Rules

BERA Golf Association League Rules – 2023

  1. General Information

  • Each team will consist of two golfers, each with an established handicap, playing as partners. One player may constitute a team, playing against opponents using his own handicap. If one player cannot make a match, he should try to arrange for a league substitute to play in his place. The names and telephone numbers of league substitutes can be found on the Division 1 Team Roster and Division 2 Roster.
  • If a golfer finds that he will have to play a match by himself, he should inform his opponents ahead of time. All matches will be nine holes played at any regulation course agreeable to both teams. A regulation course is defined by the League as having no more than three par-3 holes per nine.
  • One team may not play two matches during a single 9-hole round.
  • Matches may be played during BGA tournaments provided the tournament is being played under stroke play rules.
  • BGA matches are scheduled to be played during the week designated in the schedule, starting Monday and ending the following Sunday. Opposing teams scheduled to play during a given week should make every effort to play that week. Priority should be given to matches scheduled for a given week before arranging make-up matches. If a team anticipates problems playing a match scheduled for a particular week, efforts should be made to play the match in advance or during one of the make-up weeks in the schedule. Teams may play another scheduled match if the team they are scheduled to play in a particular week cannot play.
  • Matches are played using individual handicaps computed by the handicap chairman. The handicaps will be posted on the BGA home page accessible on the internet at https://bera.bnl/golf//. Players will receive strokes equivalent to the difference between their 9-hole handicap and the 9-hole handicap of the player on the opposing team they are matched against. Strokes will be given on the holes as determined by the handicap rating appearing on the scorecard, beginning with the lowest handicap hole. The low handicap player in each match will play scratch.

B. Rules of Play

  • The USGA Rules of Golf for match play (Rule 3.2) as modified only by the BGA Local Rules listed below govern play in the league. All strokes must be played as the ball lies unless permitted under a specific rule.
  • In the BGA team match play, two individuals play as partners, each playing their own ball. The gross score of both partners must be recorded for each hole of the match. If a player fails to complete a hole, the score recorded for that hole will be equal to the number of shots taken up to the point where the player picked up on the hole, plus one additional stroke.
  • Rule 3.2(b) (Concession of Next Stroke, Hole or Match) is amended as follows. A player may concede a stroke or hole at any point. The number of shots recorded for the hole will equal the number of shots taken to that point, plus one stroke for the conceded stroke. Equitable Stroke Control described in Section F governs the maximum score a player may take.
  • Rule 18.2 (Ball is Lost or Out of Bounds) is amended to help speed up play. If a player determines that their ball is lost or out of bounds, and they did not play a provisional ball, the player may proceed as follows rather than proceeding under stroke and distance. For two penalty strokes, the player may take relief by dropping the original ball or another ball in the fairway no more than two club lengths from the rough at the point where it is believed to gone OB or lost.  
  • Rule 16.1 (Immovable Obstruction) is expanded to include road or cart paths that are not artificially surfaced.
  • To provide relief from common undesirable conditions, the definition of ground under repair (Rule 21) is expanded to include: (a) divot holes and other damaged areas, such as cart tracks through the green, and (b) adverse conditions in the fairway only, such as bare spots and heavy grass or unmown areas. Through the green is defined as the whole area of the course except the teeing ground and putting green of the hole being played and all hazards of the course. For Division 1 players, this means you are permitted to prefer the lie of the ball in your own fairway if your ball ends up in one of these undesirable conditions. The ball may be moved to a preferred location within one club length of the ball, but no nearer to the hole. For Division 2 players, you are allowed to prefer the lie of your ball anywhere through the green (i.e., in the fairway or in the rough of the hole being played). The ball may be moved to a preferred location within one club length of the ball, but no nearer to the hole. This provision, however, does not allow the player to improve a lie where the player’s line of flight or the player’s swing is impeded by a tree or any part of a tree. 
  • Relief in sand hazards is provided to include all areas not made by either the ball in play or by the act of playing the ball, such as existing footprints and divots, wheel tracks, behind a rock, and other unraked depressions. Under this local rule, any ball coming to rest in such a condition may be lifted, the area smoothed, and the ball replaced in a lie equivalent to that which it originally occupied. Note, that this means that a ball that was embedded within any of the unrepaired conditions must be replaced in an embedded lie.
  • The USGA Rules of Golf apply without modification in all other circumstances.
  • In the case of claims or disputes, score cards should be left unsigned and retained by all players. The League President should be notified of the problem and will attempt to affect a solution. Failing this, a resolution will be reached by consensus of the BGA Committee. No claims will be considered after the scorecards have been signed and returned. 

