EGC Local Rules

 

The following rules and definitions have been adopted by the Evergreen Golf Club to address common course conditions. The intent is to have playing ability determine the outcome rather than unmaintained course conditions and to speed up pace of play. 

 

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Local Rules Summary (short versions)

 

This section is a brief summary of the local rules. Please see the full rules below for the full rule description.

 

A quick reminder on Embedded Balls: 

  • Rule 16.3 Embedded Balls (including partially embedded in it's own pitch mark) allows for Free relief (1-club length drop) for any embedded ball in the General Area (e.g. either Fairway or Rough) if you find the ball.  
  • If you believe a ball is embedded underground but can't find the actual ball, it's a lost ball (Rule 3) unless the special rule 7 & is invoked in the tournament instructions.

 

Section 1: Course Condition Relief Rules

 

Local Rule 1 (Short Version): Very Soggy or squishy areas in the fairway or rough are defined as Temporary or Casual Water (Abnormal Course Conditions).  You may proceed under rule 16.1b, e.g. you may take relief within 1 club length of the nearest relief spot, no closer to the hole.  You must drop ball from knee height.

 

Local Rule 2 (Short Version): You can lift, rake and place in an unmaintained or un-raked area of a bunker.  If no rake is present, you can use your foot to smooth the general area. The intent is to achieve a normal sand bunker shot, not gain an advantage. 

 

 

Section 2: The following two rules are adopted from the 2019 Rules of Golf Appendix and are recommended for Pace of Play.

 

Local Rule 3 (Short Version): Lost Ball or Out of Bounds Alternative to Stroke and Distance - drop within 2 club lengths of the nearest edge of fairway with 2 stroke penalty.  You are now lying three in the fairway without having to go back and hit again, and you are guaranteed to be in the fairway and it's much faster than returning to the tee. 

 

Local Rule 4 (Short Version):  Provisional Ball for Ball in a Penalty Area. It is OK to hit Provisional Ball for Ball that may be either in a Penalty Area or may have landed “in play” but out of sight, but you can't tell from where you hit.  You can play the provisional ball either (1) from the original location prior to going forward or (2) from the point of entry into a lateral red penalty area as you are going forward. 

 

If original ball is found “in play,” you must play it.  If original ball is found in penalty area, you must either play the ball where it lies, or play the provisional ball, you can't choose at that point to take a penalty area drop. If original ball not found, you must play the provisional ball. In other words, once you hit the provisional ball, you can't later elect to take any other hazard relief options. 

 

Section 3: The following rule applies only when Winter Rules are in effect, either posted at the course or stated by the Tournament Director. 

 

Local Rule 5 (Short Version): Lift, Clean and Place – replace the original ball within 6 inches in the same cut of grass.

 

 

Full (Long Version) of EGC Local Rules

 

 

Section 1. Course Condition Relief Rules

 

Local Rule 1 (Full Version): Very soggy or squishy area is defined as Temporary or Casual Water (e.g. Abnormal Course Conditions)

 

There may be very soggy or squishy areas in the general area (fairway or rough) where you cannot take a firm stance.  These areas may be considered Abnormal Conditions (Temporary Water) even if there is not water visible on the surface. You may proceed under rule 16.1b, e.g. you may take relief within 1 club length of the nearest relief spot, no closer to the hole.  You must drop ball from knee height.

 


Local Rule 2 (Full Version): Bunker Not Raked or Maintained

 

If the bunker has not been maintained in the area your ball comes to rest and it is (1) on hard packed sand, or (2) in a disturbed area, you have the option to lift, rake (or smooth with foot if no rake is present), and place the ball. The ball must be placed as close to where it originally came to rest as possible.  The raking or smoothing must not create any mounding or attempt to move sand to create a deeper sand layer; it should only loosen and smooth the existing sand around the ball location.  You may also remove lose impediments, including small rocks, with no penalty as allowed by rule 15.1.  This is to ensure a fairer sand bunker shot as intended. You are on your honor as a golfer not to use this to undue advantage. 

 

 

Section 2: The following two rules are adopted from the 2019 Rules of Golf Appendix and are recommended for Pace of Play.

 

Local Rule 3 (Full Version): Alternative to Stroke and Distance for Lost Ball or Out of Bounds; 2 stroke penalty

 

When a player’s ball is Out of Bounds, or has not been found (lost ball), and is not "known or virtually certain to be in a penalty area," the player may take relief by dropping a ball within two club lengths of the nearest point on the fairway to where the ball is believed lost, no closer to the hole. The player will incur two penalty strokes. 

 

(Adopted from USGA Model Local Rule 8 E-5 - https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules/rules-2019/committee-procedures/rule-8.html.  EGC has adopted a simplified version of this rule requiring the drop in the most likely used drop area (in the fairway) as defined in the USGA rule. This reduces ambiguity and confusion, and speeds up the decision. The player still has the option of stroke and distance but this is generally both better and faster.) 

 

 

Local Rule 4 (Full Version): Provisional Ball for Ball in a Penalty Area

 

If a player does not know whether his or her ball is in a penalty area or landed in the general area (in play), the player may play a provisional ball:

 

Where to hit your provisional: In playing the provisional ball, the player may choose only one of two locations prior to going forward to search for the original ball: 

  1. The original shot location (stroke-and-distance) prior to going forward or,
  2. If it is a red penalty area, the lateral relief option to drop within two club lengths of the point of entry, as you are going forward to search for the original ball. 

