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How to play Shamble

Play from the best drive, then everyone plays their own ball.

  • Players4–8 players · 2 v 2 up to 4 v 4
  • Holes9 or 18 holes
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Free, right in your browser. Nothing to download. One person keeps score and everyone sees the money as it happens.

Overview

Everyone tees off and the team picks the best drive. Everyone moves their ball to it and plays their own ball into the hole from there. The team’s best score counts (or the best two, with teams of three or four).

Scoring

Enter every player’s score, as in best ball. The app picks the ones that count.

Minimum drives

A house rule, off unless you pick it: every player’s drive has to be used at least 2, 3 or 4 times. Tap whose drive the team took on each hole and the app keeps count.

The bets

  • Nassau (the usual): three bets, the front 9, the back 9 and the total 18. Playing nine? The first 4, the last 5 and all 9.
  • One bet: one bet on the whole round.
  • Per hole: every hole your team wins pays the bet. A halved hole pays nothing.

Match or stroke play

  • Match play: the lower team score wins the hole, and the team that wins more holes wins the bet.
  • Stroke play: add up the team score on every hole. The lower total wins the bet; a tie pays nothing.

Pressing

In match play a team that’s 2 down (or whatever your group set) can press: a new bet from the next hole to the end of that leg. Press at the turn and no press on the last hole work as in Nassau. Stroke play and per hole have no presses.

Money

Each player on the winning team wins the bet from the other team, so in 2 v 2 at $5 it’s $5 each way. A bet that isn’t finished when the round stops pays whoever leads it on the holes played.

Net or gross

With handicaps on, strokes come off the low player on the hardest holes. Turn handicaps off to play gross.

If someone leaves

Their partners carry on for the team. A team that can’t make enough scores for a hole doesn’t play it, and the bets stand as they are.

Low ball and low total

A house rule for per hole bets, off unless you turn it on: two points a hole. One goes to the team with the best score, the other to the lower team total, everyone’s net added up. Each point pays the bet; a tie, and nobody gets that one. A 3 and a 6 (9) win low ball against a 4 and a 4 (8), and lose low total.

Handicaps

The USGA’s guidance for a selected drive is 75% of each player’s handicap for teams of two and 65% for teams of four (70% for threes, in between). Setup suggests it.

Ready to play Shamble?

Set it up in a minute: pick the course, add your group and choose the bet. The app does the math.

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