C. Scoring

  • Strokes on the scorecard will be based on the lower handicap of the two players in each individual match. The lower handicap player will play scratch while his opponent will receive strokes equal to the difference in their 9-hole handicaps. The strokes will be given as they fall on the scorecard. For example, in a match between Mike (Hdcp. 5) and Joe (Hdcp. 8), Mike will play scratch and Joe will get strokes on the three lowest handicapped holes.
  • This year we will be continuing with the scoring format used the last several years. Three matches will take place simultaneously (i.e., a team match and two individual matches). Under this scoring format, every hole in the individual matches will be worth a point and the players will be competing for a total of nine points. The following example illustrates the scoring format. Mike (Hdcp. 5) and Jim (Hdcp. 6) will play Pete (Hdcp. 6) and Bill Hdcp. (10) in a match. The individual match pairings will be Mike vs. Pete and Jim vs. Bill. In their individual matches, Mike will give Pete one stroke on the No. 1 handicap hole and Jim will give Bill strokes on the four lowest handicap holes. On the first hole at Cherry Creek (the No. 7 handicap hole), Mike and Pete par the hole while Jim and Bill both score bogey 5’s. Mike and Pete tie the hole and earn one half point each and Bill wins one point with his net par compared to Jim’s bogey 5. Following along on the scorecard below, Mike and Pete split their match with 4 ½ points each. In the other individual match, Bill comes out ahead in his match with Jim 5 points to 4. The team totals are Mike and Jim 8 ½ points to 9 ½ points for Pete and Bill.
  • A legible scorecard must be kept by each team, which includes the first initial and last names of each player, the handicaps of each player, gross scores on every hole for each player, the gross 9-hole score of each player, and an accounting of points won by players in the respective individual matches and in the team match.
    One member of each team must sign both scorecards. Completed score cards must be turned in to Mike Bromfield (Bldg. 741) as soon as possible following completion of the match. Scorecards can be scanned and sent to Mike via email at bromfield@bnl.gov. It is the responsibility of the players and not the handicap chairman to properly account for points earned during a match. Score cards turned in without an accounting of match points will be returned to the player who recorded the scores of the match. Individual players are responsible for the accuracy of the scores recorded on the scorecard, and the determination of points awarded for the match. The sample scorecard has been filled out for the hypothetical match between the two teams in the example above to illustrate how the scorecard should be completed.
Cherry Creek Golf Links
Hole

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Out
Blue

446

145

465

623

439

192

352

515

393

3570

White

402

130

411

585

386

163

313

495

371

3256

Gold

362

90

371

495

361

150

300

465

341

2935

Handicap

7

17

5

1

9

15

13

3

11

Mike Smith (5)

41/2

31

50

40

51/2

41

41/2

50

51

39

4 ½

Jim Jones (6)

50

41/2

51/2

51/2

41/2

31

50

50

60

42

4

Team 1

8 ½
Par

4

3

4

5

4

3

4

5

4

36

Pete Brown (6)

41/2

40

41

.  41

51/2

50

41/2

41

60

40

4 ½

Bill White (10)

. 51

41/2

. 61/2

. 61/2

41/2

40

60

. 51

51

45

5

Team 2

9 ½

D. BGA Arbitration and Forfeit Rules

  • It is recommended that scheduled matches be played either before or during the week designated in the schedule. If it is not possible for the two teams to agree on a date for a match within a two-week period beginning with the match date, either team may request that the president assist in the selection of a date and course for the match. If a team does not adhere to the arbitrated decision, they will forfeit the team match.
  • If both members of a team fail to appear at the course for a scheduled match within 30 minutes of the pre-arranged meeting time without notifying the opposing team members, they will automatically forfeit the match. Players on the opposing team who showed up at the course must still play nine holes and will be awarded points for their individual matches as per the table below. If only one player on a team shows up, he will be matched against the player on the two-man team with the handicap that he would have played if his partner had played. The second player on the two-man team will play against the course and will receive points following the schedule below. 

Playing Forfeiting

Player’s Net 9-Hole Score Individual’s Points Individual’s Points

Four or more over par 4 ½ 4 ½

Two to three over par 5 4

Even to one over par 6 3

One to two under par 7 2

Three to four under par 8 1

Five or more under par 9 0

Points awarded for both the team that played and the forfeiting team will be the combined point totals earned by the two players.

