The Glover Park Tour Rules of Golf

In accordance with the spirit of the game and conduct associated with gentlemanly competition, the following serves as the contract of rules, regulations and etiquette to hereby establish the golfing season and its crowning jewel, the Glover Park Cup.

Preamble

Let it be known that this document shall supersede any and all other previous written or verbal referendum governing the structure, schedule, points, and rules / etiquette on the Glover Park Tour.  Incidentally, Glover Park Tour may also be interchanged within this document using the initials GPT.

  I. Membership    

 (I-A) To become a recognized Glover Park Tour professional one must first submit a verbal or written indication of interest to the Board of Directors to join.

(I-B) Upon submission, the board shall be given 72 hours to review the applicant’s cultural proficiency, ethical and moral standing, philanthropic history, and commitment to the spirit and legitimacy of the tour; with a 2/3 vote required for approval.

(I-C) Once accepted the applicant shall be entitled to all rights and privileges thereunto appertaining which full GPT membership and status entails.

(I-D) Only Certified GPT Professionals are eligible to be recognized each week and in the record books as the official winner of a given tournament, therefore collecting a trophy and acquiring championship points which may potentially allow for qualification to the postseason.

May it also be clear that upon acclimation to and acceptance by the tour, one voluntarily submits themselves to standards of behavior and ethical conduct beyond those required of ordinary golfers and members of the general public.

II. The Season and Playoffs

The victor and thereby the universally recognized recipient of the Glover Park Golfing Championsip will be determined over the course of an 8-tournament regular season followed by a merit-based playoff system in which one player shall overcome all others and be declared the Glover Park Golfing Champion.  In addition, to the points based tournaments, there will be one preseason 2 man scramble tournament and one team based tournament.

(II-A) Regular Season

There will be officially-sanctioned regular season tournaments 4 of which will be major championships.

(II-B) Based on performance within each tournament, points will be awarded to each golfer in the following manner:

         (II-C)  For the Members and Olympic Competition, the point system is restructured as follows:

(II-D) For major tournaments: the Glover Park Masters, the GP Open, The Open Championship, and The GPT Championship, the point system is restructured as follows:

(II-E) Points awarded based on tournament performances will be accumulated throughout the season.  Additionally, a golfer can receive points in other ways, as follows:

          (a) A birdie will reward the golfer 1 additional point

          (b) An eagle will reward the golfer 3 additional points

 (II-F) Should golfers not compete in a given tournament, they will not receive points.

(II-F-a) In the event of a tie, both golfers will receive the same placing points.

(II-G) For a tournament to be official it must have at least 3 sanctioned golfers competing, or else no points will be awarded.

(II-H) A tournament can only be cancelled or suspended prior to tee off due to weather or lack of participating golfers.  For a tournament to be rescheduled, a Certified GPT Professional must first petition the board of directors with the request.

(II-G-a) The board shall then request feedback from the remaining membership regarding the proposed change before discussing and announcing the Unanimous Compromise agreed to by the Board of Directors if the schedule does become altered. 

(II-I) If a tournament has started with golfers teeing off on the first hole, a tournament can then only be suspended due to a “Clear Act of God”. 

 (II-I-a) To suspend a tournament, a clear weather and/or God induced disturbance must be present and all participating golfers minus one must consent to the suspension.   Upon which, play will be suspended for one half hour to allow for conditions to change.  Should no change occur and the course remains unplayable, the tournament shall then be rescheduled for another day with any scores erased. 

(II-I-b-i) Should 13 holes be completed by all competing golfers however, the tournament shall be considered official as of the most recently fully-completed hole.

           (II-I) The Playoffs

Following the completion of the 8 sanctioned regular season tournaments, a playoff consisting of 1 round of golf shall begin in which only the top twelve golfers according to the Glover Park point standings shall be invited to participate.

                   (II-I-a) The playoffs will be organized as follows:

(II-I-a-i) An 18-hole stroke-play competition in which the top golfer with the lowest score will be crowned the glover park golfing championship.

III. On-course Rules

All rules presiding over tournament play shall be in accordance with the USGA Rules of the Game, with the following exceptions:

(III-A) All lost balls, out-of-bounds, and any other potential hazard shall be treated as lateral hazards in the interest of a healthy pace of play.

(III-B) If a shot does not carry a hazard, i.e. water or other, the golfer is allowed to drop laterally as well in line with how far the ball carried.  If there is no lateral drop areas and the ball carried more than 50% of the hazard (as agreed upon by other members in the group), the golfer may drop on the other side of the hazard.

 (III-C) In the event of a tie at the conclusion of 18 holes, the Board will make a reasonable effort to organize extra holes.  If extra holes are not possible a sudden death style chip-and-putt-off tiebreak will occur to determine the winner.

(III-C-a)  Any non-competing Board of Directors member will determine the parameters of the contest (i.e. hole in which to play to, starting location for participants).

(III-C-a-i)  An available practice green shall be considered an acceptable location for the tiebreaking chip-and-putt-off.

