One team from each match is required to hand in an official score card at the completion of each match – both teams are held responsible to see that a card is correct and handed in at the end of the night. At the beginning of each match, the four players should agree upon a designated scorekeeper for the round and it is this scorecard that is turned into the scorekeeper. The scorecard must be neat and legible in order for the scorekeeper to record the scores. The scorecard should show actual scores and full names – it is especially important to put full names in when one of the players is a sub. The scorekeeper will deduct handicap strokes from the actual score to calculate handicaps and net scores.

 

NOTE: The group should also agree before play begins which player from each team is the ‘A’ player and which is the ‘B’ player and therefor who is playing whom.

 

The following is a description of scoring match play between player A & B.

• A vs. A = 2 pts per hole 18 total
• B vs. B = 2 pts per hole 18 total
• Total Team = 2 pts per hole 18 total
• Stroke A net vs. A net = 2 pts 2 total
• Stroke B net vs. B net = 2 pts 2 total
• Team net vs. Team net = 2 pts 2 total
• Total score = 60 points

The team total will be the sum of points taken by A & B.

 

IMPORTANT-PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

 

All strokes taken at the ball after it has been addressed count toward your score on that hole. Namely, if you swing at the ball and miss, the stroke counts. In order to keep play flowing, the maximum strokes on a hole will be par plus 4 -- in other words, 7 on a par 3, 8 on par 4s, and 9 on a par 5. All balls will be picked up when this maximum is reached. There is a difference between a legitimate 9 and a maximum 9. If two players have recorded a score of 9, but one of the 9's was actually 9 strokes and not a 'pick-it-up-after-9', then that player wins the points for that hole. Also, any handicap strokes a player is owed on a hole are forfeit if the maximum is reached -- more about this under Match Scoring. The designated scorekeeper for the match will put an M next to all "maximums" to distinguish between a legitimate 9 and a 'picked up after reaching maximum' 9.

 

If there is a tie between two players, then each team is awarded 1 point.

 

Substitute and Blind Scoring

 

Substitute scores will be used in league or playoff scoring if they have a valid handicap. If no valid substitute is found, a blind score will be used. The League Scorer will provide a blind score based upon the average of the 3 worst scores out of the last 5 recorded. Obviously, no one wants to use a blind score but the rule continues to be that when they are used the missing players do not benefit tremendously without showing up. The rule is this: if a player does not play and does not have a sub, their generated blind score cannot take more than half of the available 20 points in the individual match. For example, if one person is missing and a blind score is used for them, their blind score cannot take more than 10 points in their individual match – effectively limiting a team to 50 points if one of the members must use a blind score -- his/her partner can still win 20 out of 20 points and the team can win 20 points.

 

Before the start of a match in which substitutes are playing, the team members will discuss and decide which members of the foursome are playing as the A and B players. When everyone in the group is in agreement the scorecard should be marked (as stated below) appropriately prior to the start of the match.

 

Example : Each team is missing a player. They can determine whether they choose to play each other or the blind score of their scheduled opponent. If both teams are missing their A players, or both are missing their B players, the 2 players present will play each other, and blind scores will be supplied to determine the other match AND team match.

 

Handicaps

 

The handicaps will be 90% of the adjusted gross score over the last five (5) rounds played. Matches will be played awarding as many strokes as the difference between the handicaps. NO MORE 75% RULE.

 

The "adjusted gross score" refers to the process of limiting the number of strokes over par on an individual hole that counts towards the handicap. Specifically, for the purposes of determining handicaps, no more than three (3) strokes over par on any individual hole will be counted. After applying the above limit to a player's score, the total is then multiplied by 90% to determine handicap. For example, say Artie shoots the following round:

 

Hole  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Total |

Par   3 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 4    35 |

Score 4 9 5 7 4 4 8 7 7    55 |

 

When this limit is applied, his scores (as related to handicap) become:

 

Score 4 8 5 7 4 4 8 6 7    53 |

 

Since 53 is 18 over par (35), his handicap for this round would be: 18 * .9 = 16.2.  Therefore, Artie would play his next round with a handicap of 16.

 

This gives us a practical maximum handicap of 24 ( 3*9 * .9 ).

 

Handicaps will be re-calculated each week using the cumulative average strokes over par (after adjustment) over the last 5 rounds played.

 

Regular league members’ handicaps on the other hand will carry over from year to year. Members new to the league will have to submit 2 handicap rounds prior to league competition to establish their league handicap, unless the commissioner rules their given handicap is acceptable. If they do not establish a handicap before play begins, they will start the season with an estimated handicap minus 5 strokes – once they have turned in two rounds for handicap, their handicap will be calculated using the two rounds and there will be no further penalty.

