Historically, Golfapalooza has basically operated as though all participants know the rules of golf and follow them with each round they play. While that is true for the most part, everyone seems to have there own subtle interpretations as to what is within the rules and what is not. First tee mulligans. Gimmies inside the leather. How to treat a lost ball or ball out of bounds. Winter rules. Each of these things can have a significant impact the outcome of a tournament when we have 33 guys playing with their own subtle interpretations of the rules. The Golfapalooza Scoring Committee has met to define a set of rules, much simpler than the actual USGA rules of golf, that will be used for the tournament, and should be able to answer most questions about how to play or score a hole. I wish they could be even simpler, as one Scoring Committee member declared these rules to be "the longest most boring thing he ever read", and that he fell asleep twice reading them. The rules seek to achieve consistency of scoring integrity across the tournament field and also maintain fairness on a course that has, to put it nicely, not the most diligent maintenance crew in the world of golf. Please familiarize yourself with these rules and let me know if you have any questions about them. Also, the rules will be available for reference on the daily tournament pairing sheets.

Golfapalooza Tournament Rules

FLUFFING OR IMPROVING YOUR LIE: You may improve your lie anywhere on the course within 2 rotations of the ball from the original spot. Your lie may be improved but not your conditions. If you are in the rough, your improved lie must still be in the rough. Same if you are in the woods, a bunker, or choosing to play from a hazard (see Red/Yellow Stakes rule below). If you need to move more than 2 rotations of the ball to be able to take a shot, see UNPLAYABLE LIE rule below. Exceptions to the "2 rotation limit": In a bunker, you may take relief from exposed mud or from standing water without penalty, but must remain inside the bunker and hit from the sand. If your ball is in a burned out patch of fairway or in standing water, you may move it to the nearest live and/or dry grass without penalty. You may move away from immovable man-made obstructions, such as fences, outbuildings and cart paths, without penalty.

LOST BALL OR POSSIBILITY OF LOST BALL: The first option is to hit a provisional from the original spot. Then play the provisional ball if your first ball cannot be found. The second option is to drop in the area of where it was last seen with a two-stroke penalty. If your first shot is lost, taking a drop where the ball was last seen means you are hitting your 4th shot. Losing a ball in the woods is a lost ball. DO NOT return to the spot of your previous shot to hit again if you cannot find your ball. Failure to hit a provisional after a shot that was bound for a wooded or otherwise overgrown area where there is reasonable expectation of not finding it is an acknowledgement that you will take the two stroke penalty as described in option 2 above if your ball is not found. Exceptions: For shots into hazard areas, see RED/YELLOW STAKES rule below. For shots hit where there is not a reasonable expectation of not finding it, see LEAF RULE below.

OUT OF BOUNDS (Marked with WHITE STAKES): Your options are identical to the lost ball rule stated above. Clarifications: DO NOT hit from the other side of the road on 12. Any ball that is ON THE ROAD or to the right of the road is out of bounds. DO NOT hit from beyond the white stakes behind 13 green. That is someone's back yard.

RED/YELLOW STAKES: Balls MAY BE played from inside the red or yellow-staked hazards. If your ball is not playable, then by penalty of one stroke, you drop within two club lengths from where the ball crossed the stakes. Another option is to hit from the original spot with 1 stroke penalty. If your first shot went into the hazard, take a drop outside the red/yellow stakes and hit your 3rd shot. You do not have to find your ball in the hazard, the LOST BALL Rule does not apply to RED/YELLOW staked areas. Clarifications: On hole 11, if your tee shot goes into the lake on a fly, hit from the tee again, hitting 3. (or 5, or 7, etc, depending on how many balls you hit in there. LOL. See GIMMIE rule below.) If your ball first touches land, then enters the water, you may take the one stroke penalty and drop within two club lengths from where the ball entered the water.

THE LEAF RULE: (1) PENALTY-FREE LEAF RULE You may take a drop in the fairway without penalty for a ball that is lost in the fairway. All members of your foursome must agree that the ball should be found in the fairway. The ball must have been observed to have landed in or bounced into the fairway for the penalty-free leaf rule to be applicable. Exception: For a tee shot on number 2, the foursome may agree that a ball should be found in the fairway without having observed it land or bounce. (2) ROUGH LEAF RULE You may take a drop in the rough WITH A ONE STROKE PENALTY for a ball that is lost in the rough in an area where there is reasonable expectation of finding it, as agreed upon by all members of the foursome. The ball must have been observed to have landed in or bounced into the rough and be reasonably expected to have stayed in the rough for the ROUGH LEAF RULE to apply. Exceptions: This rule does not apply to balls in wooded areas or otherwise overgrown areas (such as the area behind and to the left of number 4 green). See LOST BALL rule above. Neither section of this rule may apply to a tee shot on 15 that is attempting to clear the trees on the right, or cut the corner to the right side of the trees on the right. In those instances, if your ball is not found, you must hit from the drop area at the bottom of the hill, taking your third stroke. The leaf rule may apply on 15 for tee shots hit straight up the visible fairway.

