Okay, so today I messed around with something called the “modified Pinehurst format” in golf. Honestly, I’d heard of it, but never really tried it out myself. Figured, why not? Let’s see what this is all about.
First things first, I needed a partner. Luckily, my buddy Mark was free and up for a round. We’re about the same skill level, so it seemed like a good fit.
Getting Started
We hit the course, and the first thing we did was both tee off, just like a regular scramble. Simple enough.
- Tee Off: Both of us smashed our drives (well, tried to, anyway).
Here’s where it gets different. Instead of picking the best drive, like in a scramble, we switched balls for our second shots. So, I played Mark’s drive, and he played mine. Felt kinda weird at first, I gotta admit.
- Second Shot Swap: I lined up at Mark’s ball (which was, thankfully, in the fairway) and took my shot. Mark was over in the rough, wrestling with my not-so-great drive.
After the second shots
After the second shots, then we picked the ball we liked better. And from there, we played alternate shots until we holed out.
- Mark’s second shot from my drive was good, but my shot after swap was better.
- We decided to take the ball after my second shot.
- Alternate Shot to Finish: Mark hit the next shot, then I putted, then he made the next. You get the picture. We kept alternating until the ball was in the cup.
The whole round went this way.
We kept doing that whole process – both tee off, switch balls for the second shot, pick the best ball, then alternate shots – for every hole. It was definitely a change of pace!
My thoughts about this format
Honestly, it was more fun than I expected! It added a bit of strategy, thinking about where your partner’s ball might end up and how you’d play it. Plus, it made us play shots we normally wouldn’t, which was a good challenge.
It’s not something I’d want to play every time, but for a fun, casual round with a buddy, the modified Pinehurst format is definitely something I’d try again. It’s a good way to mix things up and keep things interesting on the course!
