golf tournament formats

There are many different golf tournament formats, and some of the oddest are played at company outings, golf association playdays and the like. What are the most popular? And how are they played? We've left out the big two - stroke play and match play - in order to get in a couple more esoteric formats. You can find many more in our Tournament Formats/Betting Games Glossary. Here are our picks for most popular tourney formats.

1. Scramble

The Scramble is probably the most-common format for team tournaments. It can be played by 2-, 3- or 4-person teams, and involves choosing the one best shot following every stroke, with each team member then playing again from that one spot. Variants include the Texas Scramble, Florida Scramble and Ambrose. Click the link for a more in-depth explanation, as you can do for each term listed here.

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2. Best Ball

In a Best Ball tournament, all members of each team play their own balls on each hole. At the completion of the hole, the lowest score among all team members serves as the team score. Best Ball can also be called Four Ball, and variations include 1-2-3 Best Ball.

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3. Alternate Shot

Alternate Shot is a format for 2-person teams and is sometimes called Foursomes. The two players on a team alternate hitting shots, playing the same ball. Odds and Evens and Scotch Foursomes are other versions of Alternate Shot.

more info : http://golf.about.com/od/beginners/tp/tourneyformats.htm

Gretzky and Co. hit the links

The Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic will be returning to the Town of Blue Mountain beginning Monday, July 6 and charity groups throughout the region, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Orillia and the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka will benefit from the golf event which brings pro golfers as well as celebrities from around the world to the Collingwood area.

Joining Wayne, wife Janet and dad Walter will be a host of celebrities including five-time world and Olympic 100-metre champion Donovan Bailey, former NHL star Scott Thornton and current Calgary Flames forward Mike Cammalleri, just to name a few of the early confirmations.

The main professional part of the golf event, which runs from July 6 to 12 at The Raven Golf Club at Lora Bay and the Georgian Bay Golf Club, will feature 160 players from the Nationwide Golf Tour, which is a stepping stone to the PGA tour as the top 25 money winners from the tour at the end of 2009 are awarded with their PGA tour cards.

The Gretzky Classic features a unique tournament format with the Nationwide professional players paired with 160 celebrities/ amateurs for a minimum of two days. Ten pro-celebrity/

amateur teams will then compete for the Pro- Celebrity/Amateur title, as part of the regular Nationwide Tournament event. Reward for the pros will be one of the tour's largest purses (more than $800,000) over 72 holes of stroke-play competition.

Daily admission ticket prices are very reasonable at $15 per person and are available from the various charity groups up until June 30. For every daily pass sold, the participating organization makes half the net profit or $6.64. The Wayne Gretzky Foundation through the tournament, benefits from the proceeds of the other half of the ticket making the entire process 100% charitable.