HARBOUR POINTE MEN’S CLUB GENERAL INFORMATION
AND RULES OF COMPETITION
All Harbour Pointe Men’s Club tournaments shall be governed by the USGA Rules, the HPMC Local Rules, and the Local Course Rules. It is each player’s responsibility to know all rules governing competitions, including proper application of Winter Rules when applicable, free drop areas, etc. See the Local Rules, which were revised in 2021 and remain the same for 2022. In the event of a conflict between these general rules and the Local Rules or tournament specific rules, the Local Rules and/or tournament specific rules take precedent.
Members from the previous year are encouraged to pay their membership dues before January 31st to avoid having their GHIN go inactive. Members from the previous year who have not paid the HPMC annual membership fee prior to any tournament that occurs on or after March 1st are not eligible to receive winnings or compete for KP’s, Skins, and/or the Deuce pot in that event. No first-event exemption will be granted.
A guest may only play in three non-major tournaments during the active posting season and be eligible to receive winnings. A guest is not eligible to participate in side games during the active season unless explicitly expressed in the written rules for the particular tournament. Winnings in any subsequent event will be forfeited if the HPMC annual membership fee is not paid prior to the event. For events during the inactive season, guests (non-members of the previous calendar year) may win any number of times and are eligible to participate in side games. A guest fee of $15 will be charged for guests playing in non-posting season events and will be contributed to the tournament payouts.
A golfer may only win in one division, net or gross – whichever yields the higher payout – unless the golfer is playing from a tee box other than the tee box specified for the event, in which case the golfer may only win net, unless there is a dedicated forward tee flight (e.g. white). For majors only, when there is a tie for 1st place, there shall be a sudden-death playoff. In the gross division, the player or team losing the playoff still qualifies to place in the net division, including winning the net division, if placing in the net division yields the higher payout. Payouts will be determined at the discretion of the Harbour Pointe professional who is managing the event based on the size of the net and gross pots, the number of competitors in each, the number of flights where applicable, and other factors. Harbour Pointe Pros are welcome to play in HPMC tournaments and are eligible to win gross or net.
Only GHIN Handicap Indexes are acceptable for HPMC tournaments. Except for rounds played at Harbour Pointe during a Men’s tournament or a “Boy’s Game,” HPMC members are expected to self-post to GHIN all acceptable scores for rounds played during the active posting season where the round is played. For example, an acceptable score for a round played in Arizona during Washington’s inactive season must be posted. An acceptable score is a round played in an authorized format played over at least the minimum number of holes required either for a 9-hole round (completed 7 holes) or 18-hole round (completed 14 holes). For posting purposes, incomplete holes shall be given a score of net-double bogey.
For major tournaments, course handicaps will be set the Monday before the tournament and will be used for the duration of the tournament. For all other tournaments, course handicaps will be set the day before the event.
Each individual golfer is responsible for making sure their course handicap is accurate, even if pre-printed by the event manager. Any golfer who turns in a scorecard with an incorrect handicap may be disqualified from the event at the sole discretion of the Handicap Committee. Handicap adjustments may only be made by the HPMC Handicap Committee. The Harbour Pointe Golf Course professionals do not have the authority to grant handicap adjustments for HPMC events. Access to the HPMC Handicap Committee cannot be guaranteed on the day of an event, therefore golfers are advised to address any handicap grievances at least 24 hours prior to play. Commencement of play shall indicate a golfer’s affirmation of his listed handicap, as well as acceptance of the rules for adjustments set forth herein. Handicap adjustments, after play, shall be at the sole discretion of the Handicap Committee.
Requests for temporary handicap adjustments may be made by requesting a hearing before the Handicap Committee not less than 24 hours prior to the event to be played, and subject to the availability of the Committee members. Temporary handicaps may be requested based on temporary or extenuating circumstances, including but not limited to illness, injury, leave of absence from play, etc.
