New Local Rules

nickjdavis

Head Pro
Joined
Jul 31, 2015
Messages
5,697
Visit site
Is it possible for two different sections of a golf club to adopt/not adopt either of the two new local rules relating to "maximum score" and "the alternative stroke and distance" for the competitions they organise within a club?

The one I'm particularly considering is the maximum score local rule....but I guess the "stroke and distance alternative might come into play as well.

Our seniors have reserved tee time blocks on Mondays and Wednesdays, have their own committee and organise their own competitions....some of which, depending upon the format they play, are qualifying competitions. The ladies also have their own committee and also organise some of their own competitions on Thursday's which are generally all qualifiers. The main club competitions committee are responsible for organising all other club competitions and are the handicapping authority for the club as a whole.

However, whilst the main committee do not feel that there is an issue with players taking 10,11, 12 or more shots on a hole in the comps that they are directly responsible for organising, it is known that when the Seniors play there have been occasions when they feel that some of the newer players to the game might benefit from such a "maximum score" cap.

So....is it possible that the Seniors, for the specific competitions that they organise (including qualifying comps), can implement the "maximum score" local rule, whilst at the same time the main club competitions committee decide not to introduce it for their competitions?
 
Is it possible for two different sections of a golf club to adopt/not adopt either of the two new local rules relating to "maximum score" and "the alternative stroke and distance" for the competitions they organise within a club?

The one I'm particularly considering is the maximum score local rule....but I guess the "stroke and distance alternative might come into play as well.

Our seniors have reserved tee time blocks on Mondays and Wednesdays, have their own committee and organise their own competitions....some of which, depending upon the format they play, are qualifying competitions. The ladies also have their own committee and also organise some of their own competitions on Thursday's which are generally all qualifiers. The main club competitions committee are responsible for organising all other club competitions and are the handicapping authority for the club as a whole.

However, whilst the main committee do not feel that there is an issue with players taking 10,11, 12 or more shots on a hole in the comps that they are directly responsible for organising, it is known that when the Seniors play there have been occasions when they feel that some of the newer players to the game might benefit from such a "maximum score" cap.

So....is it possible that the Seniors, for the specific competitions that they organise (including qualifying comps), can implement the "maximum score" local rule, whilst at the same time the main club competitions committee decide not to introduce it for their competitions?
Good question..... I watch with interest
 
The Maximum Score is an alternative form of competition rather than a rule to be applied as a local rule to other comps.
See New Rule 21.2.
If your seniors want to organise such a comp I see no reason why a club should not allow it.

There is already a long running thread about the alternative to stroke and distance LR. Personally my view would be that it would be up to your club's main committee to allow a section to implement their own Rules of the Competition.

I would have thought however that the club may need the Local Rule to state something like the Allowable Local Rule E5 may be implemented for specific competitions.
 
I would add that one of the problems we have had in the past is that a group of players who are say seniors do not only play in seniors comp and it could caused confusion with them when there were
different rules for the same format of golf depending on who organised it. WE now have a club that states that seniors must use the same rules for the usual type of formats EG STFRD and stroke.

Hence at our club we are unlikely to differentiate between competition play and social play when it comes to the new rule E5.
 
Maximum Score will be a recognised format for a competition. In the same way as you probably have medals, stablefords, foursomes, 4 BBBs etc on the go, just add Maximum Score competitions to the mix.

I would wait and see what CONGU decides about qualifiers before deciding anything about adopting the local rule.
 
Maximum score is only relevant for medal competitions. Hence if the relevant committee defines the medal competition as a maximum score competition then everyone should be happy.
 
Is it possible for two different sections of a golf club to adopt/not adopt either of the two new local rules relating to "maximum score" and "the alternative stroke and distance" for the competitions they organise within a club?

The one I'm particularly considering is the maximum score local rule....but I guess the "stroke and distance alternative might come into play as well.

Our seniors have reserved tee time blocks on Mondays and Wednesdays, have their own committee and organise their own competitions....some of which, depending upon the format they play, are qualifying competitions. The ladies also have their own committee and also organise some of their own competitions on Thursday's which are generally all qualifiers. The main club competitions committee are responsible for organising all other club competitions and are the handicapping authority for the club as a whole.

However, whilst the main committee do not feel that there is an issue with players taking 10,11, 12 or more shots on a hole in the comps that they are directly responsible for organising, it is known that when the Seniors play there have been occasions when they feel that some of the newer players to the game might benefit from such a "maximum score" cap.

