Inside Random Golf Club's Wildly-Popular Mad Scramble Tour

The game of golf has sometimes suffered from stereotypes of stuffiness, rigidity, and elitism, particularly in the United States. There are even some public courses in the States that put on heirs to resemble a "crème de la crème" facility, even if it sacrifices a truly welcoming experience.

However, the truly democratic golf facilities in this country treat every golfer the same, provide the same level of service to everyone, and reserve the tee on a first-come, first-serve basis. 

I am a PGA of America Golf Professional and a proud product of municipal golf. I am always excited to learn about ways people around the world are making golf more accessible and more fun, which is why I participated in one of Random Golf Club’s Mad Scramble Tour events at Walnut Lane in Philadelphia. RGC takes the populist ideal of a public golf experience and turns it up to 11 with their Mad Scrambles. 

Walnut Lane is an Alex Findlay-designed municipal golf course and is a next-door neighbor with Dalessandro's, a staple in the Philadelphia cheesesteak rota. The course is as beloved by the citizens of Philadelphia as it was when it opened in 1941 — golfers file to the first tee as regularly as the hoagie epicureans down the block. The course provided the perfect backdrop for the large-scale scramble format where nearly 100 golfers played together on the same team.

RGC’s founder, Erik Anders Lang, has said that the events put an emphasis on camaraderie and enjoyment, and break away from traditional golf norms to create a more inclusive and social atmosphere. I gathered that while some of those who showed up to play that evening had participated in a Mad Scramble previously, many had not, and most were strangers.

There were people of all ages, from all walks of life. The range on the handicap spectrum was impressive; aside from me being the lone PGA Member, there were scratch golfers and duffers, swings with tempo that rival In Gee Chun, and swing planes that would make Craig Parry blush. Everyone was there because they love golf; the atmosphere felt more like a party in a park than a golf tournament. RGC had boomboxes strapped to the top of a golf cart and drove it behind the throngs of golfers alongside a dedicated beverage cart as we strolled down the fairways. 

Carrying my golf bag over my shoulder alongside hundreds of fellow golfers and hitting shots in front of 100 people may be as close as I, or others, may get to the feeling of competing in a big tournament, or the shootout of a member-guest. I dare say that our massive team’s score was secondary to the experience, but there were always excitable murmurs as a well-struck shot fell out of the sky towards the hole, and loud cheers when a putt dropped.

It wasn’t a competition of who could hit the tightest shot, but a celebration of the game itself.

I have been fortunate throughout my career to have had many different experiences; I have attended Major Championships, watched a former coworker caddie to an LPGA win, and played the game in the remote expanses of the American frontier.

The Random Golf Club Mad Scramble is among the most unique, and without question, one of the most democratic golf affairs I have taken part in.