3rd Senior Interclub Championship

Summary

Member clubs will identify a team consisting of its senior male members (age 55 and above) to participate in this event. The Senior Interclub Championship will be structured to include three Four-Ball, match-play rounds called “Section Play,” - after which - each sectional champion will advance to the championship proper. The Championship round will be one 18-hole Four-Ball, Stroke-Play event. The entire championship will take place over the course of approximately four to five weeks in September and October.

Section Play will take place during September/October. Teams shall be grouped into sections of four-teams, where each team will play the other three teams in its section one time with points to be awarded on a Nassau scoring basis for each match (1 point front 9 match, 1 point back 9 match, 1 point 18-hole match). The team from each section with the highest point total will advance to the Championship proper in early October. At the Championship proper, each sectional champion team will enter four teams of two players. The format will change to Four-Ball, Stroke Play, and the team with the lowest four (4) Four-Ball scores will be the champion.

On every team, there will be two (2) divisions which are differentiated by USGA Handicap Index (effective as of the September 1 revision), titled the “A” division and the “B” division. The “A” division may include golfers of any Handicap Index, while the “B” division may only include those with a Handicap Index of 8.0 or higher (as of 8/15/17). To clarify, any golfer whose Handicap Index is 7.9 or lower is required to participate in the “A” Division. (The intention is that golfers with a Handicap Index ranging from +/0 to 7.9 participate in the “A” Division, while those with a Handicap Index from 8.0 and higher participate in the “B” Division.) NOTE: All matches are played at SCRATCH. There is NO handicap allowance, nor net scoring component, to this competition.

Acceptance of Teams and Assignment to Sections

Teams will be accepted into the championship four teams at a time on a first-commitment basis. When assigned to Sections, private facilities and public facilities will be grouped separately and according to geography. To clarify, during Section Play, public facilities will only play matches versus public facilities, and private facilities will only play matches versus private facilities. Teams that win their section, from both public and private facilities, will compete together for the championship proper. There is no limit to the number of teams entered by any one facility (private or public), provided that a minimum of fifteen (15) players are submitted on a team’s official roster (see below).

A total of eight (8) players are needed for each round (two, two-player home teams / A & B; plus two, two-player away teams / A & B). Teams are required to submit a roster of eligible players to the NJSGA no later than Friday, Sept. 4 with a MINIMUM of fifteen (15) players and a MAXIMUM of fifty (50) players. Only those on the roster submitted by the team captain (as of Sept. 4) are permitted to play at any time throughout the duration of the championship. The NJSGA will provide a team roster, including USGA Handicap Index and date of birth, to the other captains in the section prior to Section Play.

Scheduling

It is the cooperative responsibility of opposing team captains to schedule and agree on date(s) and time(s) of Section Play matches, which must be completed by a specific date (see below). The Section Play component of the championship will consist of two (2) home matches, and two (2) away matches. There will be one (1) home “A” division match, one (1) away “A” division match, one (1) home “B” division match, and one (1) away “B” division match for each team, per round, during Section Play. Per Nassau Scoring, a total of twelve (12) points will be at stake during each Section Play round.

Championship Date: Upper Montclair Country Club, Thursday, October 26

Section Play (interclub match) Rounds:

Round 1 – Begin no earlier than September 1; complete by September 17*

Round 2 – Begin no earlier than September 18; complete by October 1*

Round 3 – Begin no earlier than October 2; complete by October 15*

*- It is strongly suggested that all matches during a particular round (both home/away) are contested concurrently (i.e. same day).

Format and Scoring

· All portions of the competition shall be played at SCRATCH (no handicap allowance).

· Section Play rounds: 18-Holes, Four-Ball, Match-Play; Gross Scoring. Nassau scoring (1 point front 9, 1 point back 9, 1 point 18 holes. Maximum points / match: 3. Maximum points / four matches: 12.

· At the conclusion of Section Play, the maximum points for the three interclub matches is 36.

· Failure to complete any match/round will result in zero (0) points for one or both sides

· Championship: 18-Holes, Four-Ball, Stroke-Play; Gross Scoring. Shotgun start; Hackensack Golf Club,

October 26, time TBA. Two “A” teams and two “B” teams must be entered in the Stroke Play Championship. Each team’s Four-Ball scores are totaled; the club with the lowest total of four scores is the champion.

· Official scoring after each Section Play round will be posted by the NJSGA on www.njsga.org.

Eligibility / Handicap / Division Breakdown:

· AGE: Each player on the team’s roster must be age 55 or above as of Friday, September 1. (Clarification: Any player who turns age 55 on September 1 or later is NOT eligible to participate.)

