League Rules

WEDNESDAY GOLF LEAGUE 2014

UPDATED FEBRUARY 7, 2014

(2014 UPDATED RULES ARE PRINTED IN GREEN)

(2014 MID-SEASON CHANGES ARE PRINTED IN BROWN)

1.0 LEAGUE ORGANIZERS:

1.1 Commissioner
1.2 Scheduler
1.3 Rules
Tony Carpenito; Tony.Carpenito@gmail.com
978-534-5179 (H); 617-242-3035 x 2024 (W)
Anthony.Carpenito@state.ma.us

1.4 Scorer-Recorder
Mike Zurawski; mzurawski@partners.org
617-726-5681 (W)

2.0 LEAGUE FEES:

2.1 The league greens fees are [$460 in 2014] and are due by February 15. This covers the greens fees charged by the host golf course [$23 weekly for 20 weeks in 2014]. An additional [$30 in 2014] will be collected for the championship and side event prize funds. Submit fees to the Commissioner who will forward the accumulated greens fees to the host golf course. League regulars from the previous season will have first preference whether they wish to remain in the league for the new season. Once the league fees due date has passed, league regular openings will be filled by new players. It is best to pay the league fees as soon as possible.

2.2 Any team that enters the league after the start of the season will be charged pro-rated fees depending upon the number of weeks left in the season.

3.0 SCHEDULING:

3.1 The season consists of twenty nine-hole rounds of golf, one round per week, on Wednesday afternoons starting around 4:00 PM from late April into September. There is no league play during the Fourth of July holiday week if the holiday falls on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

3.2 All matches will be played on Wednesdays with posted tee times. The league must tee off on time even if all players are not present. Ready foursomes may tee off ahead of those groups who are still awaiting tardy players. Any player, who does not tee off at the scheduled time and whose foursome has already begun its match, will begin playing the match at the hole where he meets up with his group. Holes already played before that player arrives will be subject to Rule 4.5 or 4.8, whichever applies. If a golfer retires from the match before all nine holes have been played, the holes completed after that golfer leaves will be subject to Rule 4.5 or 4.8, whichever applies. For handicap purposes, the player's nine-hole score will be extrapolated after the round based on the score of holes played.

3.3 A full-season schedule will be distributed at the start of the season. League standings and handicap updates are distributed on a weekly basis. Golfers will be informed of any schedule changes, but no changes are anticipated.

4.0 LEAGUE MATCHES AND TEAM POINTS:

4.1 The league consists of a number of two-player teams who play against every other two-player team at least twice during the season. The players on each team will be given A and B player designations based on league handicaps.

4.2 Teammates may choose to remain together from season to season but are not required to do so. New teams may be formed at the beginning of each new season. Remaining individual players will be paired for the season.

4.3 During each team match, the A player from one team will play an individual match against the A player of the other team. Likewise, the B players will play an individual match against one another. Teammates with same handicaps will remain as A and B players until the B player obtains the lower relative handicap. Substitutes will play for the player that is missing (there is no swapping of A and B designations just because a substitute player is involved).

4.4 Teams are responsible for finding their own substitute players. There is no official list of substitute players although many substitute players are well known. A friend of the playing teammate may be a good choice for substitute. The league will not charge substitutes to play. Extra golfers who are not officially substituting for a regular in a league match must pay the appropriate greens fee at the pro shop.

4.5 If a player's teammate does not show up for the match, and there is no substitute player, that player present will play individual matches against both opposing players.

4.6 Each round will consist of nine-hole, individual net score per hole, match play. There are two points available per player per hole, eighteen points available per player per individual match and thirty-six points available per team per match. On each hole, two points are awarded for a win (the lowest net score between the two opponents), one point awarded for a tie and zero points awarded for a loss. A player can win up to 18-0 and a team can win up to 36-0.

4.7 For any holes not played during or at the end of a match, the teams will split the remaining points evenly and place an X on the scorecard for each hole missed.

4.8 When both opponents (and their substitutes) are absent for an entire match, each golfer will play against course par using his league handicap strokes hole-per-hole (for example, a ten-handicap will receive one stroke per hole versus par on eight holes and two strokes versus par on the “first” stroke hole). Each golfer will be guaranteed at least a one point “halved-hole” tie on every hole and will earn the two point “won hole” whenever the golfer scores a “net birdie” or better. As a minimum, the final individual match scores for the golfers who have played the course without opponents will, in effect, be no less than a 10-8 win (for a team score of no less than a 20-16 win). The missing team will most likely receive a match score worse than a 16-20 loss. When both golfers (and their substitutes) are absent from only a portion of the match, the golfers playing the course will receive at least one point for a “halved-hole” as a minimum and will receive two points for a “won hole” when scoring a “net birdie” or better, on each hole played without an opponent.

