Texas Scramble closes January at Beachview Men’s Golf Association
Chances are Seve Ballesteros, a wild scrambler from Spain, was the father of the Texas Scramble. That wasn’t the only mark he left on golf.
Precision and accuracy were the ruling factors in golf until Seve came along. Jack Nicklaus and those greats before him didn’t just try to hit the fairway – they had a bead on the most desirable spot to land a ball.
Arnold Palmer was long and strong, but he was very accurate. Remember how he ran off with an Open Championship by driving the opening hole on the final day in Colorado?
Then the new breed, symbolized by Ballesteros and copied frequently thereafter, began to take advantage of lively balls and drivers with the rigidity of a trampoline to change the way you approached the game.
Seve hit more shots from parking lots and adjoining fairways than anyone had ever seen before. He didn’t care where the drive landed – he was confident he could put the next one near the flag.
That’s why they now have rough at Augusta where none was believed to be necessary before. Many of today’s stars miss more fairways than they hit.
Anyway, the Texas Handle is the newest type of scramble and a team event that has captured interest at the meetings of the Beachview Men’s Golf Association.
This form of the scramble demands that the longest drive be used on every hole, regardless of where it lands (or waters). It can lead to second shots from heavy shrubbery, the middle of a road or a dogwalker’s hip pocket.
That’s the downside. Accuracy still pays off. And the most accurate seemed to dominate in the Texas Scramble that ended January at Beachview.
Helmut Peters, Frank Esposito and Rene Lohser fashioned a lovely net 39 to breeze in with the victory. Wayne Turner, Rich Croce, Roger Cogswell and Jay Allen were second with 44, a single shot ahead of Jack Tukey, Bill Sadd, Jerry Mader and Bruce Cutler.
On Tuesday, Jan. 27, the fun game was the use of only four clubs per player. The two best scores on each hold counted.
Ralph Barton, Dan Keys, Dan Seaward and Don Rice won with a 108 net. Dick Chocol, Ardell Skow and Jerry Tucker had 110 for second place. Nine hole winners were Bill Blankenship, Stan Sheft and Frank Klepacki with 54.