Cheating in Scrambles: The Alarming Trend We Need to Address

In the past few months, I’ve been hearing more and more about rampant cheating in Scramble golf tournaments, and I struggled to understand what the big deal was.

As a Swiss golfer, following the rules is in our DNA, cheating is almost unheard of here. I’ve never encountered a team trying to cheat their way to a win in a Scramble, though admittedly, I haven’t played in a ton of tournaments.

But then, I started coming across post after post online about people not just cheating, but doing it with absurd scores. So I decided to dig a little deeper and document some of the results I found. And let me tell you, it’s wild. We’re talking about four-person teams, with average handicaps of around 12, posting scores in the 40s. Even two-person teams with similar handicaps posting scores under 55!

My first reaction was disbelief—how could this be happening? And more importantly, why was nobody calling it out? These scores aren’t just impressive; they’re flat-out impossible.

To put things in perspective, I went back and looked at some of my own Scramble results. I’ve played with my girlfriend, who, by the way, is a top collegiate golfer and ranked within the top 200 in the world (WAGR). Her handicap is +4.9, and back then I was at +0.5. In the two-person Scrambles we played together, our scores were:

  • 65
  • 66
  • 64
  • 64

I also played in a four-person Scramble with some friends, all of whom are scratch golfers. We played exceptionally well, and we won the tournament with a score of 57. These were all played on decent courses, not the hardest, but certainly not easy.

Now, tell me how teams with average handicaps of 12 are posting scores in the 40s or low 50s? It just doesn’t add up.

So the big question is: why isn’t anyone stepping in to stop this?

These ridiculous scores are ruining the experience for everyone who’s playing honestly. And all for what? A gift voucher for the pro shop?

If calling these teams out isn’t an option, then something needs to change. I think tournaments should start implementing new rules like maybe have the top two teams play a playoff on the 18th hole for an additional prize. That way, the cheaters will expose themselves, and this nonsense will come to an end

EDIT: I should have specified, I made sure the scores i mentioned are not from tournaments in which it is possible to buy more than 1 mulligan (One of them had the possibility to buy one and I kept it in because the scores still don't make sense)