| Home | News | Course | Club | Members Login | Contact Us |
|
NewsHOW GOLF CLUBS ARE RUNGolf clubs tend to fall into two broad types, with some overlap between the two. First, there are the traditional clubs which are owned and run by their members; and second, there are a growing number of proprietary clubs where policy decisions are taken by the individual or company that owns them - usually in consultation with the members. In all cases, there will be a Club Secretary or Manager, a Club Captain and a Club Professional. The Club Secretary or ManagerThe Secretary/Manager is the hub around which many of your club's activities revolve. He or she is not only responsible for managing all day-to-day business, but also for providing continuity of the club's affairs between changing committees and Captains. The job is not only that of an administrator, but also that of a host. Overtime, the Secretary/Manager will get to know most members of the club, listen to their (sometimes conflicting) views, and do everything possible to help bring maximum pleasure to the maximum number. If ever you have a particularly strong viewpoint, or even a complaint, you should bring it to the attention of the Secretary/Manager. But please remember that he or she has to juggle many demands from many people. It's not an easy job, yet it's one which many perform with considerable success. The Club CaptainTo be appointed Captain of a Golf Club is an honour of considerable prestige. Because of the unique requirements of the position, selection of a new Club Captain is normally made by former Club Captains. After all, no one knows better than they what the job entails. At proprietary clubs, the proprietor will also have a say in the selection process. The Club Captain is not necessarily a top player, yet he will have considerable social and public relations skills as a figurehead for the club. He will normally attend all major events and presentations and will often incur significant personal expense in the course of his duties. As ambassadors not only for the club, but also for the game of golf, the Club Captain - and the Ladies' Captain - are people you can turn to for advice whenever you need it. The Club ProfessionalThe Professional is the focus of many of your club's playing activities - someone who is not only a first-class player, teacher, craftsman, diplomat and referee, but also an independent businessman. Give your club Professional all the support you can - both when you buy clothes and equipment and when you want instruction. As a catalyst for many playing activities, the Professional will not only arrange golf trips and competitions, but will also put players of similar abilities within the club in touch with each other. So get to know your Professional, and reap the rewards. The Committee StructureClubs that are owned and run by their members generally adhere to a committee structure that has proved highly successful over the decades at maintaining the traditions for which golf is famous. Each year, these clubs will elect a Main Council or Committee at their AGM, from which various sub-committees will be formed. Usually, these sub-committees are the Greens Committee, which oversees the condition of the course, the Finance Committee, which controls the club’s budget, the House Committee, which looks after all matters relating to the clubhouse, and the Competitions and Handicaps Committee. Proprietary clubs do not have a need for such a strong committee structure because most policy decisions are taken by the Proprietor or Manager. They will, however, need to have at least one committee to deal with the important job of allocating and amending handicaps.
HOW HANDICAPS ARE CALCULATEDThe members of the Competitions and Handicaps Committee in any club are responsible for overseeing all the established competitions in the club calendar, and for modifying that calendar whenever appropriate. It's also the responsibility of the committee to check members' cards and to amend handicaps. Full details of how the handicapping system works can be obtained from the Council of National Golf Unions or the Ladies' Golf Union, but brief summaries are given here. The card of your course will include a stroke index which shows the holes on which you are allowed to claim a stroke, according to your handicap. Men's HandicapsAll men have an EXACT handicap and a PLAYING handicap. Your EXACT handicap is calculated in the way described below and usually produces a figure with a decimal point e.g. 1 1.3. This is rounded up or down to the nearest whole figure to produce your PLAYING handicap. 0.5 is rounded upwards. Golfers PLAYING handicaps are divided into 4 categories: Category 1 is for handicaps of 0 to 5 inclusive The Category you are in affects the way changes to your handicap are calculated. For a start, each Category has a different 'buffer zone' which means if you return a card (in a qualifying competition) which shows that your nett score (gross minus PLAYING handicap) exceeds the competition scratch score by the number of strokes in your buffer zone or less, then there will be no change to your handicap Buffer 7nnes are as follows: Category 1: 0 to + 1 If your nett score exceeds the competition scratch score by MORE than the number of strokes in your buffer zone, your EXACT handicap will be increased by 0.1 mall cases - no matter how high your score on that particular day. For example, a Category 3 player (with an EXACT handicap of 14.4) whose nett score exceeds the competition scratch score by 3 strokes will stay on exactly the same EXACT and PLAYING handicap. If the same player had an unusually bad day, however, and exceeded the competition scratch score by 10 strokes, his EXACT handicap would be increased by just 0.1 to 14.5. This would push his PLAYING handicap up from 14 to 15. If your nett score is LOWER, than the competition scratch score, your EXACT handicap will be adjusted downwards by the following amounts for EACH STROKE that your nett score is lower than the competition scratch score: Category 1: subtract 0.1 for each stroke For example, if the Category 3 player above, with an EXACT handicap of 14.4, returned a nett score 4 strokes below the competition scratch score, his EXACT handicap would be reduced by 4 x 0.3 = 1.2. The EXACT handicap would become 13.2 and the PLAYING handicap would be reduced from 14 to 13. When the calculations involve a change from one Category to another the rules for each Category are taken into account. To save the Competitions and Handicaps Committee doing the sums every time, the Council of National Golf Unions has prepared a full table of Handicap Adjustments. Ladies' HandicapsAll ladies have an EXACT handicap and a PLAYING handicap. Your EXACT handicap is calculated as described below and usually produces a figure with a decimal point e.g. 9.3.This is rounded up or down to the nearest whole figure to produce your PLAYING handicap. 