Begone Golf League Rules
- No more than 10 strokes per person are allowed on any hole. When your reach 10 strokes you should pick up your ball and continue on with your group. If you pick up your ball before making your putt or qualifying for a "gimmie" (as outlined in #10 below), you must take a 10 on your score card.
- All strokes that connect with the ball must be counted (10 strokes per hole max).
- No Mulligans are allowed.
- Whiffs are not counted as a stroke if the player has a handicap of 15 or more.
- One penalty stroke must be added for a lost ball and for an out of bounds ball. The new ball is dropped in the vicinity where the original ball was lost or went out of bounds.
- Balls hit into the water count as one stroke in and one stroke out. When the water is next to the fairway, the new ball is dropped on the fairway near the point of entry. When the water crosses the fairway, the new ball may be dropped on the fairway on the opposite side of the water.
- Balls coming to rest on concrete, gravel, bridges or in an adobe crack, may be moved to the nearest grass, but no closer to the hole. The water hazard on the 4th and 6th fairways are considered concrete. No penalty stroke is taken.
- On the 4th and 6th fairways of FxtGC South Course, if your ball crosses to the opposite fairway you must retrieve it and bring it back to the fairway in play. This is a safety rule and no penalty stroke is taken.
- The ball can be moved one club length from an obstacle, but no closer to the hole. Sorry, sand traps and golf carts are not obstacles.
- "Gimmies" are allowable on the green if the ball is within the shaft length of the putter, up to the leather. They are counted as one stroke.
'Texas Scramble' Rules
A Texas Scramble is an 18 hole TEAM event in which each foursome records
only one score for the foursome for each hole. The format is as follows:
- All four golfers tee off on every hole and the "best" drive is selected
and marked with a tee.
- The three team members whose drive was not used then hit the second
shot from within one club length of the marker. It's important to note that no
golfer can hit consecutive shots until the foursome reaches the green, so
if the drive of golfer "A" is selected, golfer "A" doesn't hit with the
other members of the team when they hit the next shot from the marker.
- The spot selected for the next shot is anywhere within one club length
of the marker but it cannot be closer to the hole than the original shot.
- The best of those second shots is selected and the process is repeated
(i.e. three golfers hit from every spot with the caveat that you can't hit
a shot if your previous shot has been selected for play) until you reach
the green.
- When one or more golfers on the team reach the green, the shot which
gives the "best" putt is selected and marked with a coin or other marker
and everyone putts from six inches of that marker (no closer to the hole
than the putt you've marked) until the ball is in the hole. The
difference between putts and shots from the tee box or the fairway is that on the green, you can hit some consecutive putts and all four golfers putt from
each marked spot until the putt is sunk.
- Each time the foursome selects a shot or putt and plays another round
of shots or putts is counted as one stroke. No gimmees in a scramble, not
even within the leather, but since you have four tries at every putt, this
shouldn't be a problem.
- The only caveat is that each foursome must use 2 drives from each
member of the foursome on the front nine and two drives from each member on the
back nine, meaning that each foursome only has one "optional" drive for each 9 holes.
- Be sure to mark your scorecard as to which golfer's drive was used on
each hole, both so you can remember who still has unused and required
drives and also so the official rules committee can ensure that all
golfer's drives have been used.
- The strategy of a scramble comes in the selection of the drive to use
and it is not unusual to come to the last holes of each nine having to use
certain team members drives no matter where they end up. The low
handicapper will be the captain of each team so that disputes as to which
drive to use will not end up in fisticuffs!
- Other than the fact that there are no gimmees or mulligans(takeovers)
in a scramble, all other Begone League rules apply. Also, because this is a
Fireman's Fund event, the shared values will apply, especially teamwork,
sensitivity, and courage.