LANCASTER SENIOR MEN GOLF ASSOCIATION (LSMGA)

LOCAL RULES OF PLAY

RULES CHAIRMAN

Local rules of play shall be administrated and governed by the Rules Chairman supported by the Rules Committee.

RULES COMMITTEE
Greg Henning and Bob Smith

USGA “Maximum Score Form of Stroke Play” and the “Local Rules” listed below will be used to govern play.

1. Players will be allowed to lift, clean and place their golf ball everywhere except hazards and penalty areas. 1 grip length (no closer to the hole) while staying in the same condition. This can be achieved by marking, lifting, and placing the ball or by rolling it with a club. New Rule: A Ball hit into a Bunker…. At the discretion of the player, based on the condition of the bunker, he may lift, rake and place his ball as close to the original spot as possible no closer to the hole.

2. Local Rule on Hole #9: If a player drives his ball into either pond, or the ditch, from the tee box he shall proceed to the LEFT of the cart path in the drop area that is marked. A 1 stroke penalty shall be assessed. The ball must be placed,in the drop area, therefore he will be playing his 3rd shot to the green.

3. Local Rule on Hole #17: This area has been modified this year to “GUR” Ground Under Repair. This pertains to the ditch, between the two bridges. Balls ending in or within one club length of the ditch on any shot will be allowed to be dropped without penalty. Determine the point where your ball last crossed the margin of the GUR then choose one of the two options below:

  1. Determine nearest point of complete relief outside the GUR and drop a ball within one (1) club length of that point no nearer the hole.
  2.  Back-on-the-Line-Relief. From the point of entry of the GUR visualize a straight line between the flagstick and that point. Go back as far as you choose on that line and drop the ball within one (1) club length.

4. Environmental Areas: All Environmental areas are marked with green/white signs. A ball that lies within one of these areas cannot be played or retrieved. Relief is one club length from where the ball crossed the margin of the area no closer to the hole. NO PENALTY.

5. The area to the left of 14 fairway is now marked with white stakes indicating out of bounds.

6. The log erosion barriers on hole 14: You may move your ball away from the barriers as far back as you want and one club length to the right of the cart path.

7. Maximum Score Form of Stroke Play. Under this USGA scoring method, a player’s score for each hole is capped at a maximum set by the LSMGA Rules Committee. Accordingly, the maximum total an LSMGA player may record on a hole is triple bogey. Once the player has reached the maximum score for the hole being played, he must pick up his ball. The main reason for implementing this rule is to address and reduce the slow pace of play.

8. Playing from the Forward Tees (formerly know as the Red Tees) – To provide a more playable course and enjoyable experience for some of our members, the league will offer the option of playing from the Forward Tees for all 18 holes, based on criteria established by the Rules Committee.

  • A member may opt to play from the ForwardTees for the entire season if his age, as of the first day of league play, plus handicap total 90. The handicap will be based on the ending handicap from the previous season, which can be found on the league’s website. After determining qualification, the member will declare his intention to play the Forward Tees on the membership registration form when paying his annual dues.The playing status cannot be changed during the season, even if the member’s handicap drops and reduces his total below the qualifying score of 95. The players qualification for the forward tees will continue each year after his first year of playing the forward tees.

9. All players are to play from the Forward Tee Box on Hole #15.  The Gold Tees will be moved to the forward tee box for our League.

10.The Flagstick: Effective with the round of play on August 17th, 2022, the Flagstick may now be removed from the Hole.  So the ball MUST be putted into the hole.  If the Flagstick is left in the hole, the ball is considered in the cup if it is wedged between the edge of the cup and the Flagstick, if it is below the surface of the Green.  If your Ball hits the Flagstick and bounces away from the hole, it is NOT considered in the hole. For a shot to be considered a hole-in-one, the ball must rest in the cup.

 11. Alternative to Stroke and Distance for Lost Ball or Ball Out of Bounds. Our league has voted on and adopted this local rule: Playing a provisional ball is prohibited. Significant issues with pace of play can result for a player needing to take stroke-and-distance relief for a ball that is out of bounds or cannot be found. When a player’s ball has not been found or is known or virtually certain to be out of bounds, the player may proceed as follows rather than proceeding under stroke and distance.For two penalty strokes, the player may drop within two club lengths from the edge of the fairway on the hole being played, no nearer the hole. If all players do not know the approximate location of a lost ball on a tee shot, the player shall drop a ball at the beginning of the fairway and take a two stroke penalty.

12. Self policing Association: Rules are used to keep competition fair for everyone. If a member observes someone breaking a rule, correct them with a friendly reminder. If a member feels a player has entered wrong (lower) strokes, scores or points for personal gain it is the members responsibility to call them on it. All members are reminded to talk to the player who’s conduct is in question in hopes any concerns can be resolved before bringing any rules infractions to the attention of the Rules Chairman.

13. Scoring rules for an individual with no opponent:

If you are playing with no opponent for your Wednesday match the following scoring system will now be in place.

  • You will play against one of the two other players in your threesome.
  • You will score your points based on the closest handicap player in your threesome. (if the two players’ handicaps are the same you may pick which player for your match on your first hole)
  • The person you will be playing against will NOT get additional points during this match.Examples Group with three players.                        Player X: handicap is 10                        Player Y: handicap is 13                        Player Z: handicap is 20Player X and Y are playing their match as usual.  Player Z will match his score against Player Y because his handicap is closest. Player Z will get 7 strokes on the 7 most difficult holes.  Player Z will determine his points based on the scores of Player Y and his own score.  Player Y will NOT gain any additional points based on the match with Player Z. 

 

Rain Delays and league Cancellations

League Officers are authorized to cancel league play at any time up to one hour after league play is scheduled to tee off.  Due to weather conditions, if enough members cancel making it impractical to conduct the match play format, the officers may consider authorizing a stroke-play-only event.  Concurrence of a majority of the officers is required for the decision.

LSMGA Videos

In order to better understand the rules of golf as well as  local rules specific to the LSMGA league that apply we have created these short entertaining videos and content herein.

 

 

New USGA Rules

Here is a link to videos and explanations of the USGA Rule Changes

 

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