Holes declared Out of Play

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Can one or more holes on a course be declared ‘out of play’ after a competition being played over the course has started.

Is the answer to the above changed if some competitors have played the holes without knowing they are ‘out of play’

Does it change anything specifically WHS related, if the reason for them being declared ‘out of play’ is that work being done on them means it or they are being played short and their shortening makes the course too variant from it’s measured length to be acceptable for WHS purposes. Declare the hole(s) ‘out of play’ and an ‘expected score’ for it/each can be added to each players record for WHS purposes.

 

[Steven Rules]

This guidance from Committee Procedures 5A:

The following points in relation to the format of the competition should be specified [in the Terms of the Competition] where required ..... Number and order of holes in a round.

The Terms of the Competition set out the structure of the competition and once a competition has started, the terms may be altered only in very exceptional circumstances.

An example of a situation where the Terms of the Competition should not be altered:

Since players begin a round with the expectation that a certain number of holes will be played and may base their play on that, the number of holes to be played in a round should not be changed once that round has started.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

This guidance from Committee Procedures 5A:

The following points in relation to the format of the competition should be specified [in the Terms of the Competition] where required ..... Number and order of holes in a round.

The Terms of the Competition set out the structure of the competition and once a competition has started, the terms may be altered only in very exceptional circumstances.

An example of a situation where the Terms of the Competition should not be altered:

Since players begin a round with the expectation that a certain number of holes will be played and may base their play on that, the number of holes to be played in a round should not be changed once that round has started.

As you might imagine this happened to me today.

The intention was that the comp would count for WHS, but it was realised after it had started that the course was too short with the shortened holes. So the message went out that for WHS purposes the holes would be considered ‘out of play’. Notwithstanding the fact that the number of holes players played was not changed, though two were discarded post-round - do I take from this that, as a minimum, the round should not be included in the Handicap Record of any player.

Last para…I did try and argue that logic with my three playing companions after the round…when we discovered two holes we had played had been declared out of play one hour after we started the round…but unknown to us. Their argument was ‘well how would you have played them differently?’ I said it doesn’t really matter…I could have, indeed I might have chosen to withdraw had I known. I did get some way with them when I said ‘what if I’d been scoring well, but took a ten on one of them…don’t you think I might have been gutted and my thinking for the rest of the round, or for the next few holes at least, may have been screwed up, or I took greater risks to try and recover the situation?’

 

[woofers]

The intention was that the comp would count for WHS, but it was realised after it had started that the course was too short with the shortened holes. So the message went out that for WHS purposes the holes would be considered ‘out of play’. Notwithstanding the fact that the number of holes players played was not changed, though two were discarded post-round - do I take from this that, as a minimum, the round should not be included in the Handicap Record of any player.

Is there scope in the Rules of Handicapping Rule 3.2, clarification 3.2b/2 for the holes to be declared out of play and (NS) net par recorded against these ?