Happy Hackers Golf Society Rules

Happy Hackers Golf Society Rules

Timely Submission Of Score Cards It is the players responsibility to submit their score cards after participating in a HH outing in a timely fashion. All competition cards must be submited BEFORE the presentation of prizes to be eligable. The card however will remain valid for calculation of Golfer Of Year Points for that year. The HH Committee will do their best to ensure that situations of this nature do not occur, but cannot take responsibility for players submitting cards late.

Prize Presentation It is recommended that if at all possible golfers remain afterwards for the prize presentations. This is seen as a courtesy not only to the Captain but for the rest of the golfers as well. The committee will as always endeavor to perform presentations as soon as possible, just depends on how quick the score cards can be checked. Thus it is very important that score cards are submitted as quick as possible after completing your round, for instance before you head off for a shower.

Green Fee Liability Once a player has committed to playing in outing, they are then liable for the full cost of the green fee if they decide to withdraw from the outing or they don't show on the day. This charge will only be made if the society is charged or the person committed to taking a tee time slot and thus prevented another member from playing. If the person does not pay the full green fee then they will be prevented from playing future outings.

Tee Time Availability Tee times for outings will be alotted on a first come first basis. While we don't anticipate running out of slots, in the event that we do, there will be a waiting list in place. Members will always have priority over visitors.

Local Rules Every member of the society MUST abide by the local rules of each golf course that the society participates on. If available these rules will be posted on the HH Home Page.

Outing Penalty/Extra Point System 2012+ To try and ensure that everyone in the society gets a chance to win prizes the HHGS has introduced a Outing Penalty/Extra Point System. The system is designed to penalize those that win often by applying penalty points to reduce their score, and to promote those that do not win prizes by providing extra points for them. For each outing the top three golfers will receive penalty points as follows : 1st Place = -3 Points 2nd Place = -2 Points 3rd Place = -1 Points These points are accumulative, and increase with each outing if the golfer continues to make the top three. Penalty points are reduced by a phased system, each tournament played in will increase your number of penalty points by 1. You only get an increase in points if you don't receive any prize. Penalty points are carried from year to year. This ensures that a player who wins the last outing of the year is equally penalised as the player that wins the first. Similary for the other end of the leaderboard, the bottom three golfers will receive extra points : Last Place = +3 Points 2nd Last Place = +2 Points 3rd Last Place = +1 Points Extra points are also removed in a phased fashion of -1 point per tournament played and the golfer does not feature in the bottom three. Extra points like penalty points are carried over from year to year. If golfers have positive penalty points and feature in the top three in a tournament, they receive the appropriate reduction depending on position plus an extra reduction of 1 shot as if they had finished outside of the top three. e.g. a golfer with +1 penalty points and finish's in 2nd place would receive -1 for playing the tournament and -2 for finishing 2nd, resulting in having -2 penalty points for the next tournament. If a golfer has negative penalty points and finish's in the bottom three, they do not receive +1 for playing the tournament, they only receive the appropriate penalty shot increase based on position. e.g. a golver with -2 penalty points, and finishing in last place will not receive +1 for playing and will only receive +3 for finishing last, thus will have a penalty shot value of +1 for the next tournament. The number of Penalty/Extra points for your round will be indicated on the timesheet prior to the outing and should also be indicated on your score card. When a player is in receipt of greater than 5 penalty shots. This will result in a handicap increase whereby 1 shot is added to their handicap and 3 penalty shots are removed. e.g. a golfer playing of a handicap of 25, and their penalty shot total is 7. Their handicap is increased to 26 and their penalty shot total is reduced to 4.

Outing Penalty/Extra Shot System 2001-2011 To try and ensure that everyone in the society gets a chance to win outings over the year the HHGS has introduced a Outing Penalty/Extra Shot System. The system is designed to penalize those that win often by applying penalty shots to reduce their handicap, and to promote those that do not win prizes by providing extra shots for them. For each outing the top three golfers will receive penalty shots : 1st Place = -3 Shots 2nd Place = -2 Shots 3rd Place = -1 Shots These shots are accumulative, and increase with each outing if the golfer continues to make the top three. Penalty shots are reduced by a phased system, each tournament played in will reduce your number of penalty shots by 1. You only get a reduction in shots if you finish outside the top three. Penalty shots are carried from year to year. This ensures that a player who wins the last outing of the year is equally penalised as the player that wins the first. Similary for the other end of the leaderboard, the bottom three golfers will receive extra shots : Last Place = +3 Shots 2nd Last Place = +2 Shots 3rd Last Place = +1 Shots Extra shots are also removed in a phased fashion of 1 shot per tournament played and the golfer does not feature in the bottom three. Extra shots like penalty shots are carried over from year to year.

