Australia and New Zealand’s name for the scramble. Everyone hits, the team picks the best shot, and everyone plays the next one from there. What makes it Ambrose is the team handicap.
Every player tees off, the team picks one ball, and everyone plays their next shot from beside it, all the way into the hole. One score per team per hole. The team’s net score comes off a team handicap: traditionally the combined handicaps divided by twice the number of players, so ÷ 8 for a four.
Ambrose is the scramble as it’s played in Australia and New Zealand, where it’s the format for social days, corporate days and charity events. Australian Golf Digest credits the name to Richard Ambrose of Victor Harbor Golf Club in South Australia. On the course it plays exactly like a scramble: every player hits, the team chooses the best result, and everyone plays from there until the ball is holed. In most other countries the same game is simply called a scramble.
The difference is on the scorecard. An Ambrose is usually played net, off a team handicap, and the event’s conditions spell out how that handicap is worked out, how close to the chosen ball you can place yours, and how many of each player’s drives the team has to use.
Worked example. A team of four plays off course handicaps of 6, 12, 18 and 24 and shoots 58.
Same team, same round, a stroke and a half apart. That’s why the method goes in the conditions of play.
There are two methods in use, and the event chooses.
Events also decide whether to keep the half stroke or round it, and some cap the handicap each player brings to the team.
Minimum drives. Many Ambrose events require each player’s drive to be used a set number of times, such as four each in a four-person round. Record whose drive was used on the card.
Placing. The conditions say how far from the chosen ball each player can place theirs, and the distance is usually tighter on the green. Never nearer the hole.
Two-person Ambrose. The same game for a pair, on ÷ 4 or the WHS 35/15 allowance.
Ambrose vs. Texas Scramble. The play is the same: a Texas scramble also chooses the best shot every time, usually with a minimum-drives rule. What’s different is that an Ambrose is normally decided net, off a team handicap. See the scramble guide for the US version and its variations.
Ambrose isn’t a format of its own in Duck Hook Golf. A four-person Ambrose on the WHS allowance scores the same way as a Team Scramble in Duck Hook Pro (25%, 20%, 15% and 10% of the four course handicaps), and each team keeps its card in the free app. The ÷ 8 method isn’t an option.
See Duck Hook Pro Browse all 52 gamesAmbrose is a team format played mainly in Australia and New Zealand. Every player hits, the team chooses the best shot, and everyone plays the next shot from there until the ball is holed. It’s the scramble, usually played net off a team handicap.
Traditionally, add the team’s handicaps and divide by twice the number of players: divide by 8 for a four, 6 for a three and 4 for a pair. Under the World Handicap System allowance, a four plays off 25%, 20%, 15% and 10% of its course handicaps, lowest to highest, and a pair off 35% of the lower plus 15% of the higher. The event’s conditions say which to use.
On the course, nothing: both pick the best shot every time. Ambrose is the Australian and New Zealand name, and an Ambrose is normally played net off a team handicap, with the conditions setting placement and minimum-drive rules.
Often, yes. Many events require each player’s drive to be used a minimum number of times, such as four each in a four-person team. Check the conditions of play.
Not as a format of its own. A four-person Ambrose played off the WHS allowance is scored the same way as a Team Scramble in Duck Hook Pro: one score per team per hole, off 25%, 20%, 15% and 10% of the four course handicaps. The divide-by-8 method isn’t an option.
Same energy, different game. Everything below has a full rules guide of its own.
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