5.1.  All matches shall be played from the "white tees" for men and the "red tees" for women. If the tees are not in the usual location play them where they are.

5.2.  Play will be governed by a casual but meaningful interpretation of the USGA RULES, fairness, common sense, common courtesy and expediency of play. In general:

1. Play the ball where it lies. Balls in lies that are noticeably compromised due to course conditions as compared to the immediate surrounding area (e.g. in a divot or damaged turf, in casual water, in ground under repair, next to a course marker or post, on a cart path or at a place where your stance would be on a cart path) may be moved, without penalty, up to six inches or to the nearest playable area, but not closer to the hole. If the course dictates "Cart Path Only" rules, then players can LIFT, CLEAN, AND PLACE the ball from any position.
2. If you hit out of bounds, into water or into an unplayable lie (e.g. under a pine tree), drop within two club lengths, but not closer to the hole, of where your ball crossed the out-of-bounds or water hazard boundary or where your ball is at rest; or drop a ball at a place in the general proximity, along the original flight of the ball, mutual agreed upon by you and your opponent, and take a one-stroke penalty.
3. If you lose your ball, do not spend more than *one minute* looking for it. You are not going to be timed, but do not hold up play while you are looking for your ball. If you cannot find it, drop another ball within two club lengths of where you believe the ball would be and take a one-stroke penalty; or refer to Rule 5.2.b. If you can do so ONLY without holding up play, after hitting your provisional ball, you may resume looking for your lost ball and resort to playing it if found.
4. Designated DROP AREAS, if available, will be used. You can PLACE the ball within the Drop Circle. Ponds #6 and Woods #11 have Drop Areas across the water. Use these Drop Areas after a ball enters the water on any stroke other than the drive.
5. The player who is out plays first unless another player is ready and the player who is out is not ready. In that case the ready player should play first. All players should adhere to a brisk pace of play.
6. By USGA rules, there is no longer a penalty for "double-hitting" a ball and long as you have taken one continuous stroke. A ball that, after struck, hits your club, a person, or any person's equipment is played where it comes to rest, the same as if it would have hit any other natural course structure.
7. Putts less than the length of a standard putter from top of the club head to the bottom of the grip should be conceded by the player's opponent. The player must count the "gimme" stroke in their score. You should never 'assume' a gimme - it must be offered by your opponent. The offering of "gimme" putts should be applied fairly and consistently by all players.
8. USGA rules now allow players to putt with the pin in the hole. Any player whose turn it is to putt may request that the pin be removed. For expedience of play, once the pin is removed it should stay removed until the entire group has finished putting.
9. New USGA rules allow you to remove your ball from a bunker and place it in an adjacent playable area, no closer to the hole, with a 2-stroke penalty. This will be allowed in TUG League as well.

5.3.  The MAXIMUM SCORE on any hole is 4 over par. A player who fails to hole their 7^th stroke on a par-3, their 8^th stroke on a par-4 or their 9^th stroke on a par-5, must pick up and score a "P" on their scorecard. A "P" will be counted as 4-over par when calculating a player’s score for the week.

5.4.  If there is a rules dispute on a ball in play during a match a provisional ball can be played and the rules committee will make a decision optionally under advisement from the course head professional.

5.5.  Players must always be courteous and considerate. If you are going to play music, smoke, drink, swear, yell, complain, or engage in behavior that may be considered less than desirable, you must do so in a manner that does not in any way disrupt the enjoyment of the other players in your group or elsewhere on the course.

5.6.  Violators of these or Kettle Hills course rules may, at the discretion of the league rules committee or course management, be given a warning and/or may be expelled from the league for multiple egregious infractions.

5.7.  Committee decisions are final. Any committee member involved in a dispute will not take part in the resolution.

6.1.  Each player’s handicap will be used in scoring. Handicaps are calculated by taking the average over par of the last six rounds played in league competition and then rounding down to the next lowest whole number. An example calculation follows:

6.2.  All previous rounds, up to the last six played, in the current and previous season will be used in calculating their handicap. No rounds from earlier than last season will be used.

6.3.  If a player is playing their first round in league competition, their handicap for that round will be their score over par times 80%, rounded down to the next lowest whole number. [e.g. A player scores a 52 on a par 36 course, their handicap is (52 – 36) * 0.8 = 12.8; rounded down to 12.]

6.4.  Any round under par will be treated as 0 (zero) over par in calculating that player’s handicap.

7.1.  Each TEAM consists of two (2) players, an "A" player, and a "B" player, (team status), who play against the opposing teams player with the same status. The "A" player is the player with the lowest handicap. If both players from the same team have the same handicap, the player who was the "A" player the previous week will continue to be the "A" player.

7.2.  If a team member shows up late, and misses more than 2 holes, he will be allowed to make up those holes for handicap purposes only. If he shows up before teeing off on the 3rd hole, it is a legal match and he can make up the first 2 holes after the round and those scores will be used. If he shows up after teeing off on the 3rd hole then the match becomes a forfeit for those holes missed. The scores for missed holes will be determined using the procedure in Rule 9.1. The scoring restrictions described in Rule 9 also apply.

