A relentless diet of stroke play and match play would get boring even for the keenest of golfers. Fortunately, there are plenty of formats to keep us interested and two of the most popular are the scramble and best ball.
If you’re new to the game, you might wonder what these are and how they are played. But even if you’re a hardened club player, there are tactical elements to each that make them very different in the way you need to approach them.
So let’s take a look at scramble vs best ball, the format rules, and then dive deeper into how you can get ahead of your competitors and rule the roost the next time you enter one of these at your club…
Scramble vs best ball: What are these formats?
What is a scramble?
The scramble is a well-loved staple of charity days, pro-ams, and basically any event where you just want to mix it up a bit. You can have scrambles with teams of two and three but, more usually, it is played with teams of four.
Each player takes their turn from the tee, one of the tee shots is chosen and then all the team members play their second shot from that spot. The original hitter plays their ball as it lies and the remaining team members can place within a specified area (often six inches).
And so it continues, the best second shot is picked and all players hit from there, and so on until the ball is holed. One score is returned from each hole and, in a competition, the team with the lowest score wins.
The most common form of this game is the Texas Scramble. It requires each player in the team to contribute a minimum number of tee shots (drives) during the round. This is usually three or four. Teams that don’t fulfil this requirement are disqualified.
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I’ve also played in Texas Scrambles that have made each team member play their own ball on designated holes, such as Par 3s or Par 5s, and the rules can differ widely. Some require you to drop your ball if it’s in the rough, others don’t. Some forbid you from congregating to check out the line of a putt, others don’t care a jot.
Then there is handicaps. I could give you a complex run down of how allowances work but I’d need a calculator and we’ve done a piece on scrambles which does a far better job.
It’s not just about the Texas, either. If you can come up with a format, you can pretty much turn it into a scramble.
A Florida Scramble has the player whose shot is selected dropping out and not able to play the next, while there can be one person scrambles where a player hits two shots and selects the best or worst and plays from there.
While scrambles are hugely popular, they can also see some incredible scoring performances and are a common target for social media memes on sandbagging.
What is best ball?
Exactly what it says on the tin. It’s also known in the UK as fourball betterball, or 4BBB, which can be slightly confusing for newcomers as it’s essentially played by teams of two in a tee time with four players in it.
It’s by far golf’s most popular pairs format and is the yardstick used in lots of big professional team events such as the Ryder Cup, Solheim Cup and Presidents Cup.
So what is it? While in formats like foursomes players alternate hitting shots, in best ball two players join forces against another pair and each golfer plays their own ball throughout the round.
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The best score of the two teammates on each hole is the score that counts. That means a player does not necessarily have to hole out if their partner will better them – and there are rules that can prevent players “having a practice” if their score cannot count but could give information to their partner on things like line of putt.
Players are given 85% of their Course Handicap in a handicap fourball betterball competition.
If your club has a summer match play competition, it will almost certainly be best ball and it can be played both as scratch and handicap.
In the latter, the handicap allowance is 90 per cent and it can be slightly tricky dishing out the shots. But again, there is a best ball article that takes you through the calculations.
Scramble vs best ball: What are the differences?
While the formats have their own nuances in how they’re played they also differ vastly from a tactical viewpoint.
In best ball, the calculations can be endless. Should a pair be made up of low and high handicappers, low and mid, or high and high handicappers?
Should one be a long hitter? Should a player be better with an iron in their hands? Is putting the key? Putting together a successful best ball team, that makes the most of two player’s strengths, can almost be as time consuming as playing the round itself!
In scrambles, it can be even more thought provoking. Do you have a team of four low handicappers, knowing they will get very little from their handicap allowance but trusting their skill to attempt a birdie blitz?
Or do you try to get those shots from the very start, putting players with lots of shots together, and hope they’re not all over the course? Will those teams be able to get their drives in without a disaster? There is some pressure on the player who has to get a drive in on the last hole.
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Scrambles are often won by teams who make lots of birdies, so is a hot putter the way to get it done? Do you need a crack approach hitter who can make it a formality for one of the four players to find the bottom of the cup?
Much of the fun of the scramble format happens on course too. Choosing which drive to take, and not just going for the longest every time, can be a soul-searching exercise. What if you’ve got a poor driver in your team and are desperate to get them ticked off the scorecard but they’re 100 yards behind your big hitter who’s offering a birdie chance every time he stripes one down the fairway?
Part of the thrill of the game is piecing that puzzle together and seeing it work out on the course.
Now have your say?
What do you think? Scramble vs best ball – which one do you prefer? Have you had any notable victories in either format, or did they drive you crazy? Tell us why. Drop us a line on X.
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