Okay, so yesterday, I tried out this thing called a “golf shamble.” I’d heard about it from some buddies, and it sounded like a fun twist on the usual game. Here’s how it went down for me:
First, we gathered on the tee box, just like a regular round. Each of us teed off, trying to smack the ball as far and straight as possible. The “shamble” part comes in here: we looked at everyone’s drives and picked the best one. Usually, it’s the one that went the furthest and landed in the fairway, obviously.
Picking the Best Drive
- Looked at the distance of each drive.
- Checked the lie – was it in the fairway, rough, or somewhere worse?
- Chose the ball in the best position.
Once we picked the best drive, everyone moved their own ball to that spot. It felt a little weird, like a mini-mulligan for everyone except the person who hit the original good shot. From there, it was every player for themselves.
We each played our own ball from that chosen spot, all the way into the hole. So, you’re playing your own second shot, third shot, and so on. We kept track of our own scores, just like normal. It was interesting, because you might have a great drive, but then completely botch your approach shot. Or, like me a couple of times, you might have a terrible drive, but get bailed out by the shamble and then actually play pretty well from there.
Playing Your Own Ball
This is the part that really made it different from a scramble. In a scramble, you keep picking the best shot every time. In a shamble, you only get that one advantage off the tee. It added a bit of pressure, knowing you couldn’t rely on your teammates for the rest of the * felt really challenging!
At the end of the round, we added up our individual * total scores that each person got, is how you would win this game.
Overall, I really enjoyed the shamble format. It gave everyone a fighting chance, even if they weren’t the longest hitter. It sped up play a little bit, since we weren’t all searching for balls in the woods. Plus, it was just something different, a nice way to mix things up on the course. I’d definitely play it again.
