Overview

Qualifications to Enter an Event

·         Must have a valid tour registration. Tour members will receive commemorative league merchandise based on seniority. All dues are due before the first event. Players who enter after the league starts will have adjusted dues. Membership fees: (Returners) $80, (Newbies) $85.

Dues can be paid to Steven Doughtie:

• Venmo - @steveDoughtie ***make sure to list it as a League Reimbursement***

• Zelle - 757-438-9141

• Cash in person

·         Participants can enter as a guest, but do not qualify for championship points or handicap. Guest fee is $5 paid through the member.

·         Also, SBGT reserves the right to block/kick out/ban douche-bags from being a part of the tour. Please enjoy yourselves, but respect the other members. 

Handicapping

1.     All player’s initial handicaps are based off a calculation from a play in round, first event, or verified handicap.

2.     The MAX scoring handicap is 35. 

3.     Your handicap can only be represented by the handicap feature on the tour. Once you have played in a tour event, your handicap will be based off of your results in tour events alone. 

4.     Your tournament score will be calculated by subtracting your handicap from your total score after 18 holes. If we are doing stableford, the person that scores the most points at the end of the event combined with their handicap will be the winner.

5.     The winner of each tournament will receive a 10% stroke penalty that will last the rest of the season. Handicaps will be generated after each event, where all winners will have their deductions taken afterwards. So, if your handicap is 20 but you won an event, you will play at 18 for that event. If you win multiple events, you will lose an additional 10% for each win. So, if your handicap is 20 and you won 2 events, you will play the remaining events at 16. Remember these penalties will last the rest of the season, not just one event. 

6. The winner of each event, the winning team for the season, as well as any past TOUR CHAMPION that is a member of the TOUR becomes eligible to play in our Tournament of Champions in November for a cash prize. 

Tournament Play

1.     Tournaments are to be played by SBGT rules & USGA rules. No mulligans and no grounding clubs in hazards. USGA rules! If you don’t know them, there’s an app you can download onto your phone. 

2. No GIMMIES this year!!!!!!

3.     Improving lies can occur. You can move your ball up to one club length as long as the ball stays within the same type of lie no closer to the hole. Only sideways or backwards. Ball sits in the rough then it stays in the rough, fairway stays in the fairway, hazard stays in the hazard, water stays in the water, etc. If your ball comes to rest by a root or immovable object, take relief up to a club length away from the closes point of relief agreed upon by all members in the foursome, no closer to the hole. Ball sits on the cart path, which ever side it is closest to is where you get relief.

3.     GPS is allowed!! We’ve decided that now that it’s so affordable on smart phones, why fight it. We suck at golf and need to know how far it is to the green from two fairways over. 

4.     If you hit a ball OB, you cannot play the ball from that area marked with white stakes and the club length relief cannot save you from being OB. You can choose 1 of 3 options: (1) you can trace your path from the initial shot to where you entered the OB markings and drop anywhere along that path for a 1 stroke penalty, (2) you can take a drop from where the previous shot was taken, or (3) you can go up next to where your ball has come to rest in the OB area and drop in the fairway for a 2-stroke penalty.  ***Option 1 is not an option under USGA rules. *** 

5.     If you hit a ball into a hazard, you can choose 1 of the 3 options: (1) play the ball from the hazard area (with the one club relief, but it cannot take you out of the hazard) with no penalty, (2) you can trace your path from the initial shot to where you entered the red/yellow markings and drop anywhere along that path for a 1 stroke penalty, or (3) you can take a drop from where the previous shot was taken.

6.     Each grouping will include at least one person doing the Grint app and at least one person doing a scorecard. Every player in the tournament should be represented on both. If you want your own scorecard, make a separate one. If you fail to turn in a complete scorecard or turn in an incorrect scorecard, you will be assessed a penalty of 5 strokes/points added for first offense, automatic last place finish second offense, and DQ for every offense after.

7.     If a player is caught cheating, they will be disqualified and striped of championship points and money for that tournament as well as play the next tournament without their putter. If a player is caught cheating he is to be humiliated and ridiculed until he either stops cheating or stops showing up. Both options are acceptable. Don’t CHEAT, none of us are good enough to have to cheat to beat us. If you repeat the offense, you will be kicked off the tour and will not receive a refund.

8.     Quad bogey is the worst score that can be recorded. So pick up your ball after your attempt at triple bogey!!!!!!

9.     Pre-Tournament, players can decide to play from a tee set behind the normal tees. Each Tee set that the player moves back will afford the player  strokes to be added back to their handicap for that tournament based on the USGA settings. 

10.     PLAYOFFS – In the event of a tie at the end of 18 holes, first and second place, the tie will be broken by the person that scored the best on the hardest handicapped hole without handicaps being applied to that score.

11.  All players who make it to the playoff and do not win are awarded a tie for the next highest place, regardless of their elimination order.

