SSCMGA GUIDELINES FOR 2019

Transcription

1 SSCMGA GUIDELINES FOR 2019 Introduction: Welcome to the 2019 Edition for the Seniors of Spring Creek Men s Golf Association. We are excited to start the 2019 golfing season as we renew our friendly competitive golfing experiences, meet new golfing colleagues. And continue to play this game that we truly enjoy. Our Mantra for this year will be Ready Golf and increase our Pace of Play. We must first thank our outgoing Board members Jim Osterholt (Tee time Tsar), Allen House (Tournament and Food Chair), Bill Kline (Treasurer), and outstanding President of our BOD Mike Johnson. As you can see, we will have almost an entirely new Board for 2019, and we are excited to get started on our new year of Senior golf. We will be looking for ways to improve our pace of play and bring more new and old members together in our weekly games and special events. In review of the 2018 Senior golfing season we had many pluses and some crazy weather swings. We started 2018 with our Season Opener by getting crushed by our show no mercy professional staff. Things improved by many successes in our Home and Away Club matches. Allen House introduced us to Crashers and Defenders match play, which proved to be an exciting new tournament (with a few challengers and many s). The winners were Dave Speakman/Mike Holshey defeating Allen House/Guy Hall in a very exciting match. We finished with our Beat the Pro (which many fared better than the opener), which included a fantastic dinner, with spouses, after the event. I am excited along with your 2019 BOD to welcome all new and existing Senior members, looking forward to a fantastic 2019 golf season. Remember this year there are many new rules changed to improve our beloved game along with increasing the Pace of Play. Welcome to all new and existing members. Also, any seniors who would contemplate joining us. Let s get out and enjoy our magnificent Golf course and some comradeship! Dick Jackson Chairman 1. SSCGMA Board Members and Committee Assignments: Officers: a. Chairman of the Board: Dick Jackson b. Secretary: Bob Kuhnle c. Treasurer: Charlie Hess Committee Chairmen: a. Tournament Committee: Mike Johnson b. Membership and Communications Committee: George Graf c. Social/Food Committee: Rich Stover d. Tee Time Committee: Mike Holshey e. Competition Committee: Scott Hayden f. Election Committee: TBD 1 P a g e G u i d e l i n e s

2 2. SSCMGA Dues: Member dues for the year will be $ Upon payment/receipt of this fee, members will be eligible to participate in the regularly scheduled Weekly Games and all interclub matches and special events hosted/sponsored by the SSCMGA and the Pro Shop such as the Season Opener and Season Closer. The dues are used to purchase prizes and pay for food and beverage for interclub matches and SSCMGA events, and to help supplement other SSCMGA events approved by the SSCMGA Board of Directors. Our aim is to increase participation and fun for all us seniors. Purchasing a team shirt is not mandatory for Association members, but wearing a Spring Creek Senior shirt is required when participating in any Spring Creek versus intra-club Home or Away event. 3. Weekly Golf Operations: a. Official Days of Play: Thursday is the official day of play for the SSCMGA. Tee times are made for the group on Mondays and Tuesdays subject to course availability. b. Tee Times: Multiple tee times are coordinated by the Tee Time and Rules Committee for play two weeks in advance throughout the year. Standard tee times begin at 9:00 AM. The number and initial start time of tee times is subject to the approval of the Spring Creek Golf Professional staff. The Tee Time and Rules Committee coordinates these events and will notify all members of the current schedule weekly via , as well as notifying the membership of any sudden changes to the schedule. c. Member Sign-up for Play: Members are to sign-up for each event they plan to play directly with the Pro Shop staff. It is important that members sign up no later than 2 days before the event to ensure a slot is available. Unused tee times will be released to the Pro Shop d. On Day of Play: Players should arrive no later than 30 minutes prior to the 1st tee time, and report to the Tee Time Tsar, or his designated representative. Players arriving less than 15 minutes before the 1st tee time may or may not be able to be accommodated. The Tee Time and Rules Committee Chairman or his designate is the sole authority for this determination. e. Rules of Play: USGA rules govern all play unless modified by the Head Golf Professional, the Tee Time Tsar, or his designated representative. All events are to be played in concert with the SSCMGA core values. f. Daily Game Fees: Participation in the daily game is optional. Players wishing to participate in the daily game are to pay their $10.00 fee directly to the Golf Professional staff. Those opting not the pay the entry fee, but wishing to play in the game, must let the Tee Time and Rules Committee Chairman or his designate running the game know prior to teeing off on the starting hole. 2 P a g e G u i d e l i n e s