7.3.  If a hole is not completed because of Weather, Darkness, or at League or Course discussion. Scoring on completed holes will be scored as usual and the remaining scores will be par plus whatever handicap they would have received. This causes the adjusted score to return to par and a tie occurs on each remaining hole. Match points are assigned on each match using the scores as calculated.

8.1.  Each round is worth a total of forty four (44) points broken down as follows:

• Individual points -36 points - Two points per hole (18 points per match)

• Match points - 8 points – Four points for low net score per match

8.2.  Handicaps are applied on a hole-by-hole basis. The player with the higher handicap receives a total number of strokes off their score equal to the difference between their handicap and their opponent’s, up to a maximum of 16 strokes. Strokes are distributed starting with the low handicap hole for the course and continuing, one stroke per hole through the remaining holes. If the difference in handicaps is greater than 9, two strokes per hole will be subtracted starting again with the lowest handicap hole. No more than two handicaps strokes will be subtracted on par-4 and par-5 holes, and no more then one stroke will be subtracted on par-3 holes.

8.3.  Handicap ranking of holes is determined by the men’s handicap rakings on the course scorecards.

8.4.  Two points are awarded on each hole to the individual with the lowest net score (actual score minus handicap strokes). If the net scores are even on a hole the points are split 1-and-1. If one player scores a "P" on a hole, their opponent automatically wins the 2 points, regardless of handicaps. If both players score a "P" on a hole, they split the hole 1-and-1 regardless of handicaps.

8.5.  The person with the lowest combined net score will receive four (4) match points for the match. In case of a tie, the player with the fewest number of "P" scores will receive four (4) match points. If a tie results after considering "P" scores, each person will receive two (2) points.

8.6.  All points, individual and match, are added together to determine total team points for team standings.

8.7.  The league champion will be the team with most accumulated points at the end of 15 weeks of play. The 16th week of the season will be a 4-person, best ball scramble and league banquet. Teams for the scramble will be the 1st place and 16th place teams paired together, the 2nd place and 15th place teams paried together, and so on.

8.8.  Ties in the final standings will be broken first by the head-to-head round(s) the team played against each other. The next tiebreaker will be points scored on the highest handicap hole of that round, then the second highest handicap hole and so on.

9. SCORECARDS

9.1.  One member of your foursome is responsible for turning in a scorecard as soon as reasonably possible at the end of the round. EVERY member of your foursome is responsible for making sure this is done. PLEASE adhere to this and do not make the League Secretary wait for your scorecard to be turned in or have to go track you down.

9.2.  Scorecards must include:

1. Full first names and team numbers of regular league members. Use last initials if any players' first names are the same.
2. First AND last names of any subs.
3. Legibly written individual holes scores for each player, or marking "P" if applicable  (per Rule 5.3.) . If you make other markings on the card to keep a running score of your round, please check to be sure they do not obscure the hole scores.
4. You may mark the total score for each round, however these scores will NOT be considered in the official scoring of the round. Only the addition of the individual holes scores will be. (i.e. If the total scores on the card do not match the addition of the individual holes scores {and you'd be amazed at how often they don't}, the addition of the holes takes precedence.

9.3.  If a scorecard is not turned in for a match before the end of the evening of golf, both teams will score zero points for the round.

10. FORFEIT RULE

10.1.  A forfeit occurs when a player fails to appear for their match and fails to secure a substitute player or fails to make arrangements for a make-up match (rule 10) with their opponents.

10.2.  If a player misses an entire nine without make-up or Sub, that player will receive no points for the match. Their opponent will automatically receive the four net score match points. Their opponent will also play hole-by-hole against a "blind" with their individual handicap considered – in essence, playing against their average. [Suppose a player whose opponent forfeits, has a handicap of 18. They receive two strokes over par on each of the 9 holes. If they score a bogey or better on a hole, they score 2-points. If they score a double-bogey, they get 1-point for the hole. If they score higher than a double-bogey, they get no points.]

10.3.  If both players in a match forfeit, neither will receive points for the match.

11. MAKE-UP MATCHES

11.1.  MAKE UP MATCHES – By Rules Committee approval only.

12. SUBSTITUTE RULE

12.1.  A substitute (sub) must abide by all league rules. Securing a Sub is the responsibility of the absent league member or his/her partner.

12.2.  A member of one team is not eligible to sub for another team.

12.3.  Subs handicaps are calculated using the same method as regular league members. (See Rule 6)

13. RAINOUTS / LIGHTNING

14. DISPUTES / COMMITTEE DECISIONS

14.1.  The TUG League Committee can make league and local rules pertaining to league play at anytime including but not limited to matters which affect points, standings, rule interpretation, etc.

14.2.  All league disputes, violations, and penalties, are subject to review by the TUG League Committee. The committee may consult any outside party including but not limited to the parties involved, any witnesses, and/or the head course golf professional. Decisions made by the committee are final. Major changes in league structure require a vote of the league members.

15. AWARDS

15.1.  At the year-end banquest, trophies will be presented to the members of the 1st and 2nd place teams, as well as the TUG League MVP.

15.2.  The MVP will be the individual player who scores the most total points in their best 9 rounds during the 15-week schedule.