12.  Prize "money". The winner of the tourney and closest to the pins will split the cash designated by the board for each tourney that is set aside from the registration.The first loser of the tourney will receive either cash or some sweet SBGT SWAG for their efforts. However, side bets are not frowned upon, but encouraged. Everybody plays better when something is on the line. 

13.  Tour Championship Points. Each person that participates in the tourney and is a member of the tour will receive Champion Points. The winner will receive a certain amount of championship points, 2nd place will receive 1 point less, and so on down to last place. Remember, the tournament winner also gets a bonus point.  However, if you do not show up to play, you will not receive any points. In the Tour Championship, the points are doubled. 

14.  Tour Championship will be determined by the most points scored in 6 of the 8 events. Winner will become keeper of the Roy Taylor Memorial Championship Belt. At least until the next season, where the belt will be replaced with a personalized polo shirt.

15.  At the beginning of the season, all members will be placed on a team. Each team will compete week in and week out to earn championship points. The top two players from each team will earn team points. This way if somebody doesn’t show, then they will not count against the team. But, we are hoping this will encourage you to get your teammates to each tourney. New players that come in by the second event of the season will be added to teams. However, new players that choose to join after the second event will have to wait until the following season to participate in the team event. The winning team will win qualify for the Tournament of Champions.

16. Throughout the season we will record anybody that pitches in from off the green at least 25 yards out or more or from any bunker as long as it is the first shot out of that bunker. So, if you flub your first and stay in the bunker, the second shot out doesn't count. However, if you hit into a different bunker, your next bunker shot will count towards the list. At the end of the season, everybody that is on this list will split the chip-in pot. 

17. At the end of the season, everybody that has won a single event this season and any past tour champions that are still members of the Tour will be invited to participate in the Tournament of Champions. This event will be played at a location to be determined for a set amount of money. Winner take all!!!!! All penalty strokes are cleared from the season handicaps.

SBGT GUIDELINES 

·         Scoring will be done on an app called “the Grint”. A live leaderboard will be made available for everybody to check on their progress. Please input the correct scores and don’t be “THAT GUY”. Not everybody has to do the score tracking as long as somebody in the group is keeping track of it on the app. This does not replace the score card. You still have to fill that out as well.

·         The “Brang” Your Own Shirt Clause aka the “Phil Rule”

o    Make sure you show up to the course with a collared shirt or you will be severely made fun of and probably forced to buy a $75 shirt from the clubhouse that probably will not help your game. Ask Phil, this is his rule.

·         The Green In Regulation

o    In the rare event that a player hits a green in regulation, he may mark his ball and then choose anyone in his foursome to clean it for him before he putts. He may say, “get that will you” or “here you go” or “not too much spit” or simply, “here bitch” as he either tosses or rolls the ball to his opponent. He may also choose to just crouch to mark his ball and hold it out behind him without making eye contact with anyone. In this situation, the competitor nearest him is expected to come take the ball and clean it thoroughly before lightly placing it back in his opponent’s hand. If a player does not have a towel with him, he must clean the ball with his shirt or pants leg.

o    Players who hit the green in regulation may only choose players in their foursome that did not reach the green in regulation to clean their ball.

·         Par 3 GIR

o    On all par 3’s, players who hit the green with their first shot are permitted to do the victory walk. Meaning they may toss their club either on the ground or in the general direction of their bag, snap the Velcro loose on their glove and arrogantly peel it off finger by finger before also tossing that to the ground. They may then take off walking towards the green right down the middle of the hole. During this victory walk, the player will outstretch his dominant hand, without looking back, to receive his putter from his opponent who has already picked up his club and glove for him and placed them back into his bag.

o    If 3 out of 4 players hit the green, the sad sap that missed is responsible for all the equipment left scattered around the tee box. If by some miracle, everyone in the group hits the green, the victory walks cancel each other out and all players are responsible for their own equipment. In the event that all four players hit the green, everybody makes an ass out of themselves on the tee box so everybody looks at them then gets in the cart and acts like nothing happened.

·         Short Tee Shots

o    If the minor offense occurs that you do not make it to the beginning of the fairway with your tee shot, a coconut bra/really small security vest will be issued to you to finish the hole and tee off with on the next hole.

·         Slow Play

o    Don't be a TURTLE. If you're a slow player, you are squarely responsible for the long slow death of golf. Try to have fun out there and play faster. We bet your scores will improve. If you're paired up with a slow player, call them a slow a few times and they'll either pick up the pace or get pissed and quit at the turn. Either way, you win!

·         Property Damage

o    Participants that inflict damage on surrounding properties and golf course property are responsible for it. Do not blame the tour for your mistakes.

·         Injuries

o    Please do not hit into groups ahead of you so that you do not hurt anybody.

o    Please exercise safe practices while playing. 

Obey the rules of the golf course.