Betty Bucher, 62, of St. Charles, always loved playing in golf scrambles with her husband. A scramble is a common type of play in charity golf tournaments. Each member of a team tees off, and then all of the players pick up their balls and play from where the best shot landed. This repeats for every shot until someone on the team makes their putt. The problem was, as Bucher got older, she started to have aches and pains. That interfered with her game.“Since I’m not a very good hitter, I was always having to go pick up my ball,” she said.

Players usually use a golf cart to retrieve their balls, but many women can’t reach the ball without getting out of the cart, Bucher said. Also, people occasionally fall out of the cart while trying to retrieve a ball without stopping.
This got the retired mother of six to thinking. Eventually, she came up with an idea for what she calls the ScrambleScoop. It looks like a golf club, with a net replacing the usual head. It makes it easier to scoop up a ball from the ground without stopping the golf cart and getting out.“Everybody’s looking to speed up play,” Bucher said. She hopes this is one way to make the game more enjoyable and move more quickly.

The ScrambleScoop can be used for other things as well, Bucher said.
“My girlfriend used it to get a bird out of her garage that couldn’t get out,” she said. “She was able to get the bird in the scoop and put it outside.”

Bucher said it took her about four years from having the idea to putting her product on the market. She got the patent in 1997, but it took a lot of time and research for her to figure out what direction to take it in, she said.“It’s a product I passionately believe in, and you have to really believe in it to put your heart and soul in it,” she said. “If you didn’t like it to begin with, you’d be crazy to try and do something like this."

The hard work has paid off, though, Bucher said. She has sold at least one in all 50 states, she said, and just got an order for 150 from a tournament taking place in New York. Though this is her first invention, Bucher said she would try for a patent again if she had a good enough idea.“I would rather try it with someone so we could share the expense,” she said. “There’s a lot of footwork you have to do on your own.”