2014 DOW SPRING HOUSE SOCIAL CLUB

GOLF LEAGUE RULES

The League Rules and Regulations are divided into 4 sections:

o LEAGUE OPERATIONS

o RULES OF PLAY

o SLOW PLAY / TIPS TO SPEED UP PLAY

SAFETY

Each participant in the League is responsible for his or her own safety. In golf, as in any sport, the participants should familiarize themselves with the safe way to play the game. Some (but not all) things to think about include proper warm-up and cool down, safe execution of your shots (both for you and those around you), outdoor hazards (such as sunburn and Lymes disease), and, most importantly, thunderstorm safety. A player should discontinue play at any time if he/she believes that there is danger from lightning.


DOW SPRING HOUSE SOCIAL CLUB GOLF LEAGUE

2014 RULES AND REGULATIONS

LEAGUE OPERATIONS

1. League Organization

League Commissioner: Bruce Rosenbaum

League Treasurer: Jay Gregory

League Scorers: Garth Parker

Rules Committee: TBD

Tournament Committee: TBD

2. The league open to employees of the Dow Chemical Company and members of their immediate families (spouses, children, domestic partners) The league is limited to 16 teams of five or more members.

3. League play will be on designated Wednesday evenings, April through September at the designated golf course. This season the course is Limekiln Golf Club.

4. Fees can be charged to teams and individuals to cover league expenses, including individual prizes (Lowest Handicap, Best Match Play Record and Most Improved Player), engraving and trophies for teams competing for the League Championship.

a. Employees who do not work at Spring House or Home Office must pay a $15 sports league fee to in order to participate in the Social Club golf league. Fees should be sent to the league treasurer (Jay Gregory, SH-10). Checks should be made payable to “SHSC”. Fees are due at the start of the season. If a player competes in a match without paying the fee, the match will be forfeited.

b. Social Club Membership
Dow Spring House and Home Office employees must join the Dow Spring House Social Club in order to play in the league. If you are not already a member, go to the Spring House Social Club website and click on New Member Form.

5. Matches

a. Teams compete for a total of 27 points in each match (see Section 8. Pairings and Scoring)

b. All matches will be of nine hole duration.

c. At Limekiln on either the Red, White, or Blue nine, men will play from the white tee markers and women will play from the red tee markers. Seniors (age 62 and older) may elect to play from the yellow tees. When a player changes from white tees to yellow tees, he must he must notify the commissioner and reestablish his handicap. A senior who plays from the yellow tees may not switch back to the white without notifying the commissioner.

6. Recognition

a. All teams will participate in the playoffs to determine the league champion. In the first round of the playoffs, the team that finishes first during the regular season will play the fourth place team and the second place team will play the third place team. The winners of those matches will advance to the final championship match. Playoff matches will be two person matches using the same format as regular season matches. However, with the agreement of the captains of the teams competing, up to four players may represent each team in each round of the playoffs. However, the teams will still play for only a single medal point determined from the net scores of all players competing. No substitutes are permitted in the playoffs, and failure to field at least two players results in a loss for the team. In the event of a tie for a playoff spot or spots, rankings will be decided by head-to-head results between the teams during the regular season.

b. Each member of the championship team who played in at least one match over the course of the season will be presented with a trophy or plaque. If two teams tie in the playoffs, the winner will be decided by head-to-head results between the teams during the regular season.

c. Awards will also be given for individual performance during the regular season:

· BEST RECORD: Highest total points per round average. Minimum of four rounds played for the season to be eligible.

· MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Largest Improvement Factor = (Starting Handicap + 6) /(Ending Handicap + 6). Minimum of four rounds played in the current and in the previous season to be eligible.

· LOWEST HANDICAP: Lowest fractional handicap. Minimum of four rounds played for the season to be eligible. All rounds will be used in this calculation.

Forfeits played will count toward number of matches played for award qualification, but will not be counted for handicap or as wins for Best Record.

7. Handicaps:

a. For players who participated in the Golf League during 2011, handicaps for the first 2014 match will be based on the players’ handicaps at the end of 2011.

b. Handicaps will be calculated using scores from the 4 most recent matches played, including matches played in 2011, as follows.

· 1 round played = score from that match.

· 2 rounds played = lower score of the two matches.

· 3 rounds played = lowest two scores of the three matches.

· 4 rounds played = lowest three scores of the four matches.

c. For players with handicap of 0-9, the maximum strokes allowed toward handicap on a given hole will be double bogey.
For those with a handicap between 10 and 18, the maximum toward handicap on a given hole will be triple bogey.
For players with a handicap of 19 or higher, the maximum toward handicap on a given hole is double par.

d. Handicap = 0.96* x [Average Score (corrected for provision b) - Par (for nine holes)]
Handicaps will be rounded to the nearest whole number after the last calculation has been performed (0.499 rounded down, 0.500 rounded up).

* For players new to the league, a multiplier of 0.80 will be used instead of 0.96 until the player completes his or her second match (i.e., the 0.96 multiplier will be used to calculate the handicap used in the player’s third match).

e. Rounds played against "Forfeit" count towards handicap.

f. New Players

New players (i.e., golfers who did not play in the League in 2011) will establish a League Handicap during their first match. In any match involving a new player or players, the match opponents will be determined after the round is played. All four golfers will shoot their round and the pairings will be decided after the round.

Players may determine the match results using the procedure below, or the results will be determined by the scorekeeper after the scorecard is submitted. In any case, if there is an error by the players in determining the results of a match, the scorekeeper will correct the results.

A new golfer can determine his or her handicap as follows:

ü Add up the new golfer's gross score.

ü Determine the new golfer's adjusted score by subtracting any strokes above double par on any hole from the gross score.

ü Calculate the handicap using the formula in 7.d..

ü If the new player's handicap is between 10 and 18, then any strokes over triple bogie must be deducted from the gross score, and the handicap recalculated using the formula in 7.d. If the player's handicap is 9 or below, then any strokes over double bogie must be deducted from the gross score, and the handicap recalculated again.

After the new player’s handicap is determined, opponents are paired in the usual fashion. In the event that a new player’s handicap is calculated and that player’s handicap is the same as his or her teammate, turn in the scorecard and the scorekeeper will determine pairings based on fractional handicaps.

8. Pairings and Scoring:

a. The lower handicap players on each team oppose each other.

b. The higher handicap players on each team oppose each other.

c. In the event that two players on a team have the same handicap, pairings may be mutually agreed on or decided by a flip of a coin. Alternatively, players can check with the scorekeeper prior to a match to get fractional handicaps to decide pairings or leave the determination to the scorekeeper after the match is completed.

d. For a given match, the difference between the two handicaps will determine the amount of strokes to be given.

e. The course scorecard will indicate handicap holes (starting with most difficult hole rated as #1).

f. There will be no limit on the number of strokes a player will give his opponent during a match (other than the theoretical extremes in handicaps).

g. A hole is won by a player when his/her net score (gross score minus any strokes received on that hole) is less than his/her opponent. If net scores of the player and their opponent are equal, the hole is a tie.

h. Points are awarded on each hole (match play) and for net strokes at the end of the match (stroke play). Each team match is worth 27 points.

i. Points are awarded as follows:

· 9 points total for each individual match, with 1 point awarded per hole. Holes are won or lost based on net scores. Ties on a hole are worth a half point to each player.

· 3 points for each individual medal match based on final net scores. In the event of a tie, each player gets 1.5 points.

· 3 points for the team medal based on total net score. In the event of a tie, each team gets 1.5 points.

Hence each individual can win a maximum of 12 points and the team medal is worth 3 points.

j. Team net total strokes will be added (using handicaps) to determine the winner of the three team medal points. To determine team medal handicap difference, add handicaps of players of each team. Then subtract total handicap of team A from that of team B. Because there are stroke-play points, don’t pick up on a hole just because you have lost the hole in match play. You must putt out unless you have reached double par (see Section 9).

k. Ties will count for ½ of the total points whether in match play or medal play.

9. Use of Substitute Players

a. Teams that are facing a forfeit may select a substitute player or players from other teams to represent their team.

b. Players who are not scheduled to play in a match may signup on a substitute list each week to be chosen as substitutes.

c. Substitute players may play against their own team with agreement from both team captains.

d. A substitute player’s score will not count toward his or her handicap.

e. Substitutes cannot be used in the playoffs.

10. Starting times and lining up at the first tee

a. Captains (or their designee) are asked to contact their opponents and establish an "estimated time of arrival" at the course. Captains (or their designee) should communicate the agreed upon arrival time to their players. In the event that a team has made an attempt to contact their opponents or opposing team captain by e-mail or voice mail and have not received a response, the team should go to the course and wait for their opponents. If the opponents have not arrived at the course by 4:30 and no communications have been forwarded, the team may tee off and proceed under the rules for Forfeits (Section 14).

b. When all players in a match have paid their greens fees, the match may get in line at the first tee.

c. When one or more members of a match have not arrived at the course within 20 minutes after an agreed to arrival time, the match may get in line at the first tee. If an incomplete match gets to the front of the line before the missing players arrive, the match will tee off and proceed under the rules for Forfeits. If a team tees off earlier than 20 minutes after the agreed upon tee time and the opposing team reaches the course within the 20 minute window, the team that teed off early forfeits the match.

d. If open players (league players not involved in a league match) have not teed-off prior to 3:55, they MUST wait until the women’s league that follows ours has teed-off (or until approximately 5:45). If a group playing a league match tees off before 3:55, that group may give up their post-4:00 time slot to an open group on a one-for-one basis.

e. We must let non-league groups starting their back nine alternate with matches from our league.

11. Postponements

a. Any request to an opposing team to postpone a match must be made by 3:00 PM on the day before the match. If a team determines after that time that they cannot field a player or players and cannot find substitute(s), a forfeit results.

b. All postponed matches that occur before the mid-season makeup date must be made up on or before that date or both teams forfeit. If one team fails to agree to a rescheduled match by that date, the opposing team can play the match under the rules of forfeit. All postponed matches that occur after the mid-season makeup date must be made up by the end of the regular season or both teams forfeit.

c. A team does not have to agree to a request for postponement, even if that requests comes before the deadline in part a. For example, a team might decline a request for postponement if fielding additional players for a makeup match is a hardship for that team.

12. Forfeits

a. ALL TEAMS MUST PLAY NINE HOLES AND SUBMIT A COMPLETED SCORECARD TO THE LEAGUE SCORERS TO GAIN A FORFEIT.

b. If a team fields only one player, that player will compete for match points and individual medal points only. The team medal points are automatically forfeited to the opposing team.

c. The opponent who plays against the forfeit is not automatically awarded the 12 individual (match + medal) points. That player earns those points by playing against a virtual golfer who shoots net bogey on each hole. Any points won by the virtual golfer are lost and do not go to the team that forfeits. The score of the player who competes against the forfeit (i.e., the virtual golfer) will count towards his or her handicap.