· HANDICAP INDEX REQUIREMENTS:

o Each player must appear on his club team’s GHIN Handicap Roster with an official USGA Handicap Index as of the August 15, 2017 Handicap Revision.

o A Division: No Handicap Index limit.

o B Division: Player’s USGA Handicap Index may not be lower than 8.0 as of the August 15, 2017 Handicap Revision. (Those with a Handicap Index of +, or 0 to 7.9 are restricted to participation in the A Division.)

· HANDICAP INDEX – EFFECTIVE DATE: Each player’s USGA Handicap Index as of August 15, 2017 will apply for the duration of the Championship, regardless of subsequent Handicap Index updates. (In other words, if a player with a Handicap Index of 7.5 on August 15 increases to 8.7 on subsequent revisions, i.e., on September 1 and/or 15, that player’s Handicap Index for the purposes of division eligibility remains 7.5 and is therefore only eligible to participate in the “A” division.)

· A player with a Handicap Index of 8.0 or higher MAY participate “up” in the “A” Division – however, not vice-versa.

· No player may participate in more than one match per round.

· No player may participate on more than one team.

· A player is restricted to participating in the Senior Interclub Championship from one team, per year. The team from which he participates in his first match is designated as his team for the duration of the competition.

· Public facility participant eligibility mirrors that of the NJSGA Public Links Championship. Players who hold playing privileges, incidental or otherwise, and/ or appear on the current handicap roster at a club not open to the general public are ineligible to participate on a team from a public facility.

Transportation & Caddies:

The NJSGA supports the use of caddies. At a club which requires caddies, caddies are required. In addition, motorized transportation (carts) is permitted. All cart and caddie fees are the responsibility of the player. The choice to use a cart is at the sole discretion of the player/side.

Entry Fee & Closing Date:

· $400.00 per club team, payable upon entry.

· A completed entry and payment is due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, August 4.

Other considerations:

· Team captain / alternate captains: Each club team must identify ONE captain and TWO alternate captains. A captain is encouraged to bring one (or both) of his alternate captains to the orientation.

· Determination of field and sections: Teams will be entered into the championship in groups of four on a first-commitment basis. The entry deadline is Friday, Sept. 4, 2015 at 5:00 p.m. The basis for this competition is the four team section. Therefore, teams will be accepted into the championship on a first-commitment basis, four clubs at a time. The NJSGA will facilitate the addition of teams in order to maximize participation in up to ten four-team sections.

· Once the field of teams has been finalized, the NJSGA will group sections appropriately. In the first season, sections will be created primarily by geography. The NJSGA will endeavor to avoid placing teams from the same facility in the same section from. The creation of sections in future years will be determined at a later date, following the conclusion of the 2015 competition.

Host Captain / Host Club Responsibilities:

FOR MATCHES BETWEEN TEAMS FROM PRIVATE FACILITIES:

· The host captain, in agreement with the away captain, is responsible for securing two tee times (for each home match which are mutually acceptable to both sides. All matches must conclude by the posted deadline.

· The host captain must make all advance arrangements relating to the locker room, practice facilities, and food/beverage (including halfway house) with the host club and the visiting captain. The host captain should be in close contact with the guest captain and is responsible for conveying all above information to the guests’ side with ample advance notice.

· The host captain must arrange that all green fees and practice range fees be waived.

· The host captain must coordinate caddie and/or cart reservations/arrangements for BOTH club teams in advance; fee information, details, etc… must be communicated to the guest team as well. Each player is responsible for his caddie and/or cart fee, including an appropriate gratuity for the caddie. The captain should ensure that all fees have been satisfied immediately upon the conclusion of the round.

· Section Play results MUST be provided to the NJSGA no later than 12 hours after the conclusion of the match. Both captains are REQUIRED to provide full results within this time frame. Telephone calls or phone messages are NOT an acceptable method of score/results reporting.

· The social interaction between teams is a key component to the matches. Therefore, the host captain should arrange for post-golf refreshments (i.e. lunch, hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, etc.). In addition, where a halfway house is available, the host team should make arrangements for snacks and drinks to be available. The host club should absorb these costs, or they should be paid for by the host team members.

FOR MATCHES BETWEEN TEAMS FROM PUBLIC FACILITIES:

· The host captain, in agreement with the away captain, is responsible for scheduling and reserving tee times for the two home matches. These two tee times should be reserved for two groups of four (4) players each, and the two matches should ideally be scheduled consecutively (if possible). All matches must conclude by the posted deadline.

