure to hit shot after shot by yourself isn't really there. Instead, there's three other golfers who can help you pick up the slack and get into a good groove. Plus, you can be strategic about who goes and when for certain shots, which gives the group a jolt of confidence . . . and it creates a fun environment!

Now while a lot of groups play scrambles for the joy of a different format, there's a lot of golfers who get a team together to win the whole tournament, too.

We turned to a few PGA of America Golf Professionals to share their advice on how you can take home the title at your next scramble.

You've likely seen the memes or social media posts about groups that shoot just absolutely ridiculous scores at scramble tournaments. Now, some scrambles have handicaps involved so lower scores can be had but if there's a winning score of 46 . . . there's likely something up.

Advice from Ryan Adams, PGA: Whatever you do, don't fall into the idea of fudging your scores. Golf is great because it's a game that is self-policed, but that also requires honesty and integrity along with it. Think about it . . . if you win a scramble cheating, when you look back on that day with your group, you'll probably cringe and regret it a bit. In other words, don't be that group. Play fair, play fast and play fun!

This is a critical component to any good scramble team. If you're not locked-in on an order it can throw people off when they find themselves having to make a putt that everyone else has missed, or hit a fairway when everyone's OB.

Advice from Jackie Riegle, PGA: "Have the best driver of the golf ball decide their hitting order and have the best putter go last. Giving the long hitter an opportunity to choose allows them to swing more freely. Then if they don't hit the fairway, others can be strategic. Same thing goes with putts. You want players with certain confidence to be in positions where they feel comfortable. With the best putter going last, they've seen three putts at it and have a wonderful idea of the line, speed and break."

It can be easy to come in super pumped up about your group and its chances to win a scramble tournament. After all, you probably feel like the Avengers of Golf: this person crushes it off the tee, this golfer's a good chipper, this person makes every putt they look at, and on and on. But lofty expectations can tamper down anyone's confidence and then things get difficult on the course when those expectations aren't met.

Advice from Vince Bove, PGA: "Scrambles were created to be fun events. Enter scramble tournaments with no expectations other than to have as much fun as possible. Save any mulligans for high percentage shots. For example, putts inside of 10', shots of 100 yards or less that don't result in a putt of 10' or less. Don't waste them on a challenging shot.
Expectations usually exceed ability in scrambles. Play the best you can hitting the same shots you would if you were playing by yourself. Don't change your strategy unless another ball is in good position. "

If you're looking for some fun scramble events to play this year, look no further than PGA Team Golf! There were 17 locations in major cities across the country this year that host events, with the National Championship taking place at Grayhawk Golf Club in Arizona!

Check out the schedule here for more details on where events take place, and make sure you use these tips to win your next scramble!