Okay, so, a few buddies and I decided to try out this thing called the “shamble” format in golf the other day. We’re not pros or anything, just some regular guys who enjoy hitting the links on weekends. Heard about this format and thought, “Why not?”
First off, we all teed off as usual on the first hole. Nothing special there, just your standard start to a round of golf. But here’s where it got interesting. After that first drive, we picked the best-looking shot out of the four of us.
- Mark’s drive was way off to the left.
- John’s kinda hooked into the rough.
- Then there was mine, which, if I’m being honest, wasn’t my best work.
- But Dave, that guy, he nailed it. Right down the middle, looking good.
So, we all walked over to Dave’s ball. From there, it was every man for himself. We each played our own ball from that spot, all the way into the hole. I took maybe two more shots than usual. Dave, naturally, did pretty well. The other guys were somewhere in between, just hacking away.
We kept score individually after that second shot. Counted up our strokes like a normal round. It was kinda cool because that first shot from Dave gave us all a bit of a head start. Even though we weren’t playing our best, the scores weren’t terrible.
We played all 18 holes like that, always choosing the best drive and then playing our own ball from there. To be honest, it made the game a little less stressful. Especially for me, since my drives aren’t always, shall we say, “on point.”
My Thoughts
Honestly, this shamble format is pretty fun for a casual round. We laughed a lot, didn’t take things too seriously, and just enjoyed being out on the course. Might not be something we do every time, but it’s definitely going into the rotation. If you’re looking for something a little different to spice up your golf game, give it a shot. You might like it!