· It is the home team captain’s responsibility to reserve and arrange payment for all tee times for those involved in that match. The away team captain is responsible for coordinating his team members’ reimbursement of the home captain. All fees are due to the host facility, and host captain (when applicable) PRIOR to the starting time of the first match played at that course.

· The home captain is ultimately responsible for securing starting times as prescribed above. If the home team fails to do so, the match(es) are forfeited and the away team is awarded all points for the forfeited match(es).

· Captains are strongly encouraged to inquire (and coordinate, if agreeable to the host facility) about the possibility of resident-rate green fees for all players in the match. For example, if a Union County course is hosting an opponent from Somerset County, the Union County captain should inquire as to the possibility of resident-rate green fees for non-Union County residents. The NJSGA will attempt to facilitate, when possible, this type of reciprocal courtesy among participating county courses.

· The host captain must convey, in advance, to the away captain any information relating to the use/rental of golf carts, locker room, practice facilities, and food/beverage (including halfway house) – when applicable. The host captain should be in close contact with the guest captain and is responsible for providing all of the above information to the guests’ side with ample advance notice.

· Results MUST be provided on the electronic form provided by the NJSGA no later than 12 hours after the conclusion of the match. Both captains are REQUIRED to provide full results within this time frame. Telephone calls or phone messages are NOT an acceptable method of score/results reporting.

· The social interaction between teams is a key component to the matches. The NJSGA understands that this dynamic may be difficult to achieve at public venues; however, when possible, teams are encouraged to support the host club/course by dining at that facility.

Course Setup

· All matches on a given course must be played from one set of tee markers not to exceed 6300 yards, and no shorter than 6000 yards in length. At courses where this is unrealistic, or impossible, the NJSGA shall make a determination. All other aspects of course setup, including the selection of hole locations, are at the sole discretion of the host club. (The NJSGA recommends that course difficulty is kept to a reasonable level, considering weather, etc.) The NJSGA strongly encourages that the golf course be marked with stakes and paint (define hazards, ground under repair, and boundaries; identify dropping zones), and that a supplemental local rules sheet be created in order to avoid controversy and confusion.

Rules/Decisions/Disputes:

· The Rules of Golf are in effect at all times. During the match play rounds, it is up to the players/sides to fully handle and adjudicate rules situations and questions. Each team is required to assign a captain or alternate captain to each section play site who is responsible for settling doubtful situations. The captain, or his designee, should make any final determination(s) as necessary. If the captains cannot reach a decision, the matter should be referred to the NJSGA. All players should familiarize themselves with Rule 2-5.

· Inclement weather/rain-outs: The host golf course staff (i.e., Golf Professional, Green Superintendent) has full authority to close the golf course in the event of unplayable course conditions. No captain or player is permitted to overrule the host club staff with respect to this decision. The decision to postpone or delay a match is completely acceptable when:

1. Both teams agree to postpone/delay.

2. Dangerous weather exists, i.e., lightning – see Rule 6-8a (ii).

3. The course is unplayable.

Note: In a situation where the course becomes closed to carts (i.e. wet, but playable conditions) and any player(s) requests or needs to use a cart, the match must be rescheduled unless all players agree to walk.

· Scheduling / conflicts: Matches MUST be completed by the stipulated date. In cases where teams fail to complete any match(es), zero points will be awarded to one, or both teams. Therefore, teams are strongly encouraged to schedule matches in advance of the deadline and be proactive given the weather or other potential conflicts (holidays, etc.). Disputes with respect to scheduling should first be resolved by the respective captains. If such a resolution does not seem possible, the dispute should be referred to the NJSGA.

Tiebreakers

Section Play: In the event of a tie after the conclusion of the three week period of Section Play, the tiebreaker(s) shall be as follows:

1. Head-to-head match results

2. Total points gained by both “A” division matches during the head-to-head match.

3. Total points gained by the home “A” division matches (head-to-head).

4. Coin flip.

Championship: The highest score of each team involved will be eliminated, and the team’s score re-totaled. If the tie persists, the highest and second highest scores of each team involved will be eliminated, and the team’s score re-totaled; followed by the three highest scores of each team involved being eliminated with the low score becoming the tiebreaker.

Summary of Key Dates

August 31, 2015 – Entries close.

Sept. 4, 2015 – Final team rosters due.

Sept. 2, 2015 – Captains Meeting

Sept. 18 – Oct. 11 – Section Play.

October 22 – Championship Round.