Rules of Golf

In accordance with the spirit of the game and conduct associated with friendly competition, the following serves as the contract of rules, regulations, and etiquette to hereby establish the Golf Series.

All rules presiding over tournament play shall be in accordance with the USGA® Rules of the Golf, with the following modifications made to quicken pace of play and lessen penalties for amateur golfers:

The highest score a player should receive on a hole is double par
If your ball has come to rest in a fairway divot (not the green nor fringe nor rough), but fairway only, the player is allowed to roll his ball within two inches of its current location and no closer to the hole. The player is not allowed to pick the ball up. The rule is intended to alleviate situations in which the player has struck a well-hit shot that has ended up in a divot or fairway imperfection under repair.

Lost Ball/OB

In the interest of a healthy pace of play, players do not need to hit provisional shots or drive/walk back to the original location an initial shot was struck. All Lost balls/out of bound shots will be treated as lateral hazards and dropped within 2 club lengths of where they were lost/entered the hazard with a one-stroke penalty (nearest point of relief).
Ready golf is encouraged in all instances.

All local club rules the day your tournament round is played should be followed.

Problem resolution

If a situation arises while playing in which a particular ruling is unclear or unknown, the golfer will defer judgment to other golfers in the group who shall make a good-faith, best effort determination in an attempt to clarify a final ruling and the appropriate course of action. If still unresolved, the rules committee will have the final say on any final ruling.

Scoring & Competition

The official live leaderboard and player scores will be tabulated in relation to par via the official Chipd In mobile app (available on iPhone and Android). All scores must be entered during the live round of golf as you play. The mobile app will consider your handicap and the course difficulty of the golf course you are playing. The app will then create your Course Handicap to equalize the difficulty level of different courses, so you are on a level playing field with all golfers. Each player will be responsible for entering their own score after completing each hole. This will update the live leaderboard throughout the tournament.
If the mobile scoring app is not working for any reason and not available for use, players must maintain a paper scorecard with electronic scoring to be updated at a later date.
Once play is completed after 18 holes, all scores are final and each player must digitally sign their score attesting to the accuracy of all scores. Three tournament round scores should be sent to a friend to verify in the mobile app (simple process in the app). The friend you choose to verify your tournament score must either have A) played in the same group during the round or B) knowledge of your demonstrated ability in order to form a reasonable basis from which to provide validation for a score or challenge you on any anomalies in the score.
Series events will be scored on a net 80% stroke play basis, in relation to par. Each player must have an official handicap. Three prior scores are required to calculate such handicap in the app.
All competitors should play an 18-hole golf course (Par 70 or greater that is available in the mobile app) during competitive rounds and select their tee box of choice. This will allow an accurate course handicap to be calculated for all players. Executive/9 Hole Courses and Par 3 courses are NOT permitted. If there are differences in course ratings/slopes/par from the course scorecard to the mobile app, the mobile app data will be considered official for scoring purposes. Change requests will be reviewed and considered for future events.
All official rounds will be played on the scheduled weekends at any time you choose. Players should log ONE round during the three day window. In the event certain players encounter bad weather and their rounds cannot be played there will unfortunately not be a makeup event available.

Regular Season

There will be 6 officially sanctioned events in each of the Spring and Summer Series. Based on performance within each tournament, points will be awarded to each golfer.
Points awarded based on tournament performances will be accumulated throughout the season. First place will earn 10,000 points, second place 9,995, third place 9,990 and so on with remaining places continuing to decrease in increments of 5 points. Should golfers not compete in a given series event for any reason (including bad weather); they will not receive points. The entry fee must be paid prior to your first event to be eligible for prizes, ranking points and the National Championship.

Final Live Event:

Following the completion of the officially sanctioned regular season Series, the top golfers according to the National Rankings shall be invited to participate in the National Championship at one location.
The top 100 players (Top 50 and ties in the season rankings from both the Spring and Summer Series) will compete in an 80% net scoring two day National Championship. There are a max 128 spots in the field (64 from each Series) at the National Championship. In the event, the number of ties exceed the max capacity of the golf course, the rules committee will determine the criteria for the playoff system of the final spots in the field.
National Champions earn a five year exemption into the National Championship
Eligibility: The Golf Series is open to all golfers (men, women, seniors and juniors) of all skill levels 13 years or older that maintain an official Handicap in our mobile app. Obtaining the handicap is as simple as downloading the official chipd in mobile app and entering three prior round scores or playing three live rounds.
Players must have a minimum of 3 regular season event scores verified to qualify for the National Championship.
Players will be required to play the National Championship with their official verified handicap from the last day of the series they qualified.
Pairings will be randomly selected for Day 1 of the National Championship and then will be re paired based on first round scoring
At the National Championship there will be certified rules officials on site to govern the competition and make any necessary rulings required during the Championship. The officials will consult with the rules committee with respect to any violations that would result in disqualification.
The Fight for Life Cup will be contested at the same time as, but separate from, the National Championship. Players will be assigned starting scores based on their cumulative finish in the overall points standings, but only players who played in both Spring and Summer Series are eligible.

Golfer responsibilities:

Each golfer should provide current and accurate information about themselves, their past scores used to calculate an initial handicap, and live scores during official tournaments. The rules committee will be reviewing handicaps on a regular basis and reserve the right to eliminate any inaccurate information outside of specified thresholds and/or parameters and apply post round handicap adjustments accordingly. The rules committee also reserves the right to disqualify any player who at their sole discretion provides inaccurate handicap or scoring data. Handicaps will continue to update during the season as more events are played and will be verified prior to the in person National Championship. All regular season violations should be reported to the rules committee and the committee will take action as deemed appropriate. All rules committee rulings are final.