Scramble vs shamble vs best ball

The short version

• Scramble: everyone hits, the team picks the best shot, and everyone plays from there. One team score per hole.
• Shamble: everyone hits a tee shot, the team picks the best, and then each player plays their own ball in from that spot. The team counts the best individual score (or the best two).
• Best ball (also called four-ball): everyone plays their own ball the whole way and the best score on the team counts on each hole.

The more of the hole the team plays together, the more the format hides weaker players and speeds up the round. The more each player plays their own ball, the more every shot matters and the longer the day takes.

Scramble

In a scramble all the players hit from the tee, the team chooses the best shot, and everyone then plays their next shot from within a short distance of that spot (the exact distance is a local rule, commonly one club length). This repeats until the ball is holed. The team records one score.

A scramble is the usual choice when the field has a wide range of ability, because a beginner contributes as much as a low handicap golfer on the shots they happen to hit well. It is also the fastest team format when players are all in the same group, since only one ball is in play and nobody needs to hole out a bad hole.

Scramble handicaps

Because the team plays one ball, the team gets one handicap. The widely used method takes a percentage of each Course Handicap: for four players, 25% of the lowest, 20% of the next, 15% of the third and 10% of the highest; for two players, 35% of the lower and 15% of the higher. The scramble handicap calculator on this site does it for you.

Scramble rules worth writing down

• The minimum number of drives from each player that must be used over the round.
• The distance within which the ball must be placed (one club length is common), and no nearer the hole.
• Whether the ball may be moved in a hazard.
• Whether putts are played from the same spot, or each player putts from where the best ball lies.

Shamble

A shamble starts like a scramble and finishes like best ball. Everyone drives, the team picks the best drive, and from there each player plays their own ball to the hole. Teams then count the best individual score, the best two, or the total, depending on the rules.

Shambles reward good approach play and putting, so they are more competitive than a scramble but gentler than full best ball, since a bad drive costs nothing. They take longer than a scramble because every player holes out. Shambles are a good middle step for groups that want to compete but include a few high handicaps.

Shamble handicaps

Because every player plays their own ball into the green, individual handicaps apply. Typical practice is to give each player a percentage of their own Course Handicap, then subtract strokes by hole before comparing scores. The right percentage is a committee decision; 85% is a common figure for two-player best ball stroke play. Whatever your committee picks, publish it on the rules sheet.

Best ball (four-ball)

In best ball each player plays their own ball from tee to green. On each hole the team records the lowest net (or gross) score among its players. This is the format used in four-ball match play and the most competitive of the three. A strong player can carry a team, but a hole where every player has a bad one counts against the team.

For stroke play best ball of two players, a common allowance is 85% of each player's Course Handicap. For four-ball match play, the common approach is 90% of the difference from the lowest handicap. The handicap strokes calculator and the strokes off the low calculator apply these figures.

How to choose

• Mixed ability, want the fastest day: scramble.
• Mostly decent golfers who want a real contest: best ball.
• Mixed ability but you want shot-making to count: shamble.
• Very wide range: scramble for the high handicaps and best ball for the low ones, in separate flights.

A common solution is to give each flight its own format. A low handicap flight can play best ball while a high handicap flight plays a scramble, each with a separate prize table. That keeps everyone competing against golfers of similar ability and the format can suit the flight.

Pace of play

Scramble is quickest because one ball is in play and nobody has to play out bad holes. Shamble is next, since every player holes out but fewer shots are played from poor positions. Best ball is the slowest, especially if players keep playing out a hole their partner has already won. Whatever you choose, set a target time per nine and a rule about picking up once a player can no longer help the team.

Mixing formats in one event

It is easy to run two formats at once if you plan the handicaps and the prize tables up front. Decide each flight's format and allowance before you publish the pairings. When the cards come in, the tally for each flight is separate, and the overall prize table is a list of flight winners. The how to set fair flights guide explains how to cut the flights so the contests are fair.

Quick comparison