Texas Scramble Golf Tournament
What is a Texas Scramble Golf Tournament?
A Texas Scramble is a popular golf tournament format that is commonly used in pro-am and charity events. In this type of tournament there are usually teams of between two and four golfers. One of the members of each team is selected to act as the captain and this person ultimately makes decisions during the tournament.
The Basic Format
The basic format of a Texas Scramble is pretty simple. Each member of the team hits their shot from the same location. So, for instance, each team member hits their drive or tee-shot. At this point the team captain selects the best ball (defined as the most favorable location from among each team member’s tee-shot). Each player will then hit their next shot from that same location that the best first-shot was determined. This scenario continues on each hole played during the event. Since the Team Captain determines what the best shot was and, thus, from where everyone hits their subsequent shot, this tournament format used to be known as the Captain’s Choice.
Rules and Restrictions
The rules observed during a Texas Scramble Golf Tournament are similar to any other PGA sanctioned event and follow PGA standards. There are absolutely no restrictions on shot selection. As such, the Captain can select any team member’s shot for the subsequent play. In addition, there are no restrictions on whose shot can be used, which means that the Captain can choose to play the same player’s shot over-and-over. As you can see, it might be a good idea to have some excellent golfer’s on your team!
Scoring
One interesting aspect of this type of golf tournament is that individual player handicaps are NOT used. This kind of makes sense because the advantage comes from always being able to select the best shot.
Variations
As this type of tournament has evolved certain variations have emerged. For instance, in one variation the Captain is prohibited from selecting the same player’s ball on subsequent shots. In another, each player’s shot must be selected at least once during every nine holes.
In a more recent twist, certain Texas Scramble’s prevent the same player’s tee-shot from being used more than five times per round (known as The Anderson Rule). This rule was implemented after a Pro-Am golf tournament during which former NFL pro Dick Anderson was so good at hitting drives that it was later deemed his team had an unfair advantage.
Using Player Handicaps
In yet other ways this format has evolved is to consider player handicaps in the ultimate scoring determination. We won’t get into that here because it is a little more math than I like to include on my golf website, but suffice it to say this adds an entirely new dimension to the Texas Scramble.
Conclusion
The intention of this tournament is to get each player involved. However you want to do this is up to you. The goal is to have fun and just get out there and play. What can be wrong with that?