How bad did I screw up flighting the scramble?

[JTrout]

3Man Scramble this past weekend.
28 teams.
The norm that I've seen in local tourneys is app. 10 teams per flight, paying 3 places each flight.

Saturday scores were as follows:
59
62
62
63
64

(7) 65
(5) 66
67
68
(3) 69
(6) 70+

I put the teams that shot 65 in a hat, and had the bartender draw out 4 teams to go in Championship flight.

So, I had 9, 9, and 10 in the flights.
Naturally, the teams that shot 65 and were in the Championship flight were upset.

How could I have done it better?

Thanks in advance for input.

[Big TR]

I've mostly seen that you use the scorecard to determine the places. Typically you start at 18 and work your way backwards. The worst scores on 18 drop off into the A flight. Continue to work your way backwards until you have your flights set.

You could also send them on the course and play it out. Sudden death elimination with the first 4 teams eliminated going into the Championship flight.

Obviously, next time you determine the tiebreakers before the scramble starts.

[Evan]

I think given the situation there wasn't anything else to do. However, I'm not sure the overall setup is very good. It seems like it would really encourage sandbagging.

[pokerpansie]

[ QUOTE ]
I think given the situation there wasn't anything else to do. However, I'm not sure the overall setup is very good. It seems like it would really encourage sandbagging.

[/ QUOTE ]

AMEN!!!
I am a club pro and i have never heard of flighting a scramble based on round 1 of the event. Personally, when i run a scramble event that is too be flighted it is based on team handicap (total of all 3 players). I don't even like doing that for a scramble, but rather use a formula that my old boss and I came up with....50% of the low player's handicap + 10% of the average of the remaining players. Barring any major rules constraints (ie. more than 3 driver per player or stipulated # of approach shots etc.) the low handicap is going to hit a majority of the counting shots. Under this format, no flighting is necessary and you can pay 1/4 to 1/3 of the field depending on entry $ and # of teams.

On a side note a very competetive and fun 3 man scramble format (if drawing from a large player base willing to form a team within hdcp constraints) is to set a min. total team index ....i have used 23 +/-, with only one player with an index of less than the max index for a 5 hdcp. on the course. The real kicker here is that each player must have a counting drive on a par 3 , 4 and 5, no other shot mandates. I have held many of these events and it is surprising how close both formats keep the scores bunched.

valid usga or state ga handicap required for my events involving cash & prizes.

[tuq]

I don't know why you guys bother handicapping scrambles. HUGE waste of time.

- most people are too ign'ant to know their real handicap...the average chop shoots 90 and assumes he is an "18", which is wrong, and other people will just flat-out lie and sandbag
- people are going to cheat anyway, unless very closely supervised

I would say that one solution is to make sure they have proof of handicap, but so many people in scrambles are hacks that probably 90% of the field wouldn't have this.

The Phoenix Suns' annual scramble includes such awesome prizes that they actually have a dedicated scorer in each group to remove the element of cheating as much as possible.

[JTrout]

Sandbagging is certainly a problem.
Unfortunately, most of the scrambles in this area flight after the first round, and it is what players have come to expect.
Adding to the difficulty, a significant number of players at the small clubs in the surrounding area do not have a handicap, which would make handicapping before the event tough.

I would love to implement one of these formats in a future event, but excluding players w/o an official handicap would be a big obstacle to overcome.