 (III-D) If a golfer plays a stroke from in front of the tee-box markers, that golfer will not be penalized, but will be forced to re-tee, playing his first stroke again from the appropriate tee-box. 

(III-E) If a situation arises while playing in which a particular ruling is unclear or unknown, the golfer will defer judgment to another golfer who shall make a good-faith, best effort determination in an attempt to clarify a final ruling and the appropriate course of action.

(III-F) The highest score a golfer can receive on a given hole is double-par, except on 5-pars, during which the maximum score is a “9”.

IV. Etiquette

A “Gentleman of the Game” is a golfer who exemplifies the following behavior both on and off the course.

(IV-A) He respects his fellow golfers by:

(a) Recognizing, accepting, and respecting the outcomes of tournaments and their winners.

(b) Refraining from questioning another golfer’s integrity either on or off the course.

(c) Limiting potential distractions while another golfer is addressing his ball.

(c-1) This distinction includes but is not limited to talking, taking divots, hitting pinecones in the direction of his fellow golfers, or otherwise milling about while another competitor is preparing for a shot.

(d) Playing promptly when it is one’s turn to proceed.

(d-1) This distinction includes the avoidance of dilatory procedures and the exercising of common sense in considering the time taken while searching for lost balls.

(e) Putting out on all greens.

(f) Refraining from unauthorized relief or lie-improvements, instead playing it as it lies or taking an unplayable lie penalty should playing one’s ball not be practical.

(g) Playing in turn and granting honors to the golfer with the lower score on the previous hole.

(g-1) “Ready-golf” is acceptable and encouraged if a situation arises where playing in turn would cause an unnecessary delay.

(h)Opting only for “already prepared” foods in the clubhouse at the turn of 9 holes.

(h-1) A hotdog on rollers shall be considered an “already prepared food.”

(i) Minimizing outbursts such as club-throwing and cursing.

(j) Limiting cell-phone use and ensuring the device is silenced during tournament play.

(k) Faithfully keeping his score and assessing necessary penalties on himself.

(l) Refraining from skewing the rules to benefit himself or denying the “spirit of the rule.”   

V. Airing of Grievances, Disciplinary actions, and Amendments

(IV-A) Airing of Grievances: During the course of a tournament or the season in general, should a golfer wish to express a grievance regarding a competitor’s action or behavior, rule, procedure, in this contract or absent, and wish to rectify what they feel is a harm done to them, they may do so in the following manner:

(a) Petition the Board of Directors to express the grievance and recommend a rectifying and/or disciplinary course of action.

(b) Following such action, a Grievance Quorum will be held by the board to discuss the grievance, interview any interested party if necessary, and determine the appropriate recourse. 

(b-1) A Unanimous Compromise is necessary from the board for any action to be taken, otherwise the grievance is dismissed.

(IV-B) Amendments: should a player wish to amend this document in the form of a reformation of the point system, rules, etiquette, or procedure; he may do so in the following manner:

(a) Petition the board of directors to discuss the written proposal or change in which an apparent interest exists by one or more GPT Professional members.   

(b) The Board of Directors shall then convene an Amendment Quorum to discuss the change no sooner than 72 hours from the initial petition to allow for feedback from the remainder of the tour to be considered before final passage.

(c) A Unanimous Compromise by the board is then required before passage of any such amendment.  Should this occur, it shall then be codified, signed, permanently affixed to this document, and immediately implemented for tournament play.

Amendment Package

I. Player Rules

The Kurt Gardinier Rule – Members may not alter the length of the grip on their putter in any circumstances.

The Adam Clark Rule – If a golfer cannot find his ball and is forced to drop and hit another ball, that ball is now in play.  If the golfer happens to locate his first ball before his next shot, the golfer may hit that ball with no penalty strokes assessed.

The Sean McElhaney Rule – If a golfer takes a mulligan for any reason, a 2 stoke penalty will be accessed after the round.

II. On-Course Rules

II-a – Ready golf will be played in ALL instances.

II-b – If the root of a tree will interfere with the club during any shot, the golfer may get a free drop away from such root.  However, the drop may not be advantageous to the golfer i.e., cannot drop in a location to avoid an originally blocking tree.

II-c – The Fairway lie rule: If your ball has come to rest in the fairway (not the green nor fringe nor rough), but fairway only, the player is allowed to roll his ball within two inches of its current location and no closer to the hole. He is not allowed to pick his ball up. The rule is intended to alleviate situations in which the player has struck a well-hit shot that has ended up in a divot or fairway imperfection.

II-d – Upon arriving at the location a player believes their ball to be at, they will have 3 minutes to find it before it is formally declared a lost ball, and a drop is necessary with a 1-stroke penalty.

III. Etiquette

III-a – Putting out on all greens with the exception of balls obviously “inside the leather” of each player’s putter.  An actual demonstration of “inside the leather” should be performed if there is any question.

III-b – Before helping another player look for a lost ball, a golfer should first play their own shot, and then offer assistance.