Guidelines

General Information

The USGA Rules of Golf apply to all L.C.G.C. play except when superseded by the following rules of play as adopted by the L.C.G.C. 

Lift, Clean & Place - We allow players to lift, clean and place their ball, anywhere except in hazards. 

Sand Traps - If your ball is in a footprint, bad rake job, or if you just want to re-rake the area, you are free to do so without penalty. Please consider the lie of the ball when doing so. If it is plugged in sand that is not wet, you should return the ball to a similar lie. Use the judgement of your group.

Root / Rock Rule - make sure that your ball is not near or on any part of a tree, usually deemed to be a root, that may cause injury to the golfer and/or damage to your club. The ball may be moved with no penalty, but should be kept on the same line to the hole. The idea here is to prevent any player from being hurt or damaging equipment to save a stroke. The same applies to rocky lies.

Putts - You must putt out anything outside the length of a putter grip. In the interest in pace of play, please be reasonable with putts.

Penalties - In order to speed up play, we treat all penalties (water hazards, out of bounds, lost ball) the same, and treat them as a lateral hazard. Three options for lateral hazard (USGA Rules of Golf, Rule 26-1, sections a,b & c.)

1. Choose stroke and distance option, which means re-hitting from same spot with a penalty of stroke and distance.

2. Drop at a point between the original shot and where the ball entered the hazard, with no limit on how far back behind the hazard the ball is dropped, as long as it is along the line of flight.

3. A ball may be dropped within two club lengths of the point of entry into the hazard, on either side, as long as it is equidistant from the hole. For example, the ball is hit into the center of a pond. A ball may be dropped on either side, as long as the distance to the hole is the same. This probably would not come into play very often, but may occur if the ground directly in front of the hazard is not suitable for play.

Water Hazards - A similar rule applies to water hazards. After your second consecutive"swimmer," you may carry the ball around the hazard and drop, taking a one stroke penalty. Something else to consider is that many courses offer a "drop area." This is usually near the green, with the intent being to speed up play so that golfers do not stand on the tee and drop shot after shot into a pond.

Pace of Play - We implement many of these changes to keep pace of play foremost in the minds of our golfers. Golf courses are especially tuned in to Saturday morning play. Let's ensure we keep up with the group in front of us.

Club of Gentlemen - We hope the L.C.G.C. is a club of gentlemen. As such, each member is on his honor to play by the rules. Also, please consider that your deportment and etiquette are a reflection on the L.C.G.C. and each of its members. To tarnish the reputation of the L.C.G.C. would be to tarnish the reputation of each of us. Remember, one bad apple may not spoil the whole bunch, but you wouldn't want it in your applesauce.