GPO Summer League Rules

Golf Rules

1. The league will follow USGA Rules unless otherwise specified.
2. The league will allow the movement of the ball up to one club length, no closer to the hole, when the ball comes to rest in the fairway of the current hole being played.
3. Players are encouraged to use the “inside the leather” rule.  This means that if the ball comes to rest on the green and if it is closer to the hole than the length of a normal putter shaft measured between the bottom of the grip and the top of the putter head, then the putt is conceded.
   1. If a putt is conceded, the golfer should pick up their ball and count the stroke that would have been made to hole the ball
4. Areas of the course and rules
   1.  Fairway – The closely mown area usually bounded by rough, hazards, bunkers and cart paths that covers most of the length of par 4 and 5 holes and lead up to the green.  The closely mown area around the green is considered part of the fairway.  The player may move the ball 1 club length in the fairway no closer to the hole.
   2. Rough – the usually less closely mown grassy areas that surround the fairway, hazards, putting greens, bunkers and cart paths.  You must play the ball as it lies in the rough and may not take any relief without penalty except:
      1. Roots and rocks – If your ball comes to rest on or very near a root or rock that may either damage your club or cause injury, you may move the ball to the nearest point of relief, no closer to the hole.
   3. Hazards – water features or areas marked with red stakes.  Hitting into a hazard requires one of the following:
      1. Play the ball from where it lies.  No penalty
      2. Take relief from the hazard by dropping the ball within 2 club lengths of the place where the ball crossed into the hazard and no closer to the hole.  This incurs a 1 stroke penalty
   4. Out of bounds – indicated by white stakes, public roads and permanent property fences.  When hitting out of bounds you may either:
      1. 1. Declare a provisional by actually announcing to the other players that you will be hitting a provisional, then replaying the ball from the original position.  This incurs a 1 stroke penalty.
         2. If the original ball is later found to be in bounds, the player can continue playing the original ball with no penalty.  If the original ball is out of bounds, then the player continues with the provisional ball and any penalties incurred. 
         3. Move to the place where the ball crossed out of bounds, move laterally to the edge of the fairway, no closer to the hole, and drop the ball in the fairway within 2 club lengths of the fairway edge.  This incurs a 2 stroke penalty
   5. Bunkers – sand-filled areas adjacent to the fairways and greens.
      1. 1. If your ball is in the bunker and is in standing water, you may take the closest relief, no closer to the hole but still in the bunker.  If there is no such relief in the bunker, the player may take the nearest relief no closer to the hole outside of the bunker.
   6. Cart paths – paved areas for carts to include any bridges.  If your ball comes to rest on a cart path or your stance is affected by the cart path, find the nearest point of relief where you can make a stance away from the cart path and then drop the ball one club length from that point, no closer to the hole.  No penalty assessed.
   7. Putting green – the very closely mown area surrounding the hole.
      1. For the current greens at Scenic Hills, due to the condition of the greens, the player may move the ball one club length and no closer to the hole in an attempt to find a better line to the cup

Teams

1. Each team will consist of two players, one of which must be a current or former employee of Navy Federal Credit Union.  Exceptions can only be made by the commissioner of the league.
2. Each team is responsible for creating a name for their team and notifying the commissioner.
   1. Teams that do not provide a name by the first official week of the season, will be assigned a team name by the commissioner or scorekeeper for the league.
3. Attendance/Subs
   1. If a player is unable to play in a match, they should attempt to find a substitute player to play in their place.  Each team may only use one sub in a match.
   2. The league will publish a list of substitute players that may be available, but it is up to the player/team to notify their partner, the commissioner, their opponents, and find substitutes when they become aware that they will not be able to attend a scheduled match.
   3. If no substitute can be found, the match can still be played with only one team member in attendance.  Note that this means that the team will use the single player’s score as the team score on every hole.
   4. Any amateur golfer may play as a substitute, however, utilizing substitutes with established league handicaps will be in the best interest of the team utilizing the substitute.
   5. If a team cannot make it to the scheduled match:
      1. A representative of the team must work with the commissioner, scorekeeper, and their scheduled opponent, or league member as a witness, to reschedule the match sometime between the prior week’s match and the Sunday before the next week’s matches.
      2. Providing a valid scorecard to the scorekeeper in the allotted time is the responsibility of the team making up the match.
      3. Failure to reschedule the match, provide subs, or provide the scorecard to the scorekeeper by the following week’s match will result in the application of the following rules:
         1. The team that played the match will automatically receive 12 points and the “no-show” team will get 0 (zero) points.
         2. The team that played the match can receive up to 20 points by playing well.  Each member of the team has the ability to earn up to 4 points each during the round.  Points are awarded based on the following:
            1. If a player shoots par + handicap, they will earn one additional point for the team
            2. If a player shoots par + handicap -1, they will earn two additional points for the team
            3. If a player shoots par + handicap -2, they will earn three additional points for the team
            4. If a player shoots par + handicap -3 or better, they will earn four additional points for the team

