SHORELINE
SENIORS GOLF CLUB: LOCAL RULES
The United States Golf Association promotes respect
for and adherence to the Rules of Golf. It also works to preserve the integrity
of golf at all levels. The Shoreline Seniors Golf Club is a member club of The
United States Golf Association, which licenses and monitors the USGA Handicap
System. The club is also a member club of the Northern California Golf
Association, which is the regional association which implements that system for
golfers in
Since the club’s tournaments rely on the USGA
Handicap System to attain the highest possible level of fair play for all
players, it is critical that play be consistent with
both The Rules of Golf and The USGA Handicap System. A level playing field (even on a golf course
with differential settlement) is the objective, and the integrity of the
system, which protects the entire field of players in a tournament, is based on
respect for and knowledge of The Rules of Golf.
Rule 1-3 provides: “Players must not agree to
exclude the operation of any Rule or to waive any penalty incurred.” Penalty for Breach of Rule 1-3: Match play-Disqualification of both sides;
Stroke play – Disqualification of competitors concerned.
Rule 33-1 provides: “The Committee must establish
the conditions under which a competition is to be played. The Committee has no power to waive a Rule of
Golf.”
Rule 33-8 provides: “The Committee may establish
Local Rules for local abnormal conditions if they are consistent with the
policy set forth in Appendix I. A Rule
of Golf must not be waived by a Local Rule. However, if a Committee considers
that local abnormal conditions interfere with the proper playing of the game to
the extent that it is necessary to make a Local Rule that modifies the Rules of
Golf, the Local Rule must be authorized by the USGA.”
In the conduct of its tournaments, the Shoreline
Seniors Golf Club must honor the Rules of Golf as administered by two
committees, as defined in the Rules of Golf.
The applicable definition of the Committee in the definitions section of
the Rules of Golf is as follows: “The
“Committee” is the committee in charge of the competition or, if the matter
does not arise in a competition, the committee in charge of the course.” These
provisions establish the limited authority of the club, through its tournament
committee, to establish permissible “Local Rules” to supplement those “Local
Rules” established by the committee in charge of the course (the City of
Consistent with the above authority under The Rules
of Golf, the club conducts its tournaments as follows: (1)
The Local Rules established by the committee in charge of the course, as
printed on the score card, are accepted; (2)
The Specimen Local Rule (Appendix I, Part B, Number 1) for playing a
ball provisionally under Rule 26-1 (Water Hazards), which the course has not
adopted, is established; (3) The
specific language of Specimen Local Rules in the Appendix is to govern over the
summarized language printed on the scorecard; (4) All play is to be under U. S.
G. A. Rules, unless a separate notice is posted to provide authorized Local Rules
to permit play under abnormal ground conditions. These temporary Local Rules
cover: (1) “mark, lift, clean and place”
for conditions generally, particularly in periods of heavy rain and saturated
soil, considered extreme wetness (the golf course operator normally restricts
power carts to the paved pathways to compensate for such conditions); or (2) for fairway mowing or related problems
which, very rarely, would justify the use of “preferred lies”, which, USGA
research has shown, have the unfortunate impact of using the better turf areas
to the overall detriment of the course’s fairways.
This section on Local Rules contains the most
recent copy of the Local Rules printed on the scorecard as well as the
above-referenced Specimen Local Rules, adopted by the Tournament Committee, in
its role as the committee in charge of the competition.