 

Loss of drop options: Once the player has played a provisional ball under this Rule, he or she may not use any further drop options under Rule 17.1 in relation to the original ball. You have only the following three options to play.

 

Options to Play:

  1. When your original ball is found on the course outside a penalty area before the end of the three minute search time, it must be played.  (This is the same with any provisional ball scenario.)
    Example: Ball cleared the hazard and found in general area – must play the original ball, pick up the provisional.
  2. When Original Ball Is Found in Penalty Area Within Three-Minute Search Time. The player may choose either to:
    1. Continue to play the original ball as it lies in the penalty area, or
    2. Continue to play the provisional ball in which case the original ball must not be played.
  3. When Original Ball Is Not Found Within Three-Minute Search Time or Is Known or Virtually Certain to Be in Penalty Area. The provisional ball becomes the player’s ball in play with no other drop options.

 

(Adopted from USGA Model Local Rule 8 B-3 - https://www.usga.org/content/usga/home-page/rules/rules-2019/committee-procedures/rule-8.html. This rule has been simplified by eliminating some of the options to play the provisional ball to speed up the process.)

 

When to use this rule: If you hit a ball over a penalty area, and are not sure if you cleared the penalty area, but are virtually certain that the ball is either in the penalty area or in an area the ball is likely to be found, you may now hit a provisional shot from either (1) the same location as the original shot (stroke and distance), or (2) if the ball is in a lateral penalty area, within two club lengths of the point of entry, prior to advancing forward to find out if you are in or out of the penalty area.  Under prior rules of golf, you were not allowed to hit a provisional in this scenario, however many people frequently did. The new USGA local rule adopted here allows this.  This rule is useful primarily in situations where you hit over a hazzard and can't tell whether you cleared it or not, and the option to drop at point of entry would require backtracking a good distance, taking a lot of time. This rule allows hitting a provisional ball prior to going forward to save that time.  

 

Section 3. Winter Rules

 

The following EGC Local rule is in place WHENEVER there is a posted Winter Rules sign at the course. If the Tournament Director explicitly calls out either Winter Rules or Summer Rules in the tournament communications, the Tournament Director's decision overrides the local posted information.

 

 

Local Rule 5 (Full Version): Lift, Clean and Place

 

When a player’s ball lies in anywhere “in the general area” (e.g. closely mown areas and rough but excluding penalty areas, bunkers, teeing grounds and putting green), the ball may be lifted cleaned and placed within 6 inches of the original spot, in the same cut of grass, without penalty. The player must mark the spot before lifting the ball..

 

 

 

Section 4: Specific Event Rules

 

These rules may be invoked on an individual event basis by the Tournament Director. If invoked in the tournament description or email to participants, this is the full description of the rule. These are only invoked in unusual ground condition scenarios at specific courses. 

 

Local Rule 6 (Full Version): Bare Dirt in Fairway is defined as Abnormal Course Conditions (Ground under Repair), excluding divots

 

At times the fairway may have patches of bare dirt due to weather (dried out) or other maintenance issues. These conditions may be considered Abnormal Conditions (Ground Under Repair) and you may proceed under rule 16.1b. Note this definition of abnormal ground does not apply to: 1) brown or dead grass; 2) bare dirt outside the fairway or 3) to divots in the fairway.  Normal fairway conditions are expected to be a grass surface or a divot.  Use good judgement and be fair, this is not meant to be a free pass. 

 

Local Rule 7 (Full Version): Lost Ball believed to be embedded below surface in the Fairway and at least one other player in your group agrees with the area the ball disappeared.

 

If at least one other player in your group agrees that it is "known or virtually certain" that a ball is lost in a specifically identifiable soggy area in the Fairway and is likely embedded below the surface, the ball can be played without penalty by dropping in an equitable area agreed upon by all players. 

 

If there is any doubt where the ball disappeared, e.g. if no other player in the group has a high confidence of where they saw the ball land, the player should proceed under the lost ball local rule #3.

 

This rule does not apply to balls lost outside the fairway. In those situations, Local Rule 3 for lost ball should be used. 

 

 

 

Section 5: Willows Run Specific Course Definitions

 

Out of Bounds replaced by Red Penalty Areas: There is no OB at Willows; all off course areas are treated as Red Penalty Areas.  

 

Penalty Area Borders are defined by Mow Lines: Within the boundaries of the course, the exact borders for “Penalty Areas” (formerly hazards) are frequently not marked with individual red or yellow stakes. This is intentional. Willows Run considers the “Mow Line” around penalty areas to be the boundary, with the exception of long grass surrounding bunkers.  In all other areas, mow lines supersede any red stakes deeper in the penalty area. All unmown, natural growth areas other than those surrounding bunkers should be treated as Penalty Areas.  

 

Long Grass on Bunker Walls and Surrounding Bunkers: Long grass surrounding bunkers and on bunker walls are considered part of the general area (formerly "through the green") and are not considered either "in the hazard" or "Penalty area borders defined by mow lines." If your ball is in the long grass surrounding a bunker, standard rules for any ball in the rough apply.  If you find your ball, it must be hit or declared unplayable. If it is lost, the regular rules for lost balls (Rule 5, two strokes in the fairway, OR stroke & distance) apply.  If winter rules are in effect you can lift, clean and place as per Rule 5 in the same cut of grass.