Alright, so yesterday we messed around with a golf format I’d never tried before: Shamble. Heard about it, sounded kinda fun, decided to give it a whirl. Here’s the lowdown on how it went down.
First off, gotta understand what a Shamble actually is. From what I gathered, everyone tees off like normal. Then, you pick the best drive from your team. Everyone then plays their own ball from that spot until they hole out. Lowest score on each hole wins. Simple enough, right?
We had four of us, so two teams of two. Split ’em up so it was kinda even skill-wise. Beforehand, we were all a little confused about the exact rules – like, what happened if the best drive was in the woods? We decided on a “play it as it lies” policy. Adds to the chaos, you know?
Tee time rolls around. First hole, I hit a decent drive, but my teammate pipes one right down the middle. Sweet! Everyone hits their second shot from there. I duff mine (naturally), but my teammate puts it on the green. Other team wasn’t so lucky; their best drive was kinda in the rough. Advantage, us!
The next few holes were a bit of a mixed bag. Sometimes I had the best drive, sometimes my teammate. We quickly learned that communication was key. Gotta be honest about where your ball went, even if it’s embarrassing. No point in hiding a shank into the trees if it means the other team gets an easy win.
One hole sticks out. Par 5, I absolutely crushed my drive. Like, maybe my best drive ever. Landed right on the edge of the fairway. My teammate topped his into the hazard. No brainer, right? Everyone plays from my bomb. From there, I proceeded to chili-dip my second shot about 20 yards. Humbling, to say the least. My teammate recovered nicely though, and we managed to salvage a par.
We definitely had some… discussions… about strategy. Like, if one of us was already in a good position on the green, should the other person play aggressively to try for birdie, or just lay up for par? We didn’t really have a consistent answer. Depended on the situation, the wind, our mood, you name it.
Towards the end, things got a little competitive (as they always do). The other team started making some clutch putts. We had to dig deep. My teammate, bless his heart, drained a long birdie putt on the 17th to tie it up. Come down to the last hole!
Last hole, par 4. Both teams hit decent drives. My teammate put his approach shot on the green, about 15 feet from the pin. The other team missed the green completely. I choked and left my birdie putt short. But my teammate, cool as a cucumber, stepped up and sunk the par putt to win it for us! High fives all around.
So, yeah, Shamble was a blast. Definitely more fun than just regular stroke play. It forces you to work together as a team, and it takes some of the pressure off individual performance. Plus, it’s kinda hilarious when someone hits a terrible shot after you’ve already set them up with a perfect drive. We’ll definitely be playing it again. Maybe next time we’ll add some side bets to spice things up even more…
Things I learned:
- Communication is crucial.
- Don’t be afraid to take risks, but know when to play it safe.
- Even if you hit a terrible shot, you can still contribute to the team.
- Most importantly: have fun! It’s just a game, after all.
