May 10, 2007

BROOKLYN, MI — The Captains Club announced on Wednesday the plans for the optional 4-man Scramble scheduled for 2:00PM at Hills' Hearts of the Lakes Golf Course just outside of downtown Brooklyn, MI.

"We are scrambling things up for this year's scramble," said Brian Flanagan, a.k.a. Butter, on behalf of the Captains Club. "We are going to try many new things this year starting with the golf course."

The Grande Golf Club is a super course with heavy customer demand. The $40 replay rate pushed the scramble out of Jackson and into nearby Brooklyn.

"I am actually excited about the second course," said Flanagan. "Something different instead of the same course over and over again is a welcome change." Flanagan added, "The actual course is about a 30-minute walk from the Super 8 Motel. About a 3 minute drive, which will become ideal for afternoon alcohol consumption."

The 4-man Scramble will be hosted by Hills' Heart of the Lakes Golf Course, which is ranked by Golf Digest with 3 stars. Butter spoke of the $20 rate, "The course is recognized by Golf Digest as one of top values in the state of Michigan. It really makes sense to move the event to Hills'  Heart of the Lakes Golf Course."

The very short 5,472-yard par-69 golf course is considered the largest surprise for the 12-team event. After months of analysis and consideration, the Captains Club decided the average par 4 (329-yards) was promoting three problems requiring solutions.

The first being the boring 3 club golf bag over 18 holes. "Driver, lob wedge, and putter is clearly the only clubs needed for 90 percent of the course," said Brian. "We really need to add a few more clubs into this best of the best shot event."

Second, the possibility of golfers hitting tee shots onto greens with other teams still on them. "I am not playing in front of Slick on this course," said Butter. "I would be safer in Iraq."

The third problem included the inability for unskilled players to contribute off the tee. The past scramble events have allowed the unskilled participants to play one tee up, which is clearly not an option at Hills' Hearts.

The three problems were analyzed and two solutions are expected to be implemented. Flanagan explained the first solution, "Using two sets of tees is really not an option this year at 5,472. Instead of moving the C and D skilled players up one tee, we have moved the A and B skilled players back. Not physically, but shortening their drives off the tee. The heavily skilled golfers, the A players, will be prohibited from hitting the two longest clubs in their bag. The B players will be prohibited from hitting the longest club in their golf bag."

The Captains Club expects to statistically add 455 yards to the 5,472-yard course by removing 40 fairway yards off the tee.

Butter explained the second solution, "We have received a nice idea for the shortest par 4, which is 240 yards. All players will toss their golf ball up in the air and hit it with a baseball bat. Yes. I said a baseball bat. It sounded gimmicky to me at first, but the idea comes highly recommended.

In addition to the baseball bat, the team scramble event will also institute a "throw" for each participant. "We are excited about trying some new things this year," says Flanagan. "The throw allows adds a lot of thinking to our team event."

A throw allows each participating golfer to advance any best team shot by throwing it, tossing it, or rolling it. The advancement of a team ball cannot be voided regardless of what happens to the ball.

The 4-man Scramble is also expected to be played in shotgun format using 6 different holes. "We have been given the go-ahead to tee in 8-somes," said Butter. "We hope this increases the camaradrie throughout the afternoon. The key will be pace of play as always. A final decision on 8-somes will be determined based on pace of play during Round 2 and possible weather delays."

The Captains Club is also expected to provide beer on the course. The beer will be provided as part of the tournament fee.

Lastly, the 4-man Scramble is expected to remain a team event, but a new handicapping system will be implemented allowing equally matched teams regardless of size or skill.

"The new handicap system will allow a 5-man team to compete against a 3-man team," said Butter. "This is a critical improvement with the last two events being won by 5-man teams."

The system does not consider long drivers and great putters, but does use golfer stroke handicap to establish target scores. "As an example, four Zabonik's are expected to shoot 19-under par," says Flanagan. "A team of four Rick Dosky's is expected to shoot 6-over par. The system converts these projected team handicaps to a set of usable points. It looks pretty good on paper. Anything is better than a 5-man team winning the event 3 years in a row."

The 4-man Scramble is set for 2:00PM EST. There are 55 players currently signed up to participate in the optional event.