Matches and Scoring 

1. A match consists of nine holes of golf between two teams of two players each, for a total of four players per match
   1. Each hole in a match is worth 2 points.
      1. The team score on a hole is determined by whichever team member has the lowest net score after applying any handicap strokes received by an individual on the hole
      2. The team having the lowest score on the hole receives 2 points and the other team receives 0 (zero) points for the hole
      3. If the two teams tie for the lowest score, then each team will receive 1 point for the hole.
   2. The maximum score a player can have on a given hole is 3 over par (or triple bogey) which is:
      1. 6 on a par 3 hole
      2. 7 on a par 4 hole
      3. 8 on a par 5 hole
         1. If a player reaches triple bogey and has yet to hole the ball, the player will pick up his/her ball and receive an ‘X’ on the scorecard for that hole.
            1. A player with an ‘X’ for a hole, cannot win that hole
               1. Any other player in the match holing the ball in triple bogey or less is considered to have a lower score than ‘X’.
               2. If all four players in the match score an ‘X’ on a given hole, the hole is considered a tie and each team will receive 1 point for that hole
               3. For handicapping purposes, a score of ‘X’ on the scorecard will be converted to triple bogey for the hole
2.  At the end of the match, the team with the highest score wins the match
   1. The team that wins the match will receive an extra 2 points for winning the match.
   2. If the teams end up in a 9 to 9 tie, each team receives 1 extra point for the match

League and Scoring

1. Each week, the team adds the points scored in the match that week to their season total.
2. At the end of the season, the teams that have the 8 highest scores will advance to the playoffs
3. In the case of a tie for the a playoff position, the tie will be broken by the following tiebreakers, in order of application:
   1. Regular season head-to-head results
   2. Regular season record
   3. Regular season total points against common opponents
   4. Regular season results of individual common opponents, starting with the common opponent that is rated highest in the end of season rankings and working down through the rankings.

Playoffs

18 Or Less Teams in the League

1. The playoffs are a single-elimination tournament of 8 teams, with the top 4 teams receiving awards.
2. Ties in playoff matches
   1. 1. There cannot be a tie in a playoff match
      2. If, after 9 holes of a playoff match, the match is tied at 9-9, the match will proceed to the next hole and continue forward to subsequent holes until the match is decided or suspended.
      3. The tied match is not completed until one of the teams has won a hole by holing the ball with the lowest number of strokes on that hole.  NOTE: Handicap points for holes will still be observed during the extra holes.
      4. If the match cannot continue (darkness, inclement weather, etc.) or if subsequent checking of scorecards reveals a tie when the match was thought to be completed, the following order of tiebreakers will be applied:
         1. Regular season head-to-head results
         2. Regular season total points against common opponents
         3. Regular season results of individual common opponents, starting with the common opponent that is rated highest in the end of season rankings and working down through the rankings.
         4. Best 2 out of 3 coin tosses.
3. The first week of the playoffs, starting with the first seed, each of the top four seeds will play the lowest seed available
   1. 1. Top seed will play the 8th seed
      2. 2nd seed will play the 7th seed
      3. 3rd seed will play the 6th seed
      4. 4th seed will play the 5th seed
4. The teams that lose on week 1 are eliminated from the playoffs.
5. The second week of the playoffs, the highest seed that won in week 1 will play the lowest seed that won in week 1 and the two other teams will play each other.
6. The third week of the playoffs, the two winning teams from week 2 of the playoffs will play to determine the champion and the 2nd place team, while the teams that lost their match on week 2 of the playoffs will play to determine 3rd an 4th place.
7. In the case of scheduling conflicts during the playoffs, it is at the commissioner’s discretion to declare any combination of the following:
   1. Reschedule the match/matches
   2. Declare the match forfeit
   3. Penalize the team causing the issue by awarding their opponent extra strokes or removing strokes from them

