Pete saysMost people's first golf invite isn't to a real round. It's to a charity scramble with a tee time at 8, a shotgun at 9, and a hot dog at the turn. Good news: it's the friendliest format in golf.
The formats at a glance
| Format | Who hits | What counts on each hole | Good for beginners? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scramble | Everyone hits every shot from the best spot | One team score | Yes. The best one to start with. |
| Shamble | Everyone tees off, team picks the best drive, then everyone plays their own ball in | The best one (or more) of the team's scores | Pretty good |
| Best ball (four-ball) | Everyone plays their own ball the whole hole | The lower score of the partners | Good, with a partner who can carry you |
| Stableford | Everyone plays their own ball | Points based on your score vs. par | Good. One bad hole only costs you points for that hole. |
| Match play | Players or teams go head to head | Who wins each hole | Fine, but it's a different kind of pressure |
Stroke play, where you count every shot and add them up, is the regular way to play. That's covered in How to keep score in golf.
How a scramble works
A scramble is a team format, usually with four players. It's what most charity, church and company outings use, because it's fast and everybody gets to hit good shots.
Here's one hole for a team of four Buddies: Dale, Rhonda, Big Mike and Earl.
- Everybody tees off. All four hit drives.
- The team picks the best one. Big Mike's is longest, but it's in the rough. Rhonda's is in the fairway. They pick Rhonda's.
- Everybody plays from that spot. Each player puts a ball near Rhonda's and hits the second shot.
- Pick again. Dale's lands closest to the green. They pick Dale's.
- Keep going until it's in the hole. All four putt from the best spot. Earl makes it. That's one score for the whole team.
The team took three shots: Rhonda's drive, Dale's approach, Earl's putt. That's a 3 for the team, and nobody has to talk about where Big Mike's drive went.
Placing the ball
When your team picks a shot, each player drops or places a ball near that spot. How close is up to the event: often within one club-length, no closer to the hole, and in the same kind of grass (rough stays rough, fairway stays fairway). Read the rules sheet or ask the person running it.
On the green, the usual practice is to mark the spot and place each ball right there.
Who goes first?
Most teams let the weakest player hit first, so the team isn't relying on them, and the strongest player last. On the green, the player who putts first often shows everyone how the putt breaks. That's not a rule. It's just smart.
Pete saysIn a scramble, nobody remembers your bad shots. Nobody even watches them. They're already looking at Rhonda's ball.
How charity and church scrambles work
Charity and church scrambles have their own habits. Most of them aren't in the Rules of Golf. They're set by whoever runs the event, so every event is a little different. The rules sheet in your cart is the boss.
The shotgun start
At a shotgun start, every team starts at the same time, on a different hole. Team A starts on hole 1, Team B on hole 2, and so on. Everybody finishes around the same time, so the meal and the prizes can start together.
What that means for you:
- Show up early. Check in, find your cart, and look for a sign on the cart with your starting hole.
- Drive to your hole when they announce it. Some events really do use a horn.
- Play 18 holes from wherever you start. If you start on hole 7, you finish on hole 6.
Some big events put two teams on the longer holes. One team is "7A" and the other is "7B." The A team tees off first.
Team picks and flights
Some events let you bring your own foursome. Others put teams together on purpose, so each team has a mix of stronger and newer players. Some split the field into flights, like a men's flight, a women's flight and a mixed flight, so you're competing against teams like yours.
Drive minimums
Many scrambles say each player's drive has to be used a certain number of times. A common rule is at least two or three drives per player over 18 holes, but the number varies by event.
That stops a team from using Big Mike's drive on every hole. It also means somebody is going to need you on the 16th tee. Keep track as you go. It's easy to forget until it's too late.
Mulligans for sale
A mulligan is a do-over. At charity events you can often buy them, with the money going to the cause. A common deal is a few dollars each or a package for the team.
Some events also sell a string (you cut off a length to move the ball or knock in a putt) or a throw (you toss the ball instead of hitting it). These are local fun, not standard.
None of this is in the Rules of Golf. It's for charity. Buy the mulligans.
Team handicaps
Some scrambles use a team handicap, so a team of newer players has a fair shot. The USGA's handicap rules recommend this for a four-player scramble:
| Player | Share of their Course Handicap |
|---|---|
| Lowest handicap | 25% |
| Second | 20% |
| Third | 15% |
| Highest handicap | 10% |
Add the four numbers and round. That's the team handicap. It comes off the team's total score.
Here's the catch: many charity events don't use handicaps at all, or use their own shortcut. Not sure what a handicap is? See How is a golf handicap calculated?
The leaderboard
Your team keeps one scorecard with one score per hole. At the end, you turn it in. The organizers post the scores on a big board or a screen, lowest first.
Scramble scores run low. Even a team of newer golfers can end up near par, and winning scores at charity events are often well under par. Don't panic when you see the board.
Ties and the card-off
When two teams tie, a common way to break it is a card-off (also called matching cards). You compare scores on the last holes:
- The lower score on the back nine (holes 10 to 18) wins.
- Still tied? The last six holes.
- Still tied? The last three holes.
- Still tied? The last hole.
If the round started with a shotgun, the recommended way still counts holes 10 to 18 as the "back nine," whatever hole you started on. Still tied after all that? The event decides, usually with a playoff or a coin flip.
Other prizes
Most events also have closest to the pin on a par 3 and longest drive on one hole. You might be a long way from winning the event and still win a sleeve of balls.
How best ball (four-ball) works
In best ball, everybody plays their own ball the whole hole. When the hole is done, the team takes the lowest score of its players.