  1. Standings

  • The total points accumulated by each team during the season will determine the final team standings within each group. Points from all matches completed on or before noon on Friday August 26 will be counted in the point total. Scorecards turned in to Mike Bromfield after noon on August 25h will not be accepted. Any matches not played will be counted as forfeits with no points earned by players on either team. As in past years, teams are placed into two divisions with two groups per division. The four teams in each division with the highest point totals will qualify for the playoffs, which will commence the week of August 28th. The final round of playoff matches will be completed no later than Friday October 6th, at which time two divisional champions will be crowned.
  • Individual standings will also be kept. The two players within each division with the highest positive point totals at the end of the season will receive prizes. Individual playoffs will be held with the top eight players in the standings within each division playing for the crown of individual division champion.
  • Ties at the end of the regular season to determine playoff participants when two or more individuals or two or more individuals have the same number of points will be resolved as follows. The first tiebreaker for individuals will be the person who earned the most points in head-to-head matches. If the players did not have a match against each other or if they tied in their head-to-head, the next tiebreaker is the greatest number of wins during the regular season. The third and final tiebreaker for individuals is the lowest net score recorded by the players during the regular season. The first tiebreaker for teams will be the most points earned in head-to-head matches. The second team tiebreaker is the most wins during the regular season. The third and final team tiebreaker is the lowest combined net score of the team members during the regular season. If individuals and teams are still tied after the third tiebreaker, the playoff spot will go to the last person or team standing after a 3-iron duel is held at 30-paces.

F. Handicaps

  • An individual’s handicap is based on the best five scores out of the last ten 9-hole rounds played. Handicaps for new members and substitute players are based on their USGA handicap or their estimated 9-hole score that they provided with their member application. Handicaps for new members with out a USGA handicap were figured by taking the average estimated 9-hole score (5 scores were used in the initial calculation), subtracting the average 9-hole course rating of area courses and multiplying the average differential by 0.96. This year, adjustments will be made to handicaps of new players at the start of the season. If during any of the first five matches, a new player shoots four or more strokes better than the average 9-hole score they noted on their application, that score will be counted twice and will be added to the previous scores to compute the new handicap. After five scores are posted, the best half of the scores will be used to determine a player’s handicap (less one if an odd number of matches has been played).
  • Handicaps during the golf season are computed by averaging the best five differentials (adjusted gross score minus the course rating for the nine holes played), multiplying the computed average differential by 0.96 and rounding to the nearest integer. An “adjusted gross score” is a player’s gross score minus any adjustments made under Equitable Stroke Control. Under Equitable Stroke Control, a player’s score for a hole is limited to a specific number of strokes based on the person’s handicap. The maximum adjusted score can be calculated by dividing the player’s 9-hole handicap by five, truncating (discarding any remainder or fraction) and adding 6, since the number must be in the range of 6 to 11. For example, a player with a 9-hole handicap of 12 is allowed a maximum score of 8 on any hole regardless of par for the hole. A player’s “adjusted gross score” for a particular round has no effect upon the outcome of the match. The actual scores recorded for each hole determine the results of the mach. Adjustments for calculating handicaps will be made by the handicap chairman. There will be no maximum handicaps for both men and women in use. 
  • The handicap chair will post weekly handicaps and match results on the BGA home page, which can be accessed on the internet at https://bera.bnl/golf//.

G. Delinquency in Playing Matches

  • If a team falls two or matches behind in the schedule any time during the season, they will receive a warning from the committee. After receiving a warning, the team should make every effort to make up delinquent matches. This means using a substitute player as necessary or playing the match with one player while using the forfeit rules described in Section D. The committee will then review the situation. Unless the team can offer very compelling reasons for being behind on its matches, the team will be expelled for the remainder of the season and will forfeit all of its remaining matches. If a team is expelled from the league, all matches played will stand and all unplayed matches will be recorded as forfeits with individuals on the opposing team receiving 5 points and the team 10 points. 

H. BGA Tournaments

A player’s most recent team league handicap will be doubled and used in all tournaments. The tournament chairman will compute non-members or new member handicaps based on the player’s estimated average 18-hole score. Information on our outings in June and the end of the year outing in October will be forthcoming.

Golf League Committee

President – Michael Seegitz (Ext. 7728)

Treasurer – Joe Carbonaro (Ext. 5139)

Handicap/Standings Chair – Ray Edwards (Ext. 6270)

League president and treasurer elections are held annually at the end of the year dinner held in October. Any active member in the league can be nominated. The handicap/standings chair is responsible for updating and posting handicaps and league standings on the BGA website and for posting any notices on the site. This is a non-elected position in the league.