Golfer Of The Year 2003+ The Golfer of the year award will be made to the golfer who has performed consistently well over all the events in that calendar year. The golfer of the year will receive the Stephen Edwards Perpetual Trophy, named in memory of a Sun Ireland employee who passed away in 2000. The system is simply, the stableford points scored by a player in each outing will be accumulated after each outing. This will be their points total towards golfer of the year. The number of rounds used in determining Golfer of the year depends on the number of eligible rounds being played that year. This is then reviewed by and signed off by the current incoming committee for that year. Year Eligible Rounds Rounds Counted 2003 7 6 2004 7 5 2005 6 5 For example in 2004, there were 7 eligible outings played in that year, for which 5 rounds counted towards Golfer Of The Year, meaning if a golfer played in all 7 they could then drop his worst two scores. This format allows for all members of the society to particpate Ladies and Men. The player at the end of the season who has most points is the winner. In the event of a tie then each tied players next worst round is deducted to see who has the most points, this would continue until a winner is determined. If at the end of this process there is still a tie, then both players will have a singles-matchplay competition to decide the winner.

Golfer Of The Year 2001/2002 Season Golfer of the year award will be made to the golfer who has performed consistently well over all events in the calendar year. The golfer of the year will receive the Stephen Edwards Perpetual Trophy, named in memory of a Sun Ireland employee who passed away in 2000. Points will be awarded to golfers after each outing in the following manner : 1st Place = 12 Pts 2nd Place = 10 Pts 3rd Place = 8 Pts 4th Place = 7 Pts 5th Place = 6 Pts 6th Place = 5 Pts 7th Place = 4 Pts 8th Place = 3 Pts 9th Place = 2 Pts 10th Place = 1 Pt Closest The Pin = 2 Pts Longest Drive = 2 Pts Each Winning Team Member = 1 Pt (If there is a team competition) At the end of the year the golfer that has accumulated the most points will be deemed the winner.

Singles Matchplay Competition The singles matchplay competition will be run over the course of the year. Here are some general rules : In Matchplay the game is played by holes The side holing the ball in the least number of shots, after handicap is taken into consideration wins the hole. The reckoning of holes is kept by the terms "So Many Holes Up", "All Square", etc. The term "dormie" is used when a side is so many holes up as there are left to play. A hole is Halved if each side holes out with the same number of net strokes. A match is won by the side which is leading by a greater number of holes than there are left to play. Concession of next stroke is when one side concedes to the opponent the next stroke assuming that they would have holed out, usually short putts. A player may concede a hole or match at any point prior to the completion of the hole or match. General penalty when committed is deemed to be loss of hole. The Happy Hackers Singles Matchplay shall obey the following rules : At start of the year, all members interested in participating in the Singles Matchplay competition make themselves known to a member of the current committee. An Open draw is done by the committee to see who will face who in round one of the competition. Depending on numbers some may receive by's into the second round. The person who's name is at the top of each draw/match is responsible for organizing the match. Each round is to be played prior to the next outing of the society, failure to do so will result in a Toss of a coin to determine the winner. To determine the handicap's the full differential is used. Take the lowest handicap from the highest whatever the difference, then Holes with Index up to this value are the holes that the higher handicapper has shots on over their opponent. In cases where a male golfer is paired against a female golfer, then hole indexes will differ, in this scenario, both players simply use their normal handicap on each hole, and best net score at end of hole is deemed winner. Two players, Player A Hcap=11, Player B Hcap=18. Player A, will play with a handhcap of 0 as he/she has the lowest handicap. Player B, will play with a handhcap of 7 which is the full differential between the two handicaps 18-11=7. Player B, will have a shot on holes with standard index 1 through to 7. Usage of GPS equipment is allowable If one side of the draw arranges the match and the second side does not show then the match is forfeited to the side that organised the match. Either side can concede their match at any point without actually playing the tie. The Happy Hacker Handicap held on the day of the match will be the handicap's used. This does NOT include any penalty points incurred in previous outings. When match has been played it is the responsibility of the winner to inform the committee of the result. All rounds following the first round are not open draw, depending on your placement from the first draw you will know who your possible next opponent is based on the match either above or below you in the table, which will be published on the HHGS web site. All Committee decisions are final and cannot be challenged. The winner of the Singles Matchplay Competition will receive the "Happy Hackers Singles" perpetual trophy.

