General Rules
The rules exist to make sure everyone is on an even playing field. Everyone playing by the same rules is the only fair way to play all of our various games. Basically, feel good about the decisions you make.
The handicap allowance is 85%. Your index will be reduced by 15% and that reduced index will be used to calculate a course handicap for a given round.
This avoids double rounding (which would be caused by calculating your course handicap to the nearest whole number first, then reducing that number by 15% and again rounding to the nearest whole number).
Each individual player needs to use the course handicap calculator to figure out his own course handicap. This course handicap will be used for all games we’re playing.
Play the ball as it lies unless you are on the green, fairway, or fringe. On the green, normal ball-marking rules apply. Through the green, the following rule applies as to preferred lies:
When a player’s ball lies in a part of the general area cut to fairway height or less, the player may take free relief once by placing the original ball or another ball within six (6) inches of where it originally lay, not nearer the hole and in the same area of the course.
When a player’s ball lies in a bunker or a part of the general area that is not cut to fairway height or less and the player reasonably believes that a natural swing path in a justifiable direction would cause his club to strike a rock or tree root, he may take free relief once by placing the original ball or another ball within six (6) inches of where it originally lay, not nearer the hole and in the same area of the course, recreating the original lie as nearly as possible and without creating a better angle of play towards the hole. This relief must be confirmed by an opponent before the ball is lifted.
As a reminder, the “general area” includes everywhere on the course except bunkers, penalty areas, the teeing area, and putting green of the hole you are playing, meaning the “rock and root rule” does not apply to penalty areas.
So, pretty simple. If you’re in the rough and won’t hit a rock or root, you simply play the ball exactly as you find it. No fluffing it up. No making a better angle. If you pick it up to identify it, then you recreate the same original crap lie when you place it back down. Yes, that means you’re likely going to have to hit sideways at some point during the trip. And yes, a bad lie in the rough is likely to cost you a hole here and there. You may even end up taking an unplayable or two. That’s kind of the point (and I’m saying all of this as the person that will 100% be in the rough more than anyone else).
Tilt is our Modified Stableford scoring system with a twist. Whenever you make a net birdie (or better), the next hole gets an additional 1x multiplier. The multiplier applies to both good and bad scores and the multipliers continue to stack until you make a net par or worse, which resets the scoring back to normal.
So, if you make a net birdie (or better), the next hole is worth 2x the below table. If you make a second consecutive net birdie (or better), the third hole is worth 3x the table below. This continues until you make a net par or worse.
Yes, the tilt multiplier carries over from one round to the next. Here’s to hoping someone gets to sit on a big multiplier Friday evening and all Saturday morning knowing that hole 1 at Tobacco Road is next (it’s just a long par 5 that’s the number 3 handicap hole).
- Albatross (net) 12 points
- Eagle (net) 8 points
- Birdie (net) 4 points
- Par (net) 2 points
- Bogey (net) 1 point
- Double bogey or worse (net) -2 points
Games
We’re simplifying things a bit this year. More Ryder Cup style with match play. Best net stroke play performers still win a per-round game.
This is the cumulative, trip-long team game with two, six-man teams. The buy-in for each player is $150, with members of the losing team paying members of the winning team.
We have seven rounds on the books that constitute the team game, and the scoring for each round is as follows:
- Rounds 1-3 (9 total points): Eighteen-hole two-man best ball match play.
- Rounds 4-5 (12 total points) Each nine will be it’s own nine-hole two-man best ball match play.
- Round 6 (6 total points) 18-hole individual match play.
- Round 7 (12 total points) Each nine will be it’s own nine-hole individual match play match.
The first team to reach 20 points wins. If there is a tie, the team with the number one overall individual point getter will win.
This is the cumulative, trip-long individual tilt game with a buy-in of $50 per person, for a total pot of $600. Third will get his money back ($50), second will get 30% of the remaining pot ($165), and first will get 70% of the remaining pot ($385).
The scoring is the exact same as the team tilt game. In the event of a tie, the player with the better worst round will win the tiebreaker (meaning, the player with the highest floor throughout the trip wins).
This the individual per-round game. It is standard individual net stroke play, and lowest net score wins the pot for that round. No stableford and no tilt; the goal here is simply to reward the guy that plays the best relative to his own ability in a given round. The buy-in for the per round individual game is $5/person, giving us a $60 pot for each round.
We’ll use a net double bogey max on a given hole to keep things simple. In the event of a tie, the winner will be the player with the most net albatrosses, then net eagles, then net birdies, and so on.
The birdie game is played per round. For every net birdie a player makes, all other players pay 35 cents into the pot.
The player that makes a net birdie (or better) latest in the round wins the pot for that round. If two players tie for latest birdie (or better) and one player made a net eagle while one made a net birdie, the player that made net eagle wins. If multiple players made the same score, the tie breaker is those player’s next latest birdie (or better), and so on. If multiple players tie for the entire round, they split the pot.
This is a trip-long game with a single payout. Every three putt requires the player to put $1.50 into the pot, and there is no cap on the amount of money a player may be required to contribute to the pot.
If you are on the green, the stroke is considered a putt irrespective of the club used. If you are not on the green, the stroke is not considered a putt irrespective of the club used. If you pick up on a hole, that hole is considered a three putt.
The player that makes the longest putt during the final round takes the total pot. A tape measure will be used during the final round to measure the distance from the pin (while in the hole) to the center of the ball. Players must make good faith efforts to not intentionally create situations leading to a long putt attempt.
- Team game: $150
- Individual (trip long): $50
- Individual (per round): $5/round
- Birdies: 35 cents every time another player makes a net birdie or better
- Three putts: $1.50 every time you three putt