The maximum course handicap allowed for any Men’s Club tournament is 32. Players with a course handicap greater than 32 will receive a course handicap of 32 for the event, unless the Handicap Committee has granted an exception.
The Harbour Pointe professionals will post all Men’s Club tournament scores during the active season. Rounds played in a “Boy’s Game” will also be posted for the player. Only rounds from the Player’s Championship, Member-Member, Member-Guest, Club Championship, and Holiday Classic will be posted as “Competition” scores. All other tournaments will be posted as “Home” scores.
If members are interested in learning how a handicap index is calculated and how a handicap index is converted to a course handicap before adjustments to a playing handicap, members are encouraged to read Section III, Rule 5 of the Rules of Handicapping. The Rules of Handicapping can be found in the USGA Rules of Golf App, or online at https://www.usga.org/handicapping/roh/2020-rules-of-handicapping.html.
All team tournaments will use the USGA recommended handicap allowances for Team Competitions.
● Four-Ball (aka 2-Person Best ball)
○ 90% of course handicap
○ Team members whose course handicaps differ by more than 8 strokes will have both team members’ course handicaps reduced by 10%.
○ For the Member-Member, Holiday Classic, and Member-Guest, team members whose course handicaps differ by more than 12 strokes, the team member with the higher course handicap will have their course handicap reduced to be within 12 strokes of the lower team member’s course handicap.
● Foursome (aka Alternate Shot)
○ Teams receive 50% of the partners’ combined course handicap
● Chapman
○ The partner with the lower course handicap receives 60% of course handicap and the partner with the higher course handicap receives 40% of course handicap.
● Scramble
○ 4 Man - The player with the lowest course handicap receives 20% of their course handicap, the next lowest receives 15%, the next lowest 10%, and the highest course handicap of the group receives 5%.
○ 2 Man - The player with the lowest course handicap receives 35% and the player with the higher course handicap receives 15%.
HPMC follows USGA Handicap Manual Section 6.2(b) - guidance for allowing players to play from different tee markers. However, members will be asked to declare upon registering for the HPMC, and before the first event the member plays in, a “Default Tee.” Members will have the option of playing from the Member (Green), White, or Gold tee markers. When participating in competitions in which a set of tees is not defined by the competition itself, the Default Tee the member declares becomes the tee from which they intend to play the majority of their competition rounds throughout the season and will be their selected tee for the major events (Player’s Championship, Club Championship/President’s Cup, Member-Member, Holiday Classic). Members who declare the Gold tee as their Default Tee may be subject to review by the tournament committee and the HPMC Board to ensure that using the opportunity to move up to the Gold tee is as intended and is fair to the membership and competitive balance. The true intention of allowing a member to play from their desired tee marker is to maximize the enjoyment they receive from competing in the HPMC.
If a member decides to play from a tee other than their Default Tee in a non-major event for pace of play or social reasons (the majority of players in the group are playing from a certain tee), the member must inform as soon as possible, and no later than the conclusion of the member’s round, the club professional so that the correct tee is used for handicap and posting purposes.
Members who decide to play from the White tee or the Gold tees in "Member Tee" or “Blue Tee” events will only be eligible to win net prizes and are not allowed to win gross prizes unless there is enough players to create a dedicated White or Gold tee flight (see flight rules). Members playing from the White or Gold tees qualify for the side games.
In team competitions, if one player plays from a different tee, the team is only eligible to win net prizes.
Members declare their Default Tee by informing the club pro (Dave Castleberry).
For each Men’s Club tournament, a minimum of 30 players (individual event) or 30 teams (team event) will be required to split into two flights. A minimum of 60 players or 60 teams will be required to split into three flights. No tournament will have more than 3 flights.