More Than 18 Teams in the League

1. The playoffs are a single-elimination tournament of 4 rounds with 12 teams until the finals, where the top 2 team play for the championship and the teams that lost in the semi-final play for third place.
2. Ties in playoff matches
   1. 1. There cannot be a tie in a playoff match
      2. If, after 9 holes of a playoff match, the match is tied at 9-9, the match will proceed to the next hole and continue forward to subsequent holes until the match is decided or suspended.
      3. The tied match is not completed until one of the teams has won a hole by holing the ball with the lowest number of strokes on that hole.  NOTE: Handicap points for holes will still be observed during the extra holes.
      4. If the match cannot continue (darkness, inclement weather, etc.) or if subsequent checking of scorecards reveals a tie when the match was thought to be completed, the following order of tiebreakers will be applied:
         1. Regular season head-to-head results
         2. Regular season total points against common opponents
         3. Regular season results of individual common opponents, starting with the common opponent that is rated highest in the end of season rankings and working down through the rankings.
         4. Best 2 out of 3 coin tosses.
3. The top 4 teams will have a bye for the first week of the playoffs, and the 5th through 12th seeds will play for advancement to the second round.
   1. 1. 5th seed will play the 12th seed
      2. 6th seed will play the 11th seed
      3. 7 seed will play the 10th seed
      4. 8th seed will play the 9th seed
4. The teams that lose on week 1 are eliminated from the playoffs.
5. The second week of the playoffs, the winners of the first round will play for advancement to the third round
   1. Top seed will play the lowest seed from round 1
   2. 2nd seed will play the second lowest seed from round 1
   3. 3rd seed will play the third lowest seed from round 1
   4. 4th seed will play the highest seed from round 1
6. The teams that lose on week 2 are eliminated from the playoffs.
7. The third week of the playoffs, the highest seed that won in week 2 will play the lowest seed that won in week 2 and the two other teams will play each other.
8. The fourth week of the playoffs, the two winning teams from week 3 of the playoffs will play to determine the champion and the 2nd place team, while the teams that lost their match on week 3 of the playoffs will play to determine 3rd an 4th place.
9. In the case of scheduling conflicts during the playoffs, it is at the commissioner’s discretion to declare any combination of the following:
   1. Reschedule the match/matches
   2. Declare the match forfeit
   3. Commissioner reserves the right to declare the winner by whatever means he chooses.

Handicapping

1. All players enter the league with no handicap
2. There will be at least one handicapping week at the beginning of the season to create a base handicap for the new players and subs that do not have a handicap
3. Players returning to the league will be handicapped based on their prior league scores/handicaps by starting with the last 8 scores in the league.
4. Subs who have not played with the league before and do not have an up to date GHIN, will not have a handicap and, for handicapping purposes, will play as a scratch golfer (handicap of zero) the first time they compete.
5. Strokes Given
   1. The strokes given to a player on a hole is dependent upon several factors, including, but not limited to:
      1. The lowest handicap of the foursome, which will automatically receive no handicap strokes
      2. The handicap of the player in question
      3. The difficulty of the hole being played
   2. A player may receive zero, one or more handicap strokes on a given hole based on the factors listed above
   3. Handicapping is the sole purview of the scorekeeper and any questions related to handicaps should be directed toward the scorekeeper.
6. The maximum handicap for Summer League is 20.

Subs

1. Do not have to be current or prior Navy Federal Credit Union employees
2. Are not required to pay league dues
3. Are responsible for paying for their weekly green fees

Hole in 1 Contest

1. Each week players who wish to compete in the Hole in 1 contest will pay $1 to join
2. All entry fees will go to grow the hole in 1 pot
3. A hole in 1 on any hole is eligible for the prize
4. Only players registered for the hole in 1 contest during the week that they score a hole in 1 are eligible to win the money
5. If the pot is unclaimed by the end of the Summer League, the pot will roll over to the Fall League and vice-versa

Closest to The Pin (CTP) Contest

1. A weekly contest that costs $5 to enter.
2. All entry fees collected are put into the pot.
3. A par 3 hole will be designated as the CTP hole.
4. The CTP contest is won by the player entered the CTP contest and who hit their tee shot on the green and closest to the hole (pin) of all players entered in the contest for that week.
5. You cannot use a Tee Buster on the CTP hole if you are entered in the CTP contest.
6. The winner of the CTP contest wins the pot.

Tee Busters

1. A player may purchase one tee buster per round at a cost of $2 per round.
2. A player that has purchased a tee buster for the week, may do the following on a single hole during that week’s competition:
   1. If your tee box is the White tee box, you may move up to the Red Tees
   2. If your tee box is the Orange tee box, you may move up to the Red Tees
   3. If your tee box is the Red tee box, you may move up to the Purple Tees
3. If you are entered in the CTP contest, you may not use a tee buster on the CTP hole.
4. All proceeds from the Tee Buster sales will go to a charitable cause as designated by the Commissioner

Birdie-Eagle Contest

1. There is no additional cost for this contest
2. During each round, each birdie, net birdie, eagle and net eagle will be recorded.
3. The scoring for each will be as follows:
   1. Birdie – 1.5points
   2. Net Birdie – 1 point
   3. Eagle – 2.5 points
   4. Net Eagle 2 points
4. At the end of the season, the member with the highest score will win the contest and will receive a trophy or medallion