UNPLAYABLE LIES: A player may take an unplayable lie anywhere on the course including the middle of the fairway. By penalty of 1 stroke, a golfer must drop two club lengths no closer to the hole from the unplayable lie. Unplayable lies normally prohibit the free swing of the golf club. Exceptions: If your swing or stance is impeded by a manmade obstruction, see FLUFFING/IMPROVING YOUR LIE above.

LONG PUTTS: Any putt made from a distance exceeding the length of the flagstick receives long putt points. (1) Fringe putts and short chips do not count. (2) The entire flagstick must fit between the ball and the hole to be valid. (3) A long putt cannot be longer than its previous putt. (4) Golfers cannot three-putt or worse and receive long putt points.

GIMMIES/PUTTING OUT: All putts where points are at stake must be holed out, no exceptions. If you pick up before your ball has gone in the hole, your scorecard will be marked with the lowest number of strokes that gives you zero points. Two instances where a gimmie is permitted: (1) If you are scoring zero points on a hole and your ball is on the green and is already closer to the hole than the length of the flagstick, you may take a gimmie (one stroke). (2) If you are already scoring zero points on a hole and your ball has not yet reached the green, you may drop with no penalty on the fringe, but at the furthest distance to the hole. From there, you may attempt to score putt points under the LONG PUTTS rule described above. The gimmie rule speeds up pace of play while still allowing for long putt points. All other forms of gimmie are prohibited. Exceptions: Taking a gimmie under either option 1 or 2  above is permitted by the entire field, but if you do so, you cannot qualify for the Raw Score Trophy or for Raw Score points in the Dequackathon

Food at the cabin is included in the trip cost. That being said, if anyone wants to bring extra stuff it won't be turned down.

Wednesday dinner will be at Lakers Lounge in the lodge. The losing KGB Cup team will be buying food for the entire group out of the $20 per guy that is being wagered.

Breakfast will be at the cabin Thursday-Saturday, maybe Wednesday as well if you ask Chef nicely enough.

Lunch on Thursday-Saturday is on your own at the pro shop or the lounge.

Dinner on Thursday-Saturday will be at the cabin with the final menu yet to be determined.

Alpine Lake does not have much of an enforced dress code. They let Elvis McCormick golf, no questions asked. Pretty much as long as you do not have your 'frank and beans' exposed to any direct sunlight, you'll be fine. Check the weather before you leave. We've been very lucky most years, but the potential for uncomfortably cold and/or wet weather is definitely there.

In an effort to make us look as goofy on the first three days as we do on Saturday, the Founding Fathers have implemented a new Golfapalooza Unity dress code. Loozers are requested to wear Golfapalooza golf shirts to play their rounds according to the following schedule*:

Wednesday, KGB Captains Cup - Wear the color designated by your captain. If you don't have one, borrow one from your opponent.

Thursday, opening round - Orange GXVII shirt. If you don't have one, find something as close as possible.

Friday, moving day - Gray GXVIII shirt. If you don't have one, find something as close as possible.

Saturday, the finale - brand new GXVIIII 2015 shirt

Sunday, departure - if you have a shirt left that doesn't a) stink like smoke, b) stink like stale beer, c) stink like puke, d) have grease stains on it from grilled meat, and e) have wrinkles like a used piece of aluminum foil, that is the shirt you should wear home. If you don't have one that meets all of those conditions, go with one that just stinks like beer, because you'll probably be sweating out alcohol for the next several days anyway.

If you don't have any shirts from past years, just wear your own boring non-logo golf shirt and try to make it through the day without completely ruining your round of golf by focusing on all the fun you missed at those tournaments.

*Loozers who do not follow the appropriate dress code but who actually do own the aforementioned Golfapalooza shirts will face severe consequences which have yet to be determined. Loozers whose shirts have been damaged in any way should bring them as evidence as to why they are not being worn. The Tournament Committee will assess the damage and make a ruling on its ability to be worn.

Trip Needs
Remove | Update

Some things are needed to make this weekend run smoothly, and the Founding Fathers and Board Members cannot do it all, so we are looking for help. If you can bring any of the following, please let me know:

Cornhole Boards and Bags - we are pretty well guaranteed to have three or four sets show up, but with the number of Loozers expected to compete in the singles and doubles tournament, six sets will keep the tournaments moving, and perhaps leave leftover sets for eliminated Loozers to keep playing.