4.9 During seasons when there are an odd number of teams, one team each week will be scheduled with a “playing bye”. Each golfer on this “bye” team will play against course par using his league handicap strokes hole-per-hole (for example, a ten-handicap will receive one stroke per hole versus par on eight holes and two strokes versus par on the “first” stroke hole). Unlike in the case when both scheduled opponents are missing, golfers will NOT be guaranteed at least a one-point, “halved-hole” tie, on every hole. Each golfer will earn a one point “halved-hole” tie whenever the golfer scores a “net par” and will earn a two point “won hole” whenever the golfer scores a “net birdie” or better. The final individual match scores for the golfers who have completed the “playing bye” will be limited to no more than an 11-7 win and a 7-11 loss (for a team match score of no more than a 22-14 win and no less than a 14-22 loss). If one golfer is absent from play, then his playing partner will double his match result for the team. If both golfers are absent, then the team’s match score for the round will be a 14-22 loss.

4.10 The season will consist of two half-seasons. The team with the most accumulated match points at the end of the first half-season will play for the league championship against the team with the most match points accumulated during the second half-season. All four players must play in the 18-hole championship match to be held on the league's home course. The timing of this match is agreed upon and scheduled by the four participants and should occur within one week of the completion of the second half season. The championship match greens fees will be paid for by the four participants (the championship prize fund winnings should cover the expense). If one team obtains the most match points during both half-seasons, that team will be declared the champion and no championship match will be required.

4.11 Any team that enters the league after the start of the season, in order to compete for first place during each of the two half seasons, will begin with an assigned team match point total equal to the total match points earned by the last place team.

5.0 HANDICAPS:

5.1 Handicaps will be used during each team match. Handicaps will not be used during league "scrambles". League regulars' handicaps will be updated weekly during the season and are calculated as 90% of the player's average strokes over par during the season. Early in the season, handicaps will not be allowed to increase by more than two strokes week-to-week. Returning league regulars will use their final previous season handicap during the first round of each new season.

5.2 Substitute player handicaps will be determined as follows: Let the substitute play out the nine holes, calculate his handicap (90% of strokes over par), then apply the just-calculated handicap to the individual match that had just been completed. This will have the effect of the substitute's opponent more or less playing against par for that particular round. Substitute player handicaps are calculated at the end of each round they play and are based solely on that one round of play no matter how many times they have previously played in the league during the season.

ADJUSTED PAR 34/36 9-HOLE SCORE HDCP

34/36-0 42/44-7    50/52-14 58/60-22 66/68-29
35/37-1 43/45-8    51/53-15 59/61-23 67/69-30
36/38-2 44/46-9    52/54-16 60/62-23 68/70-31
37/39-3 45/47-10 53/55-17 61/63-24 71-72-32
38/40-4 46/48-11 54/56-18 62/64-25
39/41-5 47/49-12 55/57-19 63/65-26
40/42-5 48/50-13 56/58-20 64/66-27
41/43-6 49/51-14 57/59-21 65/67-28

5.3 The above method should also be used for determining the handicaps of new league regulars who do not yet have established handicaps during their first week of play. After playing the first round of the season, the new league regular player will have an established handicap for future matches.

5.4 For handicap purposes, the maximum per-hole score entered onto the scorecard will be "double-par" unless both opponents are experiencing extreme difficulty on a particular hole. In this case, enter the actual hole score for both players (these will be adjusted down later when the handicaps are being calculated).

5.5 During the championship match, the handicaps used by the first half-season winners will not be more than two strokes over the handicaps they had earned at the end of the first half-season.

6.0 CLOSEST-TO-THE-PIN PRIZE POOL:

6.1 Each week $2 is collected from each golfer in attendance for the league's weekly Closest-to-the-Pin contest. The weekly CTP winner receives the entire prize pool and is not obliged to use the winnings towards providing liquid refreshments for everyone at the end of the round.

7.0 SIDE EVENTS PRIZE FUND:

Money [$10 in 2014] is collected from each regular league member at the beginning of the season to be split between four weeks of side events. [2014] Extra prize funds for the side events may be collected.

7.1 All of the three-round Brass Balls Challenge Cup team scramble prize fund [$TBA-90 in 2014] will be awarded to members of the winning team.

7.2 The Blind Draw Net Medal event prize fund [$TBA-30 in 2014]. [$TBA-20 in 2014] will be awarded to the first place two-man team (or split evenly among the winning teams in the case of a tie for first place). [$TBA-5 in 2014] each will be awarded to the players with the two best individual net medal scores who were not part of the first-place two-man team.

7.3 [2014 Reserved].