 

Match Scoring

 

You don't actually need to score your matches if you're not confident on the scoring (although it would be VERY helpful), but total the scores. Make sure to turn in your scorecard to the Scorekeeper (presently Mike Tarsi, who foolishly volunteered for the job). Results will posted on the league website: netgolfleague.vistaprintdigital.com.

 

Should you wish to figure it out for yourself, the following system will be used:

 

First: anytime a player scores the maximum on a hole, any handicap strokes his opponent owed him are forfeited. For example, if a player hasn't holed-out in 7 strokes or less on a par 3, he has achieved the maximum and does not receive any handicap strokes from his opponent on that hole. This is not to say scoring a legitimate 7 on a par 3 negates any handicap strokes, rather, scoring 8+ brings this rule into play. This rule includes handicap strokes for team total on the hole but it has no effect on strokes his partner may be entitled to on this same hole. The reason for this rule is simple: if someone gets an 7M on the scorecard and receives a stroke on the hole yielding a net of 6 they would win the hole against an opponent that had scored a legitimate 7 even though the lowest gross score they could possibly receive was a 8!!

 

For the purpose of illustration, let's assume the following match of Sarge/Artie vs Brian/Paul:

 

Hole  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9            |

Par   3 5 4 4 3 4 5 3 4            |

                        Raw Hcp Net|

Sarge 4 7 5 5 5 4 6 4 4  44   7  37|

Artie 4 8 6 5 4 6 M 5 6  53  12  41|

Brian 3 8 5 4 4 5 5 3 4  41   4  37|

Paul  4 7 6 5 5 5 9 4 7  52   9  43|

 

Since Sarge and Brian somehow have the better handicaps on their respective teams, they are the "A" players for this match. Therefore, they are playing each other for this day and Artie would be playing against Paul. Brian would be giving Sarge 3 strokes (7-4), and Artie would also get 3 strokes from Paul. Sarge & Artie would receive 1 stroke on holes number 4, 7 and 2. These are the only holes where their handicaps come into play. Now, as mentioned earlier there are 6 points available on each hole and who receives them depends on match play per hole. On the first hole, Artie and Paul split the 2 points pertaining to their individual match; Brian takes both of the 2 points relating to his match with Sarge. Brian and Paul as a team, take the last 2 points as their total is 6 vs. Sarge & Artie's total of 7. The total points scored looks like this:

 

Hole       1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9   |

Hdcp       5 3 6 1 7 4 2 8 9   |

                           Pts |

Sarge     0 2 1 1 0 2 1 0 1  8 |

Artie     1 1 1 2 2 0 1 0 2 10 |

Team      0 2 1 2 1 1 1 0 2 10 |

Hole Tot  1 5 3 5 3 3 3 0 5 28 |

Brian     2 0 1 1 2 0 1 2 1 10 |

Paul      1 1 1 0 0 2 1 2 0  8 |

Team      2 0 1 0 1 1 1 2 0  8 |

Hole Tot  5 1 3 1 3 3 3 6 1 26 |

 

Thus accounting for 54 of the 60 possible points. The last 6 points are decided by net stroke play: A vs. A, B vs. B, and A&B vs. A&B. This is a change in format, winning 10-8 does not guarantee the extra 2 points, and there is the possibility of scores being 11-9 Therefore, in the "A" match Sarge and Brian would each win 1 point, with tie scores of 37. In the "B" match, Artie would take 2 points as his net is 41 versus Paul's 43. Finally, the final two points would also go to Sarge and Artie, as their combined net score (78) is lower than Brian and Paul's combined net score (80). The Grand Total being 33 points scored for Sarge and Artie and 27 points for Brian and Paul. Below is a sample scorecard showing how best to record the match. Note that the front side has the even-numbered handicap holes, so the #2 handicap hole is actually the #1 handicap on the front nine. 

 

Conclusions:

 

• Don't get any "M"s (Maximums)
• Your handicap should reflect what you've currently been shooting.
• Play better golf.
• When it doubt, blame it on your partner.

 

[1] Note: don't confuse the term Handicap where it applies to a hole with the term used to apply to a player. "Handicap" when applied to a hole gives a comparison of difficulty of that hole versus the other holes on this half of this course. In other words, the hole with the number 1 handicap is the hardest hole on this nine as judged by the management of the course. It is provided purely for the use of the golfer in deciding where the stronger golfer should give up his/her strokes. Duhhh