In the Rules of Golf, the two-person version is called Four-Ball. Two partners play as a side, each with their own ball, and the side's score for the hole is the lower of the two scores. It can be played in stroke play or match play.
| Hole | Dale | Rhonda | Team score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (par 4) | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| 2 (par 3) | 3 | 7 | 3 |
| 3 (par 5) | 8 | 6 | 6 |
Dale's 8 on hole 3 doesn't count, because Rhonda's 6 is lower. That's the beauty of it. (It's still an 8, though. More on that in What's a snowman in golf?)
Things to know:
- You can pick up. If your partner already has a better score, you can stop and pick up. That keeps the game moving.
- The card shows who made the score. In Four-Ball stroke play, the card has to show whose score counts on each hole, not just "the team."
People also say "best ball" for bigger versions, like a four-person team counting the best one or two scores. The name gets used loosely, so ask how many scores count.
How a shamble works
A shamble is half scramble, half best ball.
- Everybody tees off.
- The team picks the best drive.
- Everybody plays their own ball from there, all the way into the hole.
- The team counts the best score, or the best two, depending on the event.
It's harder than a scramble because you have to finish the hole yourself, but it's easier than regular golf because you start from the best drive.
A shamble isn't in the Rules of Golf. It's a common event format, and every event sets its own rules.
Pete saysA shamble is a scramble with a little more accountability. Big Mike calls it "a scramble with consequences."
How Stableford works
Stableford gives you points on each hole based on your score compared to the target score, which is par unless the event says otherwise. More points is better.
| Your score on the hole | Points |
|---|---|
| 2 or more over par (or you don't finish) | 0 |
| Bogey (1 over) | 1 |
| Par | 2 |
| Birdie (1 under) | 3 |
| Eagle (2 under) | 4 |
| Albatross (3 under) | 5 |
| 4 under | 6 |
The best part for a beginner: once you can't score a point, you can pick up and move on. The Rules of Golf actually encourage it to help pace of play. A triple bogey and a 12 are both zero.
Here's Earl's first three holes:
| Hole | Par | Earl's score | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 3 | 5 | picked up | 0 |
Earl has 3 points. In regular stroke play, that third hole would have wrecked his round. In Stableford, it's just a zero.
Some events play Stableford with handicaps, so you get extra strokes on the hardest holes. Some groups use their own point system, like "modified Stableford," with different points.
How match play works
In match play, you play against an opponent hole by hole. Lowest score on the hole wins the hole. Same score, the hole is tied, or "halved." You win the match when you're ahead by more holes than there are left to play.
You can also concede in match play: you can tell your opponent their next putt is good, or give them the hole. That's where the gimme comes from.
Match play can be one against one, or two against two using Four-Ball. The Nassau is built on it, and that's all in Skins and Nassau explained.
Which formats count for a handicap?
Not every round counts toward a handicap. Under the World Handicap System, a round counts only if everyone played their own ball. So best ball (Four-Ball), Stableford and match play rounds can count, because you played your own ball the whole way. Holes you didn't finish get your "most likely score." A scramble or shamble can't count, because you played from someone else's shot.
How the Pete Scorecard helps
The Pete Scorecard runs in your phone's browser. No download, and no account needed to keep score.
What it doesn't do (yet): it does not score scrambles or other team formats, and it doesn't score Stableford, best ball or match play. For a charity scramble, use the paper card the event hands you. That's the one the leaderboard uses anyway.
What it does
- Keep your own card. In a best ball, shamble, Stableford or match play game, you still play your own ball. Keep your own stroke score hole by hole, with par already filled in. It works with no signal.
- Enter a finished round from a paper card. Played your own ball and kept score on paper? Type it in afterward.
- Settle the Bet does the math for skins, Nassau, stroke play and snowman pays, in dollars or points. It only does the math. It never handles money.
- Buddies (free account): a monthly leaderboard for your group, and tee times with "I'm in" or "Can't make it."
- An unofficial handicap after 3 rounds of keeping your own score, with optional net scores.
Now keep your own score. Keep score hole by hole in your phone's browser, for free, and let Pete do the bet math. No download, no sign-up. Keep score free
Golf formats FAQ
How does a golf scramble work?
Everyone on the team hits, the team picks the best shot, and everybody plays the next shot from there. You repeat that until the ball is in the hole. The team writes down one score.
What's the difference between a scramble and best ball?
In a scramble, everyone plays from the best shot every time. In best ball, everyone plays their own ball the whole hole and the team counts the lowest score.
What is a shamble in golf?
Everyone tees off, the team picks the best drive, and then everyone plays their own ball into the hole. The team counts the best score or scores.
How do Stableford points work?
Usually 0 for double bogey or worse, 1 for bogey, 2 for par, 3 for birdie, 4 for eagle and 5 for albatross. The most points wins.
What is a shotgun start?
Every team starts at the same time on a different hole, so everybody finishes around the same time.
How are ties broken in a golf scramble?
Many events use a card-off: lowest score on the back nine, then the last six, last three and last hole. Check your event's rules sheet.
Does a scramble count for my handicap?
No. A round counts only if you played your own ball, so scrambles and shambles don't. Best ball, Stableford and match play rounds can.
Do I need to be good to play in a charity scramble?
No. The format is built for mixed teams. Have fun, play fast, and buy the mulligans.
More from Pete's Blog: Golf etiquette and pace of play · How is a golf course laid out? · What's a good golf score? · How to keep score in golf · Skins and Nassau, explained · How far should you hit each club? · How is a golf handicap calculated? · What's a snowman in golf?
IF YOU KNOW, YOU GOLF.