Flood Lights - the kind on tall tripods. We could probably use four or five total to keep the cornhole and beer pong playing areas well lit throughout the night.

Chairs - We have an extra set of chips and an extra table to use, but we'll need some chairs. If you have some metal cafeteria-style folding chairs or the outdoor kind that folds up into a bag, either will suffice if you have room to throw a couple in your trunk.

Movies - bring anything we can laugh at. Dosky has gifted his collection to a Loozer that knows who he is and will be responsible for delivering it to the cabin.

iPods/Speakers - once you golf with rock and rap blaring in the background, you'll never want to play golf any other way.

Laptop - we need at least one person to bring a laptop so we can get online to update leaderboards, calculate MELC scores and skins, etc.

Camera - Slick has always been Golfapalooza's unofficial official cameraman. Since he moved to Houston to train with Roger Clemens, hopefully at least a few of you are able to help pick up the slack and photographically document this historic event.

If you have anything else to bring that you think might make a contribution to the trip, by all means please bring it. Keep in mind you are leaving yourself wide open for ridicule and immediate DOTY eligibility if it's a dud.

In addition to scoring each individual's assigned MELC points on each hole, Loozers have the opportunity to score putting points to be added to their MELC total on that hole. Any putt made from outside the length of the flagstick is worth two points. If multiple Loozers make putts from beyond the length of the flagstick, they each get two points, not just the longest putt.

Putts holed-out from off the green do not count.

For the Thursday 4-man scramble, all members of the team shall have the opportunity to score putt points on qualifying long putts, even when the first putter makes the putt. To maintain fairness so that one player is not always getting a first read from the others, a different player should putt first on each hole. While the score achieved on each hole is the same for all members of the team, be sure to denote the putt points earned individually on the scorecard.

For the Friday and Saturday best ball events, in which the highest MELC score achieved on the hole is the team score for that hole, putt points do count for an individual's MELC total, but do not count toward the team best ball score.

The tournament handicapping uses Poststats Points. They will be set and printed a few days prior to the event.

---------------------------------------------------------------

The handicap system is based on posted scorecards to the website, USGA Slope Rating, and yardage played. The USGA Slope Rating is a number (between 55 and 155) given to each tee box in America by the USGA. The number represents the difficulty to the average bogey golfer. The average USGA Slope Rating in America is 115.

Poststats.com uses total yardage played and USGA Slope Rating to apply a "course bonus" to each tee box in America. These bonus points are used to level the course difficulty and handicap each golfer participating. The course bonus is not used at Golfapalooza since all participants are playing the same course.

Handicapping in general cannot be accurate without data or golfer trends. The handicap system and computer will use the last 15 posted scorecards regardless of year to determine a golfer handicap. The handicap system will omit the best scorecard and four worst scorecards from the previous 15 posted scorecards. It will tally the average number of birdies, pars, bogeys, double-bogeys, and triple-bogeys for each golfer. (Eagles are converted to birdies.)

The "personal profile" for each golfer has a date field for health setbacks. This field is used for heart attacks, strokes, broken legs, surgeries, and anytime past scorecards are not a representation of a golfer's skill level. The computer does not use scorecards prior to the date entered.

The goal of the handicap system is for each participant to score 60 points per round with their course bonus. For each golfer, the computer will use averages per round (birdie, par, bogey, double-bogey, triple-bogey) described above and cross check the database of 250 different "sets of points" for a set of points that will position each golfer to score 60 points. (Remember course bonus is not used at Golfapalooza.)

The chances of one unknown high handicapped golfer dropping 30% of their strokes per hole over a 54-hole period is more than probable.

Poststats.com added "target points" to the handicapping system in the winter of 2007. The computer started raising point targets for the best golfers while still rewarding the high handicappers. The lower the stroke handicap, the more target points a golfer will receive. Golfers with a stroke handicap of +8 to +11 receive an elevated target to 62 points per round. Participants with a handicap +6 to +8 strokes are bumped to 63 points per round. Handicaps of +6 strokes have target of 64 points and +5 strokes get 65 points. Golfers with a handicap of +2 are targeted at 65 points per round. A scratch golfer presently with a negative stroke handicap might receive 67 points.

In addition to golf skill, golfers who play the same course 70 percent of the time will be given an elevated target of 1 point. This change also came in 2007. These "home course" participants will be given 2 points if they play the same course 90 percent of the time. These golfers statistically slip when leaving their home course. The point upgrade allows the entire tournament field to handicapped equally and remove scoring based on extensive course knowledge.

Poststats.com added another target increase in the winter of 2009 as a step to decrease Top 10 volatility and reward participants for posting scorecards. They modified the same target increase in the spring of 2011. Golfers who post scorecards per year (365 days) including past events registered with Poststats.com