0.5 is rounded upwards. Ladies' PLAYING handicaps are divided into 6 Categories and each has its own 'buffer zone' within which no increase is made to a handicap. BUFFER ZONE Category 1 is for handicaps of 5 or less 0 to +1 The buffer zone in each Category is the number of extra strokes you are allowed without an increase being made to your handicap. For example, if you return a card which shows that your nett score (gross score minus PLAYING handicap) exceeds the LGU Scratch Score of the course by the number of strokes in your buffer zone or less, there will be no increase in your handicap. If your nett score exceeds the LGU Scratch Score of the course by MORE than the number of strokes in your buffer zone (or you hand in a 'No Return'), your EXACT handicap will be increased by 0.1 in all cases - no matter how high your score on that particular day. For example, if a Category 4 player with an EXACT handicap of 22.4 returns a nett score that is 4 strokes higher than the LGU Scratch Score, no change will be made to her EXACT or PLAYING handicaps. If the same player returns a nett score 8 strokes higher than the LGU Scratch Score, her EXACT handicap would be increased by just 0.1 to 22.5.This would trigger an increase in her PLAYING handicap from 22 to 23. If your nett score is LOWER than the LGU Scratch Score, your EXACT handicap will be adjusted downwards by the following amounts for EACH STROKE that it is lower: Category 1: subtract 0.1 for each stroke For example, if the Category 4 player above with an EXACT handicap of 22.4 returns a nett score 4 strokes below the LGU Scratch Score, her EXACT handicap will be reduced by 1.6 (4 x 0.4) to 20.8. This would trigger a reduction in her PLAYING handicap from 22 to 21. When the calculations involve a change from one Category to another; the rules for both Categories are taken into account. New handicaps are obtained by submitting three qualifying cards. Changes to Ladies' handicaps can be made in Qualifying Competitions by all Categories or through a maximum of 10 Extra Day Scores (non-competition rounds) per year by Categories 2 to 6. Revised handicaps normally come into force on the 8th day of the month following the month in which the card(s) was returned. The LGU Scratch Score for the course must always be 60 or more.
COMPETITIONSFor competitions against other clubs, team captains are normally selected by the Club Captain and Ladies' Captain at their personal discretion. Team members are then picked by the appropriate team captain, again at his or her personal discretion. Matches against other clubs are normally arranged by the Club Secretary or Manager in consultation with other Club Secretaries. Various types of competition have been developed to provide a good contest between players of different abilities. Medal Play competitions are decided by the number of strokes scored (gross or nett) and Match Play competitions by the number of holes won. The Standard Scratch Score of all courses is set by the National Golf Union, but can be varied on competition days to reflect unusual playing conditions. If, for example, the majority of players are returning above average scores, the Standard Scratch Score will probably be raised for the day. This enables an allowance to be made for very adverse or very favourable conditions when any handicap adjustments are calculated. Scratch Medal CompetitionsGross scores only count, with no allowance for handicap. Top class competitions on the amateur circuit are run on a scratch medal basis. The Club Championship is also usually based on this form of competition. Handicap Medal CompetitionsMost clubs run Monthly Medal competitions which are decided on nett scores (gross minus handicap). Usually, there are prizes for the winners of each handicap category. Stableford CompetitionsThis very popular type of competition awards points on a hole by hole basis according to your nett score on each hole. It has the advantage of not penalising you heavily for the occasional bad hole. Points are awarded as follows: Above bogey 0 points The player with the highest aggregate point score wins. Bogey CompetitionThis, in effect, is Match Play against the course. Usually based on your nett score on each hole, it awards you nothing for a par, a plus for a score under par, and a minus for a score over par. Each player keeps a tally of pluses and minuses - and the winner after 18 holes is the one with the most pluses (or the fewest minuses!). For example, if after five holes you've had three pars and two birdies, your tally is two pluses. If you bogey the next hole, your tally goes down to one plus. Foursomes CompetitionThis is good competition for putting extra pressure on you to perform well - because you have to live up to your partner's expectations. It's a two against two competition, with each team having just one ball After nominating who will strike the tee shot on odd holes and who on even holes, team members take alternate shots. Foursomes can be played either as Match Play or Stroke Play. Greensome CompetitionSimilar to a foursome in that it's a two against two competition, but all players drive off and each team selects its best shot before resuming alternate shot-taking for the rest of the hole. Pour Ball Better Ball Competition This is another two against two competition, but in this case each player completes the hole with his or her own ball. The better score in each team is the one that counts. The game is then decided between the two teams on either a Match Play or a Medal Play basis. Bowmaker CompetitionThis is for teams of 3 or 4. The best TWO individual nett scores from each team are added together to give the team's total score for that hole - e.g.: 3,3,4 and 5 would give a team total of 6. Texas ScrambleThis involves teams of 3 or 4 players. All players in each team drive off the tee, and all players hit a second shot from where the best of the drives landed. They all then hit a third shot from where the best second shot landed - and so on until the hole is completed. How Ties Are DecidedTies in competitions are normally decided in one of three ways: There may be a full 18-hole playoff; a sudden death playoff over as many holes as it takes for one player to win one: or by what is known as a 'count back' of the best score over the last 9, 6 or 3 holes on the round already played.
