How do I set up a scramble outing?

A scramble (also called a shamble in some regions) is a team format where all players on a team play from the best shot each hole. In PlayThru, one score is entered per team per hole.

Before you start

  • Know your team sizes (typically 2- or 4-person teams).
  • Have a list of golfers grouped by team.

PlayThru only cares about the team, not the individual players since you'll be entering in one score for the team rather than 4 individual player scores that are all the same.

Step-by-step setup

Step 1: Event tab

  1. Open your event in the Outing Organizer. By default, you'll be on the Event tab.
  2. Set Game Format to Scramble.
  3. Set Stroke or Match Play to Stroke Play (scrambles are almost always stroke play).
  4. Choose Scoring Format: Strokes or Points. Strokes is most common.
  5. Set Number of Holes to 9 or 18.
  6. Configure optional settings:
    • Shotgun Start — if groups start on different holes
    • Flights — if you want separate leaderboard groupings often to segment by playing ability
    • Full Event Team Competition — if you also want event-level teams (e.g., USA vs. Europe) - Think Ryder Cup style format.
    • Click Save.


Scramble and Alternate Shot formats do not support individual handicap adjustments in PlayThru. The handicap percentage option is disabled for these formats.

Step 2: Course tab

  1. Go to the Course tab.
  2. Click Add Tee Box.
  3. Enter the tee name (e.g., "White Tees").
  4. Enter par for each hole.
  5. If using Points scoring or Hardest Holes tiebreaker, enter hole handicap indexes.
  6. Click Save.

Step 3: Teams tab — Add scramble teams

If you selected Scramble or Alternate Shot as the format, the "Golfers" tab renames itself to "Teams" tab.

Reason being, because teams are entering one score for the group, PlayThru does not need the names of the individual golfers. It only needs the team name the groups will be entering scores for.

In other words, if Keith, Brian, Alex and Matt are playing together as a scramble team, they'll be entering one score. So, PlayThru only needs their team name (e.g., Keith's Team).

In PlayThru, 1 row in the Teams tab = 1 score entered.

  1. Go to the Teams tab.
  2. Add team names manually or import from a CSV.
  3. Assign a Tee to each team.
  4. If using flights, assign a Flight to each team.
  5. If it's a shotgun start, assign a Start Hole. When that team opens the scorecard, they'll be taken right to that hole.
  6. Click Save.

CSV import: Use the Scramble CSV template (linked from the Import page). Configure the Event tab before downloading the template.

Step 4: Scorecard tab — share

The scorecard tab of the outing organizer is where you'll find your event link and QR code. It's also where you can access other resources for your event.

  1. Go to the Scorecard tab.
  2. Resolve any checklist items.
  3. Copy the scorecard link or QR code.
  4. Share with team captains — one phone can enter scores for the whole team.

Day-of scoring

  • One person on a team will open the scorecard link on their device.
  • They'll find and select their team name and then click "Tee Off".
  • On each hole, they'll enter one score for the team (the scramble result).
  • All scramble team names will appear on the live leaderboard.

Tips

  • Use consistent team names — "Team 1" and "team 1" are treated as different teams.
  • Don't use the same team names for two or more groups. This will get confusing for the teams and they may select the same option in the Golfer Select screen.
  • For large outings where you have a list of teams in a CSV file, import them rather than typing each name.