Scramble in Threes: Strategy, Strangers, and a Surprise Second Place

Scramble in Threes: Strategy, Strangers, and a Surprise Second Place

A ladybug landed on my glasses on the tee box of Hole 5.

It just… sat there. Staring. I stared back. Then I hit a beautiful 7-iron that felt smooth off the face — only to watch it roll into the front bunker.

Honestly, that kind of reflects the overall tone of my round.

I was hoping the momentum would carry over — Sunday’s 18-hole round at Coyote Preserve had me feeling confident, and my driving and putting were sharp during Monday night’s league match. I played solidly overall, but between the gusty wind and the tough layout at the University of Michigan course, it wasn’t exactly a hot streak continuation.

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⛳️ Three Players, Two Carts, Infinite Strategy

This wasn’t just a casual best-ball outing. It was a three-person scramble tournament with the University Women’s Golf Club at the University of Michigan golf course — a beautiful, demanding course with sloped fairways, fast greens, and the kind of layout that makes you rethink your entire club gapping philosophy by Hole 4.

I was paired with Mary and Tasha, neither of whom I knew before we teed off. Within a few holes, though, we were deep in strategy talks, reading lines together, and becoming exactly the kind of team that makes you glad you showed up.

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🧠 Strategy Was the Star

The format required five drives per player, which meant we had to think beyond the obvious.

• We used layups to give each other green lights.
• Chose putting order to get real reads (though someone always got the speed wrong anyway).
• Occasionally picked center-cut drives over longer ones, especially when we still needed two solid shots to reach the green.

Let the record show: I was often the longest driver off the tee — but also the one most likely to visit the scenic rough or flirt with the bunkers. We had to weigh distance against angle and lie constantly, and it created this rhythm where every decision felt like a puzzle we were solving together.

Tasha apologized a few times for being “off her game,” but I honestly wasn’t thinking about individual performances. I was thinking about what gave us the best chance to score — and every hole, we had options.

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👭 Meet the Team

• Mary kept apologizing for being “the weakest,” but her fairway-finding consistency, sharp chip shots, and crucial par-saving putts were foundational to our round. When she put one in play, the rest of us got to swing free.
• Tasha played through a nasty headache and still held us steady. She brought experience, good reads, and solid contact all day — and after the round said, “If we were all on our A-game, we could’ve gone under par.” And honestly? I think she’s right. That possibility alone felt like a win.

We didn’t have to scramble in the chaotic sense. We just… scrambled. Together. Smoothly.

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📉 What Didn’t Work

Birdies. Or more accurately — the total absence of them.

At one point 18Birdies said we had one. It was wrong on the par for the hole. V. sad.

We did, however, make a lot of pars. And nearly all of them involved long putts — which meant we were spending most of our round doing the “walk of hope” after 20-foot attempts.

We often read the line right, only to have the next putt come up short, or fly five feet past. Between slope, wind, and slightly off approaches, we weren’t putting ourselves close. It was a master class in “almost.”

I’m realizing I really need to re-gap my irons — the U-M course plays longer than expected, or maybe the elevation and layout just reveal every half-club misread I try to get away with.

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💬 Final Thoughts

This round reminded me how much fun golf can be when you’re solving it as a team. Not just the shots, but the energy. The roles we take on. The things we say after we miss. The way one solid chip can reset the mood.

We only met as we were checking in, but by the end we felt like a solid team. And in a scramble, that’s kind of the point.