So....is it possible that the Seniors, for the specific competitions that they organise (including qualifying comps), can implement the "maximum score" local rule, whilst at the same time the main club competitions committee decide not to introduce it for their competitions?
As the rule provides for the committee to decide what the maximum score is, providing it satisfies the CONGU requirement of a minimum of net double bogey, I see no reason why they shouldn't be qualifiers.
 
The question seems posed in a deliberately confusing way.

The committee responsible for organising any competition may designate any legal LR as applicable to the competition.

The end.
 
Sorry


There was no intention to confuse. The responses have been clear. Thank you all.
My apologies, I don't know why I put "deliberately" in my response at all; blame the red wine!
Your last paragraph covered the question fully, and yes, the organising committee for any competition can have any valid local rules they wish in place for any competition they run, would be the answer.
Apologies again
 
My apologies, I don't know why I put "deliberately" in my response at all; blame the red wine!
Your last paragraph covered the question fully, and yes, the organising committee for any competition can have any valid local rules they wish in place for any competition they run, would be the answer.
Apologies again

ahh...the old red wine effect...no problem....we've all been there!!!

To be honest I don't think theres going to be an issue....looking through the Seniors competitions I believe that the only "medal" competition they operate is their Championship....all their other qualifying comps are Stableford and the vast majority of the roll up events they play the format is actually at the discretion of the bloke who is organising!! The ladies however might benefit, as when they play their regular medals its not unusual to see a few 12's -15's dotted around a handful of scorecards.

My main real concern was that many of the Seniors also play in the weekend comps and was concerned about the potential chaos ensuing when folks who might be used to picking up after the maximum score was reached, started doing so in main club comps!!!
 
ahh...the old red wine effect...no problem....we've all been there!!!

To be honest I don't think theres going to be an issue....looking through the Seniors competitions I believe that the only "medal" competition they operate is their Championship....all their other qualifying comps are Stableford and the vast majority of the roll up events they play the format is actually at the discretion of the bloke who is organising!! The ladies however might benefit, as when they play their regular medals its not unusual to see a few 12's -15's dotted around a handful of scorecards.

My main real concern was that many of the Seniors also play in the weekend comps and was concerned about the potential chaos ensuing when folks who might be used to picking up after the maximum score was reached, started doing so in main club comps!!!

I completely agree about the potential for chaos. If the seniors only have one medal event, and the club isn't going to adopt it for the men's section, personally I would leave well alone....(but that wasn't the original question 🤔).
 
No. Rule 1-1 provides, The Game of Golf consists in playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules.
 
No. Rule 1-1 provides, The Game of Golf consists in playing a ball with a club from the teeing ground into the hole by a stroke or successive strokes in accordance with the Rules.
How is that relevant to playing under this or any other local rule?

Of course the new rule (1.1) says with some relevance:
1.1 The Game of Golf
Golf is played in a round of 18 (or fewer) holes on a course by striking a ball with a club.
Each hole starts with a stroke from the teeing area and ends when the ball is holed on the
putting green (or when the Rules otherwise say the hole is completed).
For each stroke, the player:
• Plays the course as he or she finds it, and
• Plays the ball as it lies.
But there are exceptions where the Rules allow the player to alter conditions on the course and
require or allow the player to play the ball from a different place than where it lies.
 
Surely unless the players have a different handicap for each section they are in (ie vets and 5/7 day member) the vets would have to play their comps under the same rules applied to the rest of the members as they have only 1 handicap which is administered by the club, not the vets section.
 
Surely unless the players have a different handicap for each section they are in (ie vets and 5/7 day member) the vets would have to play their comps under the same rules applied to the rest of the members as they have only 1 handicap which is administered by the club, not the vets section.
Whilst it's extremely rare for different sections within a single club to play by different Local Rules it is entirely possible for the organising committee of any individual competition to invoke specific local rules. If the competition is being run as a Q comp for handicapping it would be their responsibility to ensure that the LRs they wish to use do not compromise that status.
What can't happen is for different categories of player to play under different Local Rules within the same Q competition.
Handicapping isn't affected by LR - for example if, currently, a club runs a comp without DMDs, and the subsequent one with them permitted, theirs no impact on the handicap of players participating, as there isn't if preferred lies on closely mown areas are added, or removed.
 
The use of a particular local rule makes no difference to handicap calculations.
However, rather bizarrely, CONGU are on the point of announcing that the Lost/OOB local rule may not be used in qualifiers.
They have not yet made a pronouncement on 'maximum score'. I can't see an issue if the max is + or > net double bogey.
But then I didn't see an issue with LB/OOB o_O
 
Top