Members have the opportunity to win crystal in four “major” events. However, to qualify to win crystal in the first major - the Player’s Championship – members returning from the previous year must have a minimum of six 18-hole posted scores at Harbour Pointe in Men’s Club competitions and/or the “Boy’s Game” at any time between March 1st of the previous calendar year and the Monday immediately before the first round of the Player’s Championship. For new members, the six 18-hole posted scores must be for rounds played at Harbour Pointe in Men’s Club competitions and/or the “Boy’s Game” between March 1st of the current calendar year and the Monday immediately before the first round of the Player’s Championship. Members who do not qualify for crystal can still compete in the tournament and still win the gross or net division. In the event a member who does not qualify for crystal wins a division, the crystal will be awarded to the member with the next lowest gross or net score, as the case may be, who qualifies for crystal.
In order to compete in the Club Championship/President’s Cup, a member must have paid the annual membership fee and must have played in at least two weekend Men’s Club competitions or four Wednesday competitions at any time after March 1st of the current calendar year.
Except for the requirement to qualify for crystal in the Player’s Championship, a participation requirement does not apply to the other two majors and the Member-Guest.
Guests are not permitted to play in the four majors.
HPMC uses Golf Genius to score rounds in real-time during Men’s Club competitions. At least one person in the group must have a Smartphone with the Golf Genius App loaded in order to keep score for the group. The golf shop will email and/or text before the round the group’s GGID for the round. See the published Local Rules for additional requirements for keeping score, and HPMC’s slow play policy.
Honey Pots and Side Games (Net Skins, Gross Skins, Deuce Pot, KP): Tournament participants have the option of buying into side games, and when available, honey pots. Side game winnings shall be paid in cash in majors and book money in all other events, except for KP’s. KP’s are always paid in cash.
Side Games: If there is no winner in a side game (Net Skins, Gross Skins, Deuce Pot) during a tournament, the money collected for the side game with no winner goes into the HPMC general fund.
KP’s: A portion of the KP pot for each tournament is set aside to create the pot for the KP Shootout, which usually occurs at the end of October.
50/50 Raffle/Hole-in-One Pot: At the discretion of the HPMC Board, during certain tournaments (majors, Field Days, Wednesday Kick-off and Finale), participants will have the option of entering the “50/50 Pot” raffle. At the conclusion of the event, half of the pot is raffled off and the other half is deposited into the HPMC general fund to be used to defray the cost of drinks in the event of a hole-in-one. Policy decisions regarding the operation of the 50/50 Raffle/Hole-in-One Pot shall be decided by a majority vote of the HPMC Board.
When a HPMC member scores a hole-in-one in an HPMC tournament (Wednesdays or weekend tournaments (the “Boy’s Game” does not qualify)), HPMC will extend a credit in the HP Restaurant/Lounge to help defray the cost of buying a round of drinks for his fellow HPMC tournament participants. The credit amount shall not exceed $300 and is subject to adjustment at the discretion of the HPMC Board based on the size of the field, the available balance in the account, and the number of holes-in-one scored in the event. If there is more than one hole-in-one in an event, a $300 credit will be extended for each hole-in-one, subject to the discretion of the HPMC Board. There will be a one drink maximum per hole-in-one for each person in the bar that can be put on the Hole-In-One tab. Drinks must be ordered in the bar (no drinks off the beverage cart for the Hole-In-One tab) and only beer, wine, and well drinks will be covered. The tab will not start until the person(s) who scored the hole in one has entered the bar.
If a member has paid into the side games and scores a hole-in-one, the member scoring the hole-in-one will win the KP for that hole, the complete deuce pot for that hole (the deuce pot will remain active for other holes), the gross skin, and the net skin if not capped by a non-hole-in-one score. If two or more players have a hole-in-one on the same hole, all of the above will be split between the players scoring the hole-in-one.
The HPMC Board of Directors reserve the right to amend the Rules of Competition and Local Rules as they deem necessary for the competitive balance, fairness, and enjoyment of HPMC tournaments. Changes shall be communicated to the membership at-large via e-mail, posting to Golf Genius, or written rules of play governing any individual event.
Last Revised 3/9/2022