All League Rules are subject to review and change by the League Rules committee
Teams will consist of two players, an "A" player and a "B" player. A plyers designation will be determined by the player's handicap. The player with the lowest handicap will be designated as the "A" player. The other player will be the "B" player. Each team will play every other team at least once during league play. Each team's "A" player will play against the opposing team's "A" player. The same applies to the "B" players. There are 7 tee times beginning at 5:15pm. The remaining times are 5:22, 5:30, 5:37, 5:45 5:52 and 6:00.
Since we are a drinking league that plays golf for fun with a little competition, we will play under Winter rules. For the most part, all balls will be played as they lie. Some fluffing or moving of your ball will be allowed under a couple conditions. One, if you are buried in deep rough, you will be allowed to fluff your ball if you so choose. Two, in your own fairway, you may lift-clean-replace your ball in your own fairway, and may move the ball out of a divot or bare spot. No closer to the hole though. Three, you may move your ball out of a footprint or other non-natural obstruction when in a bunker. You may also move your ball out of water in a bunker to a dryer location in that bunker. Most shots should be taken as it lies. Exceptions will be made for the entire league based on course conditions that day. Any exceptions will be communicated to the league via the site news and group text. There may come a time where an unusual circumstance arises, and a judgement call will need to be made by your foursome. You will get that approval BEFORE moving your ball or incur a penalty for moving your ball.
Another exception to USGA rules is when a ball goes out of bounds or a lost ball. In the event a ball goes out of bounds or completely lost, we do NOT give up distance. This is to maintain pace-of-play. We do not have the luxury of going back to where the original stroke was made. These situations will be treated much like a hazard, in that the player will drop a ball within two club lengths of the last point the ball was known to be in play and take a one stroke penalty.
It is important to keep in mind that we are a league, and we need to maintain a positive relationship with Tara if we want to keep playing here. For the first time in league history, Tara has addressed slow play in our league contract. "In the case league player(s) are observed playing slower than the recommended pace of play and are causing other players to play slower than the recommended pace of play, Tara Hills management reserves the right to make certain adjustments to allow the recommended pace of play for all players to resume". This is something I need all of you to help with. Pace of Play means keeping up with the group ahead of you. If you start a hole without seeing the group ahead of you, you need to pick of your pace in order to catch up to the group ahead of you.
In order to avoid any intervention on the part of Tara, we will be policing ourselves. If it is determined that an individual or group has been observed slow playing, the commissioner will be notified and the individual or group will be given a warning. If that individual or group is observed slow playing a second time that individual's team will moved, permanently to the 6pm tee time for the remainder of the league's season.
One thing to keep in mind is that we should always be playing “Ready Golf”. Also, we should not be spending more than a couple of minutes looking for a lost ball. There are so many things that can slow a round down it is impossible to account for everything. But the following page has several recommendations and ideas to help keep things moving along. Keeping up pace of play helps not only your fellow golfers on the course but helps keep us in good graces with Tara. Slow Play Page here
Also in an effort to help pace of play, we allow for a max score on a hole as double par. So once you reach 6 stroked on a par 3 you may just pick up the ball and record the score of 6. Similarly, it would be a max 8 on a par 4 and max 10 on a par 5. This is not a mandatory pickup, but is highly encouraged to help pace of play.
In an effort to help pace of play, our league does allow for putts to be conceded and considered holed without the golfer having to actually putt the ball. The standard is inside-the-leather. The putter used to measure can be the longest of anyone in the foursome, as long as it is a standard putter and not one of those long weird things some use on TV. When a golf ball is inside-the-leather it is closer to the hole than the distance from the head of the putter to the bottom end of the grip on the putter shaft. Your opponent can also concede a gimme putt. Gimme putts will count as a stroke.
A total of 30 points are up for grabs for each team play.
Example: On Hole One, Team1/Player "A" is giving a stroke to Team2/Player "A". Both card a 5 on the hole. Team2/Player "A" would win the hole and the point since they are getting a stroke on the hole.
NOTE: It is the responsibility of each player to verify their score at the end of the round. Scores will be submitted and finalized immediately after the final group has completed their round.
Minimum Scores Used – 1
Maximum Scores Used – 6
# of High Scores Tossed – 1
Maximum Handicap Score - 18
Handicaps will be established the first night of league play. Starting week 2, the highest score will be thrown out of the handicap calculation. Beginning week 7, the prior 6 weeks scores will be used, with the highest score being taken out of handicap calculations. There will be a maximum handicap score of 18 during league play.
It is the responsibility of each team to find their own substitutes when the need arises. The sub's name should be forwarded to the league commissioner before the the tee time for that week's round. The commissioner will then add the sub's name to the team for the online scoring of the round.
Subs playing for the first time will be establishing their initial handicap that same night. Normal handicapping (See Handicap Calculations) will apply to subs who play more than once during the season.
While each team should make every attempt to locate a sub for any team member unable to play there will be an occasion where a sub can not be found. In this instance, a Ghost Player will be used. The Ghost Player will automatically be the "A" player for the round. The Ghost player will be considered a scratch golfer, thus shooting par for each hole. Points gain by the Ghost Player will be applied to the team score.
Amended 5/8/23 - The Ghost player will shoot bogie golf for the round, thus shooting one over on each hole. Any points earned by the Ghost player will NOT be applied to the team score of the team using the Ghost player
In most cases, rainouts will not be called by Tara any sooner than 1 hour before our first tee time. There may, however, be times where the commissioner will call off play. In either case it will be posted on the News link at the top of the page and an email will be sent from the site, letting you know that play has been canceled for that day.
3 Putt Poker - The rules are pretty simple, but how much it will cost you will depend on how many three-putts you have. Basically, you earn two cards with every 1-putt but have to pay more money for every 3-putt. Each player will draw cards from a full deck. At the end, highest poker hand wins.
Online Scoring – Scoring will be kept live, using the league website. Live round scoring can be found under the Game Day link at the top of the screen, next to your name. After clicking “Start Round” you will see a second link “Set Golfers You Are Scoring For”. From here, one person can keep scores for all four players, or people can keep their own score or their opponent’s score. Once you click the link you choose the player/players you will be keeping score for.
Once the player/players have been selected you will see the scoring page, starting with the 1st or 10th holes, the par and yardage for the hole and the scoring box for each player. The scoring box will initially show par for the hole being played. After entering the scores for the first hole, click on the >> button to advance to the next hole. After entering the score on the final hole, click on the “Finish Round” button to submit the scores for the round. This will also bring up the scorecard and score for each player.
From this screen click on the Game Day link at the top of the page to exit the scorecards. Once all the round scores have been submitted and finalized by me, you will be able to go back to the Schedule, click on the Course link. This will bring up everyone’s individual Net and Gross scores (Individual View). If you click on Team View, it will show you the point scoring by hole, as well as the team scoring points.