8.0 CHAMPIONSHIP PRIZE FUND:

8.1 The championship prize fund, consisting of [$20 in 2014] of money collected from each league regular at the beginning of the season, will be split as follows: 20% will be awarded to the first half-season winning team, 20% will be awarded to second half-season winning team, 40% will be awarded to the championship winning team and 20% will be awarded to the other championship match team (or to the overall second place team if there is no championship match). All awards from this prize fund will be awarded at the conclusion of the championship match. Note: In a 12-player league, the total prize fund will be $240. 20%, 40%, and 60% of $240 is $48, $96, and $144, respectively. The $20 per-golfer contribution may be reduced if the total number of league regulars exceeds 12 golfers. Excess money will be moved into the side events prize fund.

9.0 CANCELLATIONS:

9.1 Rounds canceled by the host golf course for any reason may be rescheduled to the end of the season. These rounds will likely be turned into scramble events or side tournaments rather than count towards the half-season standings.

10.0 CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH & HALF-SEASON WINNER TIE-BREAKS:

10.1 First place ties at the end of the half-seasons will be broken as follows: (1) the team with the better results in head-to-head matches played during the specific half-season and then, if necessary, (2) the team that was ahead in the standings during the preceding week or weeks approaching the end of the specific half-season. This philosophy will also be used if there is a need to break a tie for overall second place. A tie at the end of the championship match will be broken by playing extra holes in a hole-by-hole sudden-death format. The extra holes can only be played with the permission of the host golf course.

11.0 POST LEAGUE TOURNAMENT:

11.1 This event will be scheduled sometime in September or October after the league season has ended. This event will be optional and will also be open to golfers who have not participated in the league but who have ties to the league regulars. A separate fee will be charged for this tournament. The specific details and schedule will follow.

PLAYING RULES

A. The league will play golf in all kinds of weather (rain, sleet, snow, etc.) because that is the way things are done in New England! Only the host golf course management can cancel our weekly rounds or halt play in progress.

B. Golfers shall observe the rules of Golf Etiquette and local course rules defined on the scorecard.

C. Play according to USGA Rules (this means no mulligans are permitted). Exceptions are noted below.

D. Play from the White tees during the first half-season, side events and championship match and play from the Blue tees during the second half-season.

E. A ball may be "rolled-over" in the fairway (no closer to the hole) only if it lays in the proper fairway.

F. Lies may not be improved (i.e. moving the ball from rough to fairway, fairway to fringe, or fringe to green).

G. A ball may be moved out of a divot, a footprint, off of a rock, tree root, or other unusual depression such as storm washout, etc., to avoid club damage without penalty. The ball may be moved to the nearest point of relief to avoid club damage no closer to the hole and must stay on the line of travel to the pin when legal obstructions are in play. The ball must remain in the hazard. An otherwise "unplayable lie" must still be treated per USGA rules incurring one penalty stroke if the ball is moved.

H. A ball may be moved anywhere so that the ball or player's stance is not in casual water. This rule does not apply to any ball inside the confines of a water hazard (red or yellow stakes). A ball may be moved away from a cart path, if the player must stand on the cart path to play the shot. Move the ball no more than 1 club length

I. For balls hit out of bounds or lost, a new ball shall be dropped not more than two club lengths, and not closer to the hole, from the approximate location of where the ball went out of bounds or was lost (at the border of a wooded or overgrown area for example) and there will be a one-stroke penalty. Consult foursome to determine the most appropriate drop location. Alternately, a new ball may be hit from the location of the last shot, also incurring a one-stroke penalty.

J. Only 2 minutes are allowed when searching for a lost ball. Remember, it's only a golf ball. Keep pace with the group ahead of your foursome.

K. If laying at double-par, a player may pickup his ball, conceding the match points for the hole. Double-par is the maximum score for any hole (unless both opponents are experiencing extreme difficulty on a particular hole).

L. A ball may be moved on the green, no closer to the hole, so a player won't have to putt through casual water.

M. A ball shall be marked only in the appropriate manner. The coin or small marker placed behind the ball!

N. Gimme putts are allowed. Any putt within 3 feet of the hole may be conceded. This is not mandatory; a gimme putt is at the discretion of your opponent.

O. The correctness of the scorecard should be verified by the entire foursome before it is given to league scorer-recorder.

SLOW PLAY WILL NOT BE TOLERATED !!!

P. Golf course management and league members will be justified in subjecting slow players to significant and severe verbal abuse.

Common Sense Rules to Prevent Slow Play:

Q. Pick up the ball at double-par (unless your opponent is also experiencing extreme difficulty).

R. Know when it is your turn to hit.

S. Find and play your ball before you help look for someone else's ball.

T. Don't spend more than two minutes looking for a missing golf ball.

U. Line up your putts before it's your turn to putt.

V. Start your pre-shot routine before it's your turn to hit. How many practice swings do you really need?

UPDATED FEBRUARY 7, 2014