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Team Scramble

A scramble is one of the most social and beginner-friendly team formats in golf. All team members tee off, the group picks the best shot, and everyone plays from that spot — repeating until the ball is holed. It's the go-to format for charity events, corporate days, and any event where you want everyone involved regardless of skill level.

Before you begin

Make sure you've already created an event and selected your course. You'll configure the competition format during event setup.

Video walkthrough

This video walks through creating and managing a scramble event in Golfify.

What is a scramble?​

In a scramble, each team works together to produce a single score per hole. Here's the core idea:

  • All team members tee off on every hole
  • The team chooses the best shot from the group
  • Everyone picks up their ball and plays their next shot from that spot
  • This continues until the ball is holed
  • The team records one score per hole

Scrambles typically use teams of two (pairs scramble) or four (four-person scramble). The format keeps the pace of play moving and ensures that every player contributes, even on their weaker holes.

How to set it up​

  1. From the Home Screen, tap the + button and select Single Round Event.

  2. You'll see predefined format options. Under the fixed team games section, select Pair Scramble or Four Person Scramble depending on your team size. You can also start from scratch and configure manually.

  3. Complete your Round Information — event name, date, start time, and number of players.

  4. From your event, tap the gear icon to open the Host Menu.

  5. Tap Event Settings, then scroll to Format & Scoring.

  6. Confirm the format is set to Scramble and choose your scoring method:

    • Stroke Play — recommended for most scramble events
    • Stableford — also supported if you prefer points-based scoring

  7. If you're running a shotgun start, toggle Shotgun Start on. Golfify will automatically assign a starting hole for each group. You can fine-tune starting holes later on the tee sheet.

Add players and assign teams​

  1. Go to Host Menu → Player Manager and tap Add Player to add players one by one, or use Bulk Upload for larger events.

  2. Tap the TEE SHEET tab to assign players to their teams. Each tee slot represents one team.

  3. If a team is short a player, you can add a placeholder to keep the group ready.

  4. For shotgun starts, each group's starting hole is shown on the tee sheet. Tap the settings icon above a group to change the starting hole if needed.

Bulk Upload for large events

For events with 20+ players, Bulk Upload lets you add all players, assign group numbers, and set tee slots in one go.

Activate and score​

  1. Go to the HOME tab and tap Activate to start the event.

  2. Each team enters one collective score per hole on the scorecard. Any team member can enter the score.

  3. The leaderboard updates in real time as scores come in.

Scoring rules​

In a scramble, scoring is straightforward:

  • Each team submits one scorecard with a single score per hole
  • The leaderboard ranks teams by total gross or net score
  • If handicapping is enabled, a percentage of the team's combined handicap is typically applied
Handicap settings for scrambles

For scramble events, hosts often adjust the handicap allowance to a fraction of the team's total. You can configure this in Host Menu → Event Settings → Handicaps. A common approach is to use a percentage of the lowest handicap in the team.

Keep scoring simple

In a scramble, only one scorecard per team is needed. Make sure your teams understand that the first player to open the scorecard should enter scores for the group — this avoids duplicate entries.

Tips for running a scramble​

tip
  • Mix skill levels — place stronger and weaker players together in each team for balanced competition
  • Use a shotgun start — all teams finish around the same time, which is ideal for prize-giving and post-round events
  • Consider special contests — adding a Closest to the Pin or Long Drive contest keeps things interesting between holes
  • Add event sponsors — scramble events are popular for charity and corporate days where sponsor visibility matters