Free team picker
Golf scramble
Everyone hits, you play the best one, and you keep going till it’s in. Put in who’s playing and get even teams, each with its handicap.
One a line, handicap after the name.
Paste the list from the group chat, or type it in.
Ranked by handicap and dealt back and forth, so the best and the worst share a ball.
Put in two or more players and the teams show up here.
teams
Start with the field
Each team’s handicap is everyone’s added up, ÷ 4, 6 or 8
Running a scramble day?
On Tour splits the teams, works out the handicaps at tee-off and keeps the leaderboard live. Free on iPhone and Android.
How a golf scramble works
How a scramble works
Everyone tees off and the team picks the best drive. Everyone plays their next shot from there, the team picks the best again, and you keep going until the ball’s in. The team writes down one score a hole. Most comps let you place within a club length of the chosen ball, no nearer the hole and in the same kind of lie, and everyone putts from the same spot.
Scramble, Ambrose and Texas scramble
Ambrose is the Aussie scramble: the same game, with a team handicap taken off the total. A Texas scramble is a four-person scramble that has to use a set number of each player’s drives, so the long hitter can’t carry the lot. Some make everyone play their own ball on the par 3s.
How scramble handicaps work
In Australia it’s usually run as Ambrose: everyone’s daily handicap added up and divided by twice the number of players, so 4 for a pair, 6 for three and 8 for four. Off 8, 12, 15 and 22, that’s 57 ÷ 8 = 7.1. The rules of handicapping suggest a share of each player’s course handicap instead, the lowest handicap getting the biggest share, added up for the team. Plenty of social days skip handicaps and play off the stick.
| 4 players | 25, 20, 15, 10% |
| 3 players | 30, 20, 10% |
| 2 players | 35, 15% |
Scoring one team’s card? The Ambrose calculator takes the handicap off for you.
How many drives does each player need?
Whatever the comp says. In a Texas scramble of four, three or four drives each is common. Check the rules on the day.
What’s a 2-person scramble?
Two of you, one ball. Both tee off, take the better drive and both play from there. As Ambrose, the team handicap is your two daily handicaps added up and divided by 4.
Is a scramble the same as best ball?
No. In best ball everyone plays their own ball all the way in, and the team takes the best score on each hole. In a scramble there’s one team ball after every shot.
How does the picker even out the teams?
It ranks everyone by handicap and deals them out like cards, back and forth: with three teams, 1, 2, 3, then 3, 2, 1. The best and the worst end up sharing a ball. In fours, ten players make a four and two threes, so there are as few balls on the course as possible and nobody’s stuck as the pair. It’s the same deal the On Tour app uses.