3 g. Pairings/Games: As noted above, Thursday is the official day of play for the SSCMGA. The Pro Shop selects a game to be played and organizes the pairings in conjunction with the Tee Time and Rules Committee Chairman. For normal Monday play, players may make their own foursomes and play an individual net 18-hole score with full handicap. Players who do not form their own groups will be grouped by the Tee Time and Rules Committee Chairman. For normal Tuesday play, players see the Tee Time and Rules Committee Chairman and draw for pairings for a 4-man combined Stableford event. Based on the number of total participants, the teams on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays may need to be modified from four-man teams to threesomes or as deemed necessary. On any day, the Tee Time and Rules Committee Chairman or his designate may redistribute players among the teams to help speed play. In order to make the Monday competition more equitable for the lower handicap players, the Tee Time and Rules Committee Chairman or his designate reserves the right to flight players based on their handicaps and number of participants. h. Payouts: Winning teams or individuals are paid immediately after play by the Tee Time and Rules Committee Chairman or his designate. Payouts for the Monday and Tuesday games are determined in advance by the numbers of individuals or teams playing. The Tee Time and Rules Committee Chairman or his designate reserve the right to determine/adjust the amounts paid out. Payout for the Thursday games are credited by the Pro Shop to the players credit book. i. Historical records of winners and payouts are managed by the Chair of the Competition Committee or his designate. Players are encouraged record their scores in a timely manner. The Chair of the Competition Committee or his designate reserves the right to check member handicaps on a periodic basis. j. Interclub Matches/Special Events: The Tournament Committee Chairman in conjunction with the Pro Shop is responsible for scheduling/coordinating all interclub home and away matches and special events. Members are encouraged to sign up for these events in a timely manner. The Tournament Committee Chairman or his designate reserves the right to adjust the rosters and will set the local rules for each match as needed. 4. Scoring and Competition Integrity: To ensure scoring accuracy, a SSCMGA score card box will be placed in a location TBD, and scores/rounds posted will be crosschecked regularly by the Competition Committee chairman. After each Home round, and as soon as possible after Away rounds, members are to deposit signed score cards into the SSCMGA Box. Members found with inaccurate handicap indexes due to fraudulent posting of scores will not be allowed to participate in SSCMGA events. Golf is, and always has been, a game of honesty. Let s all ensure it remains that way. 3 P a g e G u i d e l i n e s

4 5. Pace of Play: All players are encouraged to maintain a pace of play that ensures all golfers are able to promptly move from one shot to the next and from hole to hole. Players should recognize that their pace of play affects others and they should play promptly throughout the round. When we take an honest look at ourselves, we often discover we re doing some of the same things to slow down play that we re complaining about others doing. It takes all of us working together to solve and prevent the conditions of slow play. All players are encouraged to maintain a manner and pace of play that is in concert with the SSCMGA s core values of Openness Respect, Integrity and Fun. For 2019, the USGA has developed several new rules that support this objective that the SSCMGA will implement for all our Tuesday and Thursday regularly scheduled events. These include: a. Limiting the search for lost balls to 3 minutes (USGA Rule 18.2) b. Use of Maximum Score (USGA Rule 21.2) i. Our Maximum Score will continue to be Double Bogey for the Tuesday Stableford Game. If a ball is not holed out by a double bogey score, please pick up. ii. When playing a game that does not require all players to post a score (Better Ball, Cha-Cha-Cha, etc.) please pick up when the required team score or scores have been achieved. If you wish to post a score, you can use the USGA s Expected Score procedure. I.e., estimate the score you would typically make from that position, such as a two putt or a chip and two putts. As always, scores posted must reflect the USGA s Equitable Stroke Control. c. Conceded putts: The SSCMGA encourages all participants to putt out per USGA guidelines. That said, allowing conceded putts in the Monday/Tuesday and Thursday games remains the purview of the Tee Time and Rules Committee Chairman and must be agreed to by all participants in each playing group. Conceded putts must be within the average length of a standard putter grip ( inside the leather ). The Pro Shop will set the policy for all special events such as the Member-Guest, VSGA events and the Cannon Cup, etc. d. Play Ready Golf: (USGA Rule 5.6B) Allows/encourages players to play out of turn and when safe and appropriate. For example: i. On the Tee: 1. First players in the group should be ready to hit as soon as the fairway is clear. 2. Let shorter hitters and walkers tee off first, if practical. 3. Follow all shots by all players visually. 4. Clear the tee promptly after your shot. ii. In the General Area (Fairway and Rough): 1. When driving or riding, go to the shorter hitter s ball, get yardage and needed club(s), then go to the longer hitter s ball. 2. Hit your shot, then help look for another player s potential lost ball. 4 P a g e G u i d e l i n e s

5 3. No Ball Hawking! 4. Use the Alternative Stroke and Distance Rule (USGA recommended Local Rule) a. Identify spot where the ball is likely to have gone out of bounds/was lost. Go to the nearest edge of the fairway, no closer to the hole and drop. Two stroke penalty. b. Only exception is on a Par 3. iii. On the Green: 1. Help bunkered players by marking their ball while they rake the bunker; play your shot to allow time for them to prepare to putt. 2. Read your putt while waiting your turn to play. 3. Leave the pin in when it will speed play. 4. Clear the green promptly when finished with a hole. 5. Record scores at the next tee, not on the Green. iv. Other: In addition to the above, the Tee Time and Rules Committee Chairman or his designate reserves the right to: 1. Make use of shotgun starts (in coordination with the Pro Shop) to speed pace of play depending on the number of participants playing in an event. 2. Mix walkers and Riders. 3. Mix high handicap with low handicap players. 4. Encourage players to double up (riding) when possible in Cart Path Only conditions. 5. Adjust playing rules when conditions warrant (i.e., due to extremely wet conditions, washed out bunkers, aerification of the course, etc.) 6. By-Laws: For additional information on the SSCMGA, members are encouraged to visit the Spring Creek Living website ( and select Golf Club from the top menu banner or go directly to the golf club website ( From there, select member Sign in and click on the Seniors link to review the 2019 By-Laws and to sign up for upcoming events. As always, the Board of Directors also stand ready to assist in any way possible to make your Spring Creek Senior Men s Golf Association membership a thoroughly enjoyable experience. Your 2019 Spring Creek Senior Board of Directors: Scott Hayden, George Graf, Dick Jackson, Charlie Hess, Mike Holshey, Rich Stover and Bob Kuhnle. Ad Hoc Members: Bill Holet, Jim Osterholt, Mike Johnson 5 P a g e G u i d e l i n e s