RULES
1. MATCH FORMAT
Teams will consist of twelve men, in the form of six two-man teams, including the
club professional. Matches will be played as fourballs with the nassau system: 1 point for the front nine, one point for the back nine, and one for the 18 hole match for a total of three points in each match.
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NEW FOR 2024:
A team is awared 1 point for winning the overall Match, 0.5 points for a tie (9-9 points in the 6 games), and 0 points for a loss.
2. WHO CAN PLAY
The minimum age for participation in a match is 21. Players must have
a golfing privilege at their club to play. Multiple club members will be designated for the year based on the first match played. A player can only represent one club for the year.
Additionally, for a player to be elligible for playoff matches they must play in at least one regular season match.
3. PLAYING TEES AND ORDER
The tees played by each team (1-6) and order by which the teams play is at the discretion of the home captain. If the home captain sets the order to something other than 1-6, he must communicate the decision at least 48 hours in advance to the away captains.
4. HANDICAPS AND ELIGIBILITY*
Eligibility based on handicaps: Teams #1, #2, and #3 play scratch with the club professionals playing in match #1. Players in teams #4 and #5 must play off a USGA index of no more than 13.0. Players in team #6 must play off a USGA handicap index of no more than 23.0 and must have a minimum USGA handicap index of 9.0. Players who meet the eligibility requirements 7 days before the match can play even if a future revision would changes their eligibility. However, actual handicaps for the match will be based on the current revision at match time. In this scenario, the following rules apply: If a player’s index drops below the 9.0 threshold for team #6, he can still play, but will play at his lower, below 9.0, handicap index. If a player’s index goes above 13.0 for teams #4 or #5, he must play to a 13.0 index. If a player’s index goes above 23.0 for any net match, he must play to a 23.0 index. Calculating Hole by Hole Handicap Strokes for Teams #4, #5, #6: Course handicaps will be calculated based on the slope rating for the tees being played in each match at the host course. Handicap strokes will be based upon 80% of the difference from the low man in the foursome.
5. MOTHER NATURE
In the event of inclement weather, the home team will decide whether the match will be played. Every effort should be made to play a match. If the home course is open and operating under normal conditions, the match should be played. If a match is not played within 1 week of Labor Day, the match will be cancelled and both teams will earn 0 points.
6. REPORTING RESULTS
The captain of the home team shall report the results of the match
immediately following completion of play to the OCL commissioner. The commissioner will tweet result via @oclcommish and update website standings.
7. PLAYOFFS
Standings are determined by total points earned for the regular season.
At the end of the season, the top 4 teams based on Match points make the playoffs, with 1 vs 4 and 2 vs 3, and home course advantage to the higher seed.
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Rankings / Tie-breakers for seeding the top 4 teams are as follows:
1. Match points
2. Total Game points (the prior way we ranked the top 4)
3. Total Game points from Away matches
4. Coin flip
The
team that finishes #1 in the standings will play the team that finishes #4 in the standings on #1’s home course. The team that finishes #2 will play the team that finishes #3 on #2’s home course. The winners of those matches will play at the home course of the higher seeded team. The team captain of the home team is responsible for setting up these matches. In case of a tie for playoff positions, the team that was won in regular season ranks higher. If those two teams tied, then the team with the most matches won ranks higher. If that still produces a tie, then the Commissioner will “flip a coin” to determine which team ranks higher. Round 1 must be played by the end of September and the finals must be played by the end of October.
8. PLAYOFFS = NO TIES
While regular matches may result in a tie, the playoffs require a winner. In the case of a playoff match tie, team captains will choose two players each, excluding the professionals, who played in the match that day. They will then play sudden death at scratch.