OUT ON THE COURSEEtiquette
The Golfer's Role In Golf Course MaintenanceYou can do a lot to help your club's greenkeepers by repairing the damage you - and all golfers - inevitably cause during play. By leaving each hole in a proper, playable condition - free of unnecessary hazards - you can actually help yourself and your fellow golfers to return a better score. On the TeeThe tee is the one place on the course where you should NOT replace divots. This is because a replaced divot is not firmly rooted, and so is likely to slip underfoot. On those courses that leave a box containing a mixture of sand, soil and grass seed at each tee, put a handful of this into your divot scar instead. To give further protection to the tee, keep your trolley OFF it, and take your practice swings OFF it. On the FairwayYou must replace EVERY divot you take out of the fairway. Failure to do so will leave a hazard that it's difficult to play balls out of, affecting not only the score of the players following you, but also YOUR. score on the next round you play. Full recovery when a divot isn't replaced can take as long as 1 to 2 years. Proper treatment of it, on the other hand, will enable the course to bounce back to normal in no time at all. So here's what to do: pick up as many fragments of the divot as possible and arrange them carefully to cover as much of the damaged ground as possible. Then tread it all down gently so that the torn roots can make contact with the soil and start feeding and growing again. It only takes a few seconds, /et it can save months of problems. It's just as important to replace divots in the rough. This is a bad enough place for any player to be, without also finding his or her ball at the bottom of your divot scar. In the BunkerThere isn't a golfer in the world who doesn't let out a little groan of despair when an otherwise beautifully hit shot drops dead in a bunker. So why do so many golfers make life even more miserable for themselves by leaving the bunker in a disturbed and sometimes unplayable condition? The answer can only be laziness, because repairs to a bunker need take no more than thirty or forty seconds. It's simply a matter of using the rake WITH BOTH HANDS in a backwards and forwards motion that redistributes the sand evenly over the whole surface. Failure to do so may leave footprints, hollows and mounds of sand that create additional hazards for the golfers following you. lf there's no rake available, use your foot or the head of your golf club to redistribute the sand as evenly as possible. On the GreenOn the green, the slightest blemish can make the difference between a birdie and a par. So think of the green as the holy of holies. The biggest crime of all is committed by those who fail to repair pitch marks - that is, the small indentations caused by balls that are pitched high onto the green. Not only do these deflect any putts that run over them, but if not repaired they become a patch of dead, brown grass after just three days - and then a little circle of bare earth. So make sure you repair a pitch mark before you even putt the ball that caused it. Here's what to do: Having bought a pitch-mark fork from the Professional's shop at the start of your golfing career, use it to dig into the grass all around the indentation, levering it back as you go so that you raise the ground and get air in underneath. When you've gone all the way round, tap the whole thing gently back down to ground level with your putter. It doesn't take long, but it'll save months of problems. DON'T use a tee peg instead of a pitch-mark fork or you could make the problem even worse. Next on the green, NEVER, drop the pin carelessly onto the playing surface - you could cause a small furrow that’s likely to deflect someone else's putt. Always bend your knees and lay the pin down gently. After you've putted, NEVER, use your putter to scoop the ball out of the hole. If you do, you're likely to damage the delicate grass around the edge of the hole and make yourself very unpopular with the golfers following you. If you wear spiked shoes, remember to take great care not to drag them across the putting surface. Otherwise, you could leave scuff marks that will wreck other people's putts. It almost goes without saying, but be sure NEVER, to take your trolley or golf bag onto the green - either can cause damage to the playing surface. Finally, if you're in a friendly match and your ball lands on the 'apron' of a green other than the one you're playing to (the strip of medium mown grass that circles each green), please drop your ball - without penalty - just outside it back on the fairway, as you would if you had landed on the green itself. If you 're taking part in a competition, you're obliged to play it from where it lies, but in friendly matches this is an opportunity to avoid taking a divot out of a sensitive area.
ENJOY YOUR GOLF ~ AND HELP OTHERS ENJOY THEIRSAfter you've read and absorbed all the information in this booklet, you'll be well qualified to enjoy your golf to the full - as well as to understand what you can do to help other golfers enjoy theirs. As was pointed out in the section on Etiquette, slow play is one of the principal factors that can kill anyone's enjoyment of the game, so please do all you can to keep up with the game in front - or let the game behind you through. It's also vital that you stick to the advice given on golf course maintenance-and so play your part in helping greenkeepers keep your course in fine playing condition. Golf is one of the world's greatest games. Let's do all we can to keep it that way. |
|