18-Hole Scramble – April 18 | Battlement Mesa Golf Club Parachute CO
I played an 18-hole scramble at Battlement Mesa Golf Club near Grand Junction, in Parachute, Colorado. While a scramble doesn’t really “count” the same way as a standard round, it was still worth documenting.
Our group was a fun mix: my son Jake, my friend Rick, and Rick’s son Connor. We had an 11:00 a.m. shotgun start, and the weather was typical for April—chilly at the beginning, requiring a couple of layers, the sun was out the whole time and it warmed up nicely. By the middle of the round, we were comfortably in short sleeves.
Fast Start
We couldn’t have asked for a better opening:
- Hole 1 (No. 8, Par 3): I hit the drive just off the green, and Connor drained the 7 foot putt for birdie.
- Hole 2 (No. 9): Another strong drive set us up with about 135 yards in. Rick hit the approach, and it bounced a couple of times before dropping straight into the hole for eagle.
That eagle was the highlight of the day—completely unexpected and got everyone fired up. Naturally, it also led to celebratory shots, which probably set the tone for the rest of the round. The drinking had begun. No chance of driving back to Denver after this one. A close hotel was found and we drove back Sunday morning.
The Middle Stretch
After that hot start, things blended into a typical scramble rhythm:
- No bogeys on the card (though we came close once)
- Several missed birdie opportunities
- At least one eagle putt that just didn’t fall
- Everyone one contributed. When one or two were off the others stepped up. Makes for a fun scramble round.
The Last part of the round
As the beers piled up and another shot of Fireball Wiskey this time things got a little more lose you could say. Barely got a par on the last whole and our shot position choices were not quite as good as earlier. We could have had a better round but it was all enjoyable.
We finished at -11 (61), which was solid, though not enough to win—first place came in at 57. As usual with scrambles, I take the scores with a grain of salt.
Personal Performance
From an individual standpoint:
- Driver: Easily the strongest club in my bag right now. We used my tee shots on most par 4s and 5.
- Irons: Inconsistent—some solid shots mixed with misses but used a couple of my drives on the par 3’s. Guess the tee box is key for me these days. Irons better because I can tee it up slightly? Maybe need to keep an eye on this revelation.
- Putter: Off all day, didnt make a long put, one at 7 feet but the other guys carried me here.
- Short Game: Didn’t have to chip much, but I’ve been focusing on keeping my wrists firm, and it feels like that’s starting to click
Course Thoughts
Battlement Mesa is a really enjoyable course. It’s not overly long—at least from the tees we played (silver tees, which felt comparable to whites)—but it has enough variety to keep things interesting. A few shorter par 4s added some fun risk/reward opportunities.
I’d definitely come back and play it as a standard round during the summer.
Overall, a fun day, a great group, and a couple of memorable shots—especially that eagle on No. 9.