Local Rules

1. USGA Rules of Golf govern all play except as specifically modified below.
2. When in your own fairway you may lift, clean, and place your ball within 6" of its original location but no closer to the hole.
3. When in a bunker you may lift, clean, rake level and place your ball within 6" of its original location.
4. When in a bunker you may test the depth of the sand, if it is less than 2" to the rock liner you may move the ball to another area of the bunker where there is sufficient depth
5. If there is standing water in a bunker you can move the ball to a dry area of the bunker even if that area is closer to the hole.
6. If you hit a ball out of bounds you have two options, hit another ball from your previous location incurring a one stroke penalty, or take a drop in the fairway perpendicular to where it went out of bounds incurring a two stroke penalty.
7. A lost ball that is virtually certain to be inbounds should be treated as if it were in a red penalty area, incurring a one stroke penalty.
8. 14th Hole - If a ball is in the creek in front of the tee or in the penalty area on the right you may use the drop zone across the bridge incurring a one stroke penalty. Map of drop zone
9. 16th Hole – If a ball is in the penalty area on the left and between the creeks, you may drop on the right of the cart path incurring a one stroke penalty.
10. 17th Hole - If a ball is in the penalty area on the right and between the creeks, you may drop on the left of the cart path incurring a one stroke penalty.
11. Beginning on or about October 21st each year, a ball that is virtually certain to be in the fairway or rough but can't be found due to leaf cover is a free drop, no penalty.
12. Two scorekeepers in each group will complete separate scorecards, compare them hole-by-hole at the end of the round, then submit both cards to the tournament committee. One card will be an ABMGA card, the other an Ash Brook card, the ABMGA card is the official one and should be signed by both scorekeepers.

Temporary Local Rules

1. 14th Hole - Play paradise from the roped off area through the green.
2. 15th Hole - Play paradise from the tee through the green
3. 16th Hole - If played as a par three, no paradise, if played as a par 4 it's paradise up the the creek.
4. 17th Hole - Muddy/weedy area between cart path and fairway is ground under repair, ball may be moved to the nearest point of relief even if that point is in the fairway.
5. Paradise includes fairways and rough but does NOT include hazards/penalty areas, balls in a hazard must be played as it lies.

Winter Rules

1. Winter rules are in effect from November 15th through March 31st
2. We play “Paradise” regarding preferred lies, ie you may lift, clean and place your ball one club length in fairway, rough or bunker but no closer to hole.
3. A ball in a hazard, penalty area, woods, swamp, tall weeds or any otherwise unmaintained area must be played as it lies.
4. ABMGA handicaps will be adjusted all winter long but will revert to your pre-winter status before the first official event in the spring.

Clarifications

1. If any part of your ball is touching the fairway, your ball is deemed to be in the fairway.
2. If any part of your ball is touching the green, your ball is deemed to be on the green.
3. Net skins game is always 100% handicap regardless of the daily event allowance.
4. Net skins game is capped at a Playing Handicap of 18, i.e. one dot per hole maximum.
5. Ties in stroke play events are retained unless required for seeding, in which case ties are broken by match of cards using last 9, 6, 3, 1 holes.
6. Ties in match play events go to sudden death playoff starting on the first hole. Strokes are given/received as if a new round.
7. We do not pay blinds, blind winnings are added back to the daily event purse.
8. Music on the course - Playing music is allowed but we ask that members be respectful of others and keep it down if someone in the group objects.

The Presidents Cup

• Two day individual stroke play competition using 100% handicap.
• Combined score from both days determines the winner.
• The top 12 players will receive a share of the purse.
• Entry is optional and fee is $20.

The Governor's Cup

• Match play competition using handicaps.
• A qualifying round using 100% handicap will determine who advances to match play.
• The top 15 net scores and last year's winner qualify.
• Matches will use 100% handicaps based off low man.
• The final 8 will receive a share of the purse.
• Entry is optional and fee is $20.

Club Championship

• Match play competition by flights using gross scores, no handicaps.
• Your current Course Handicap determines which flight you play in.
• The entrants with the 7 lowest Course Handicaps, plus last year's winner will play in the championship flight.
• The next 8 lowest will play in A flight, followed by the next 8 lowest in B flight and so on.
• Championship flight will play from black tees, all other flights will play from members normal tees.
• Tie breaker for seeding is Handicap Index first, then match of cards from most recent round.
• Flights A, B, C etc winners from last year do not automatically qualify.
• The number of flights will be determined by the number of entrants rounded down to multiple of eight, rounding will be based on handicap index.
• Final two players in each flight will receive share of the purse.
• Entry is optional and fee is $20.

Senior Championship

• Match play competition using one gross flight and one net flight.
• You must be age 60 or over this calendar year to enter.
• A qualifying round using 100% handicap will determine which flight you play in.
• The top 7 gross scores along with last years gross winner will play in the gross flight.
• From the remaining competitors, the top 8 net scores will play in the net flight.
• Last year's net winner does not automatically qualify.
• Matches in the net flight will use 100% handicap based off low man.
• The final four in each flight will receive a share of the purse.
• Entry is optional and fee is $20.

Super Senior Championship

• Match play competition using Handicaps.
• You must be age 70 or over this calendar year to enter.
• A qualifying round using 100% handicap will determine who advances to match play.
• The top 2 net scores qualify for the Championship Match.
• Match will use 100% handicap based off low man.
• Top two players will receive a share of the purse.
• If field size is large enough, tournament committee may decide to add a 3rd place match.
• Entry is optional and fee is $20.

Four Ball Championship

• 2-person team match play competition.
• A better ball qualifying round using 85% handicap will determine which teams advance to match play.
• The top 15 teams and last year's winners qualify.
• Matches will use 90% handicaps based off low man.
• The final four teams will receive a share of the purse.
• Entry is optional and fee is $20.

1. Check your privacy settings - You can have your Venmo transactions visible to the public, friends or private. We can't think of a good reason to set this to anything other than private but by default it's set to public.

To change it, go to Settings by clicking the icon on the top right of the screen, scroll down to Privacy and set Default Privacy Setting to Private. While still in Privacy, scroll down to Past Transactions and click Change All to Private to hide old transactions from public view.


2. Require PIN or Biometric to open the Venmo app - If you lose or misplace your phone someone finding it could access your Venmo account, in order to prevent this, you can require a PIN or Biometric to open the Venmo app.

To add a PIN or Biometric, go to Settings and scroll down to Security, then enable PIN Settings or Biometric Unlock. Follow the prompts to complete the security option you selected.


3. Set a photo in your profile - Most people have fairly common names so when searching in Venmo for a payee numerous results come up. By including a photo of yourself you can help someone paying you to positively identify the correct account to send to.

To add a photo, go to Settings, then Account, then Profile. Click the photo area at the top of the screen and choose Take a Photo or Choose From Library then follow the prompts to complete the process.


4. Include a clear description in the note section - Using a single word such as “golf” or “ABMGA” is not very helpful to the person receiving dozens of similar payments each week. Always include the date(s) of play you are paying for and what optional games you are in e.g. Sunday 6/22 Event and net birdies only, or Sunday 6/22 all-in.


5. When sending a payment DO NOT check the “Turn on for purchases” checkbox as this will cause tax to be withheld from the payment.

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When an event's registration is open, the best way to contact us is via Message to Manager. Because it organizes and stores messages directly within the event, it makes it easy to review while we do the pairings insuring requests don't get missed.

When an event's registration is closed, the best way to contact us is by replying to one of our standard e-mails (Invite, Tee Sheet, Venmo or Results), or send an e-mail to abmgaGolf@gmail.com. These e-mails are seen by everyone on the tournament committee and ensures that we are all in the loop.

Executive Committee