Saturday Golf League Rules of Play

The league plays to the USGA Rules with a couple of exceptions. They are as follows:

• If you land in an un-repaired divot in the fairway you may take a drop no nearer the hole, without penalty. If a divot is sanded or otherwise repaired or not in the fairway, you must play it as it lies.
• You may tap down any spike marks in the line of your putt.
• If you hit a tee shot (or any shot) and there is any question as to whether it is OB, immediately hit a provisional shot (with the appropriate penalty). If you do not and you find your ball is OB, you must take a drop where the ball last crossed grass with a 2-stroke penalty.  There is no going back to the tee, as we wish to maintain the speed of play. If you go all the way back to the tee, it still counts as a two-stroke penalty because you chose not to hit your provisional when you had the opportunity.
• You may only look for a ball for five minutes. After that take a drop and the appropriate penalty.
• If there is a question about a rule, call your foursome together to get a ruling. If it is still in question, finish the hole with that ball and a second ball with the secondary rule application. Upon completion of play, you and at least one other from your foursome will explain the issue to the Tournament coordinator. He / She and the Head Pro will then make appropriate Rule Decision and count the applicable score.

For weekly SGL events, if a ball comes to rest in a natural desert area or in an area landscaped to resemble a natural desert, a player may abandon the ball and drop another ball within two (2) club lengths nearest to the point where the original ball last crossed the margin of the desert with a one (1) stroke penalty.  The SGL may choose to declare this rule non-applicable for certain events.

 Situations to consider relative to the Desert Rule:

1)      The original ball may be played from the desert provided the course allows entry into and allows play from the desert area.

2)      The margin of the desert is the line established by the end of the grass and the beginning of the desert area.

3)      The original ball does not have to be found in order to apply the “Desert Rule” when there is reasonable certainty that the ball did in fact come to rest in the desert and searching for the ball would likely delay play.

4)      If the ball is hit out of bounds or a possibility it was hit out of bounds after passing through or over the desert area, the player and playing group may agree by consensus opinion to declare the ball out of bounds and apply the stroke and distance penalty prescribed by the USGA rule for a ball hit out of bounds.

5)      If a player chooses to apply the “Desert Rule”, and the point of entry is in question, the player and playing group must agree to the point of entry by consensus opinion.

6)      A provisional ball should be played if the ball does not clearly pass over a desert area (tee shot).  If the playing group cannot reach a consensus opinion about the point of entry into the desert a provisional ball should immediately be played and then if the  ball cannot be found then the penalty for a lost ball prescribed by the USGA will apply.

Consensus means a majority of the playing group of which the player is a part of.

Results will be posted on the website for review within 24 hrs of play, any questions regarding the results may be made until the following Tuesday at midnight, at which time, the results become official.

Please refer any result questions to either Steve Richter or Dave Dean.

Any side games (such as CTP’s, Deuces, etc.) that do not show a clear winner or does not produce a winner, all funds for that given game will be put into the general fund and put towards the SGL Cup.

The league uses the ready golf rules, forget honors golf.

• Keep up to the group ahead of you. Do not just stay ahead of the group behind you.
• When in the fairway, If not in their line of flight, drop off your fellow cart player and drive to your ball. There is no need to watch him / her hit and then drive to your ball to get distance and choose a club. Be ready to hit.
• If not in another player’s line or sight, please clean your ball and read your putt when another player is putting. Again, be ready to take your shot.
• We wish to maintain a good pace of play but do not wish to harm any fellow competitors. For this reason, the following are always in effect:
  1. Do not hit into the group ahead you. The first time is a warning and the second is a 1-stroke penalty.
  2. At any time, if you hit a player in the group ahead of you, who is playing the same hole, you will received a two stroke penalty.

Starting on 9/1/2009 (Season 2009 / 2010), the SGL handicap Indexes will be based on the following formula. A minimum of 3 completed tournament rounds during the last calendar year will be required to establish a calculated index. If any Active Member does not meet this requirement the SGL Handicap Index will be set by the SGL Handicap Committee.

Participation:

Competition:

SAVE $10.00 when you register for ALL THREE Pay-in Events at same time!!

With our 2011-12 Saturday Golf League weekly tournament play upon us, starting with our event at Superstition Mountain (September 10, 2011), we are pleased to announce the following list of exciting play action events. These EXTRA GAMES run during the Fall/Spring calendar schedule; and in many cases, are played within the normal course of weekly play. They are FUN events that offer some added competition AND some attractive PAYOUTS!!!

I encourage everyone to become familiar with these events. While they may not require you to play every Saturday event to actually maintain participation, know that certain events may be KEY TOURNAMENTS in the quest to becoming a finalist and achieving the eventual monetary awards. These extended SGL extra games use league handicaps and you will be able to track your standings on our enhanced WEBSITE throughout the season. GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF OUR SGL MEMBERS!

Events Summary and Description (rules sheets available for details):

SGL CUP-- similar to the PGA’s FedEx Cup Race, our SGL CUP awards points each week for both participation and your individual achievements. Points accumulate all season long and are used to seed SGL players at the end of season (by FLIGHT) for a 4 WEEK PLAYOFF. Entry to the CUP is included as a member of SGL and pays cash prizes and awards in multiple places by flight. Track your progress and points weekly on Web Site.

RINGERS – this is a unique event scored over 5 rounds of play at the same venue. This season’s RINGERS course (to be determined), consists of 5 rounds spaced over 4 months. Your best 18 hole scorecard using the scores from all five (or less) times you play the Ringers course determines the winners. Payouts will be to both Gross & Net places by flight. One time entry fee for Ringers will be $25.00.  

MATCH PLAY – signup for Match Play competition will begin shortly after “over seeding” takes place in our desert golf course community. This fun alternative will coincide with the weekly stroke play event and pairs off players in a random draw, head-to-head match play tournament with each round winners advancing until an eventual champion is crowned. Player’s league handicaps will be used in match play. Total payout will be based on the number of participants.  Match play entry fee will be $20.00 and payouts to places 1-4. Match play will take place in unison with the scheduled tournament round this year.

SGL CHALLENGE – each week 2 holes will be pre-selected and used in our SGL CHALLENGE. Player’s scores for those holes each week will be recorded and these will be accumulated for your events played. At the end of the season, a player’s BEST 18 challenge holes played will determine final gross and net scores to par.  There is a $25.00 entry fee to participate with payouts for both gross and net winners.

Tee box assignments will now be based upon the course rating and slope and will be assigned by the tournament committee. Any player may move back to other tee boxes with no penalty, but the handicap index calculation will be based on the assigned tees.