Shotgun Start Scramble: How It Works
In a shotgun start, every team starts on a different hole at the same time. When the signal goes, hole 1 tees off on 1, hole 7 tees off on 7, and so on. Everyone plays their holes in order and finishes around the same time. Bigger fields double up A and B groups on longer holes. Cards come back to one place at the end.
What a shotgun start is
Normal golf uses tee times. Groups go off the first tee one after another, spaced out.
A shotgun flips that. Every group heads to its own starting hole and waits. At one set time, everyone tees off together. A team that starts on 12 plays 12 through 18, then 1 through 11.
The big win is the finish. Everyone comes in around the same time, so prizes happen with the whole field in the room.
How teams get assigned to starting holes
One team per hole
On an 18-hole course, one team per hole gives you about 18 teams. Each team gets a starting hole on the pairing sheet, and that hole goes on their card and cart.
Doubled-up A and B groups
If your field is bigger than 18 teams, you double up. Two teams share a starting hole. The A group tees off first, then the B group follows once the A group is clear.
Put doubles on longer holes, mostly par 4s and par 5s. There's room for the A group to move up the fairway before B hits. Avoid doubling par 3s, because the B group ends up waiting on the tee while A putts out.
For the capacity math, see how many teams fit a scramble shotgun.
Where the assignment lives
- On the pairing sheet, sorted by starting hole
- On each team's scorecard, like "Start: 9B"
- On the cart sign
- Said out loud at check-in
If all four match, nobody drives to the wrong hole.
How to run a shotgun start scramble (step by step)
- Confirm the field size with the club. Decide one team per hole or A/B doubles.
- Build teams and assign starting holes. Put it all on the pairing sheet.
- Label carts and cards. Starting hole and A or B on each.
- Run check-in. Confirm teams and starting holes, and hand out rules sheets and cards. Use the registration and check-in checklist.
- Brief the field. Format, placement, local rules, pace target, start time and where cards go back.
- Send carts out together. Allow time for the far holes. Groups on the back of the course need a head start.
- Give the start signal at the set time. Horn, siren or a clear message. Everyone tees off.
- Play in order from your starting hole. Hole 18 rolls into hole 1.
- Finish on the hole before your start. A team that started on 5 finishes on 4.
- Turn in cards. Signed and attested, at the spot named in the briefing.
The start signal and time
Pick one start time and say it everywhere. On the confirmation message, the rules sheet and at the briefing.
Tell the field what the signal is. If a horn won't carry on a big course, ask the club how they do it.
A groups hit on the signal. B groups hit when the A group is out of range. Nobody hits early.
Pace in a shotgun
A shotgun has no gaps to soak up a slow group. If one team stalls, the team behind waits, and it ripples around the course.
- Pick the ball fast and move on
- Use the published placement rule, don't debate it
- Leave the green once the team score is written
- Watch the group ahead, not the group behind
More habits in scramble pace of play.
Finishing and turning in cards
When you hole out on your last hole, you're done. Check the card before you leave the green.
- Every hole has one team score
- Drive marks are filled in, if your event uses them
- Totals add up
- Captain and attester have signed
Then take the card straight to the collection point. Tiebreakers still use the real hole numbers, not the order you played them. See scramble tiebreaker rules.
Where Scrambled Eggs fits
Scrambled Eggs is a per-group card. One phone per group keeps the team score and whose drive got used, hole by hole. That helps each team keep a clean card from any starting hole.
It is not outing software. It doesn't assign starting holes, run the whole field or show a field-wide board. The organiser still collects results the way the sheet says.
Why is it called a shotgun start?
The name comes from the old practice of firing a shotgun to start the field. Most courses now use a horn or siren.
How many teams can play a shotgun?
About 18 teams with one per hole on an 18-hole course. A/B doubles on longer holes push that higher. The club sets the real limit.
What hole do you finish on?
The hole before the one you started on. Start on 10, finish on 9. Start on 1, finish on 18.
Do tiebreakers change in a shotgun?
The method can stay the same. Just use the actual hole numbers on the card, not the order you played them.
Keep reading
- How many teams fit a scramble shotgun
- Scramble registration and check-in
- Scramble pace of play
- Scramble pairing sheet
- Scramble tiebreaker rules
Start together, score clean
Give each group Scrambled Eggs for a live team card from whichever hole they start on.