USER1999
Grand Slam Winner
I played in a Florida scramble last night with 3 good friends. We had a blast, which I guess is the main point of it, as it's a fun format.
We played pretty well, but left a couple out there (as will every other team). We had 7 birdies, and 11 pars, and with our combined handicap of 6.8 gave us a score of 58.2. Our handicaps were roughly 6, 10, 12, and 13, and I have no idea how this equates to a 6.8 handicap, it just did.
There were 50 teams of 4 (morning tee times would have had a massive advantage due to torrential rain after 18.00 which partially flooded the greens), many of which would have been mixed.
We came 20th, and the winning score was 52.5. To get that we would have needed 13 birdies. Blimey. The top 4 scores all came from the morning, and we were out in the worst of the weather. Only our group finished out of the 6 groups around our tee time. That said, it didn't cost us the 6 more birdies we needed to compete.
Looking at the results, this format really favours the higher handicaps, (particularly the mixed teams with one high handicapped lady). There was no requirement to take a certain number of drives, so the high handicap player was really only needed to boost the handicap of the team. They might as well have sat in the club house.
I guess we could have manipulated our team personnel to have a better chance of winning (may be some do this?), but as it stands, we had no chance. We knew there was a 52 in before we even set foot on the course.
I enjoyed playing in it, but really, to me, the handicap system for this style of event needs a radical overhaul, as the point of a handicap is to give a level playing field, and this certainly does not do that.
There is another team style event on the 3rd August, with the usual massive entry. I guess we won't be winning that one either.
One other point which always seems odd to me. Handicaps are calculated with some strange formula, using playing handicaps, not actuals, but then the end result has a decimal. Why round up / down on actuals, and then not on the end product?
Note: Florida is when you all drive, pick the best, but then the owner of that drive does not play the next shot, only the other 3, and so on, with one player not playing each time until you get on the green, when you can all putt.
We played pretty well, but left a couple out there (as will every other team). We had 7 birdies, and 11 pars, and with our combined handicap of 6.8 gave us a score of 58.2. Our handicaps were roughly 6, 10, 12, and 13, and I have no idea how this equates to a 6.8 handicap, it just did.
There were 50 teams of 4 (morning tee times would have had a massive advantage due to torrential rain after 18.00 which partially flooded the greens), many of which would have been mixed.
We came 20th, and the winning score was 52.5. To get that we would have needed 13 birdies. Blimey. The top 4 scores all came from the morning, and we were out in the worst of the weather. Only our group finished out of the 6 groups around our tee time. That said, it didn't cost us the 6 more birdies we needed to compete.
Looking at the results, this format really favours the higher handicaps, (particularly the mixed teams with one high handicapped lady). There was no requirement to take a certain number of drives, so the high handicap player was really only needed to boost the handicap of the team. They might as well have sat in the club house.
I guess we could have manipulated our team personnel to have a better chance of winning (may be some do this?), but as it stands, we had no chance. We knew there was a 52 in before we even set foot on the course.
I enjoyed playing in it, but really, to me, the handicap system for this style of event needs a radical overhaul, as the point of a handicap is to give a level playing field, and this certainly does not do that.
There is another team style event on the 3rd August, with the usual massive entry. I guess we won't be winning that one either.
One other point which always seems odd to me. Handicaps are calculated with some strange formula, using playing handicaps, not actuals, but then the end result has a decimal. Why round up / down on actuals, and then not on the end product?
Note: Florida is when you all drive, pick the best, but then the owner of that drive does not play the next shot, only the other 3, and so on, with one player not playing each time until you get on the green, when you can all putt.
