A very popular blogger once told me that one way to get more readers is with better headlines. I thought this one might just do the trick.
Anyway, in the context of golf, this three way refers to a three person elimination scramble. Teams are paired by handicap levels by our tournament pairing program. The only time each in the threesome all hit a ball is on the first tee. From that point on, the owner of the ‘best ball’ chosen becomes a spectator for the next shot. And so it goes for the remaining 17 holes.
It sounds simple enough but depending on the quality of the shot made and skills of the players taking the next shot, it’s certainly possible that you’d not choose the ‘best shot’ in favor of having a more skilled player hit. That strategy is quite prevalent when putting so if your ‘A’ player holes the putt, you’ve essentially taken him out of play on the next tee.
I’d not played this format before so back in July when it was first introduced to me; there was some talk within our group about what it would take to finish in the money. We thought a score in the mid 60’s would be good so when we posted a 61 there was a bit of chest thumping going on in the golf shop. That was short lived – the winner that week was led by a 75 year old gentleman with a 6 handicap. Their team shot a 55!
Since then, I’ve played a couple of rounds with him. While he’s not super long, he never misses a fairway. He hits at least 13 greens in regulation and he has a short game that is lights out. That gives me something to shoot for. Hmmm, I wonder if in the next 15 years I’ll get to a 6?