Competition Playing Handicap The handicap used by a player in all HHGS competitions will in most cases be their currently assigned HHGS handicap. However in some scenarios this will not be the case. If a player's official club handicap is lower than their HHGS handicap they must play of the lower handicap. If a player's official club handicap is greater than their HHGS handicap, they they must play of the lower HHGS handicap. However if their club handicap is greater than 2 shots above the HHGS handicap they will be allowed to play off their club handicap minus two. It is the individuals responsibility to inform the HHGS committe of their current club handicap if it deviates from their HHGS handicap. Failure to do so could arise in competition disqualifications. The easiest way to ensure both handicaps remain relatively in sync is to submit rounds played in GUI competitions via the Submit Round facility.

General Rules Of Golf

Out Of Bounds When hitting a ball whether from the tee or within the hole, if the ball comes to rest beyond the out of bounds line, usually marked by white stakes and will always be stated on the course score card. The golfer must hit their next shot from the same position that they hit their first, regardless of whether they can find their first ball or not, and they are penalized by 1 shot. If the player does not hit their second ball from the same spot as the first but instead drops their second ball at the point of entry into the out of bounds then they will be penalized 2 shots. Under R&A rules of golf this is normally not permissable but is only in place for this society.

Lost Ball If a player hits their ball and they think the ball may be lost then they must play their next shot from the same position as the first ball. Penalty is one shot. In the case that they find their first ball then they may continue as normal by playing their first ball with no penalty. However if the first ball is not found and the player did not play a provisional ball then in normal rules the player must return to where they hit their first ball and play their next shot with a penalty of 1 shot. However to aid fair play the society ruling here is that the player may drop their second ball at point of entry into the hazard and play from here with a penalty of 2 shots. Again this is not an official R&A rule.

Water Hazards A general water hazard is an area of water normally marked by yellow stakes that runs across the hole being played. If a player hits their ball into a water hazard then they must take their next shot by dropping in line from point of entry into the water hazard of the first ball. They may return back along the hole as far as they as long as they are not nearer the pin. Penalty is 1 shot.

Lateral Water Hazards A lateral water hazard is an area of water normally marked by red stakes on the golf course that runs along either side of the hole being played. If a player hits their shot into a lateral water hazard they must take their next shot by dropping a ball within 2 club lengths, and not near the pin, of point of entry of the first ball with the a penalty of 1 shot. Remember lateral water hazards are not out of bounds, unless this is clearly marked with white stakes and stated on the golf course score card.

Casual Water If a players ball comes to rest in an area of water that is not clearly marked by either red or yellow stakes then this is deemed to be casual water (normally only exists if there has been a lot of recent rain). In this instance the player may take his ball and have a free drop outside of the wet area but not nearer the hole.

Ground Under Repair (G.U.R.) When a players ball comes to rest inside a clearly marked G.U.R. Area the player must then remove their ball from this area and take a free drop outside the marked G.U.R. area and not nearer the hole.

Bunker / Hazard Shots When a ball comes to lie in a bunker or is inside a hazard line but still playable. The player may play this ball but the golf club being used to play the shot, cannot come to rest of the ground inside the hazard. e.g. in a bunker the club cannot touch the sand prior to making a shot.

Fresh Air Shots If a player is clearly attempting to hit a ball but completely misses it. This is deemed a one shot and the player when next addressing the ball is taking their next shot. These shots must be counted.

Dropping and Re-Dropping When a player is making a drop either free or from penalty, the player must stand erect and holding their arm completely straight at shoulders length and then drop the ball. If the ball after dropping comes to rest inside the hazard originall dropping from, the the player may drop again. If the second drop comes to rest inside the hazard then the player may place the in the area that they are dropping into.

Number Of Clubs A player must have at all times not more than 14 clubs in their bag. If they do have more than 14 clubs in their bag they will be penalized by 2 strokes per hole that they played with the illegal number of holes. In Stroke play the maximum is 4 strokes overall. In stableford player scores 0 points for each hole played with illegal number of clubs. Match Play player loses each hole played with illegal number of clubs.

Wrong Green If a ball comes to rest on a green other than the green being played to then the player must lift this ball and drop off this green not nearer the pin prior to playing next shot. There is no penalty.

General Etiquette/Rules The person farthest from the pin is generally always the next person to take their shot When walking across the green, always be wary of the line of the other players putt, and try and not walk on this line, if necesary walk all the way around. Never traverse any green with your caddy car or trolley. Always be wary of other golfers even those not in your group and try and not disturb then through noise etc. when they are about to take their shot.