Danny Jones is the PGA head professional at the Walden on Lake Conroe Golf Club in Montgomery, Texas.

In the past we hosted a nine-hole scramble on Wednesday evenings, but it was just taking too long and people weren’t finishing before dark. We were getting solid turnout for the event, so we definitely didn’t want to completely eliminate it. Instead, we came up with the idea of transforming our 3,401-yard front nine into a par-3 layout that totals just more than 1,000 yards. We set up each hole from 80–125 yards in length, using potted flowers as tee markers and varying the layout week by week. The event tees off at 5:30 p.m., and typically finishes within 90 minutes, averaging anywhere from 30–40 golfers. It’s been great for us in terms of coercing some of the high handicappers and lady golfers out on a weekday evening when they generally wouldn’t be at the course. This has been a great solution to our problem because it helps them get around quicker and each player contributes – this makes the format fun for all.

Although we charge just $9 per person to participate in the weekly scramble, it’s been great for getting some less frequent golfers out to the course. It helped to build their comfort level and many of them now play more often in their free time. The prize for the winner is generally a gift certificate for the golf shop, which also helps us move some excess inventory. In addition, the happy hour and hors d’oeuvres offered afterwards generate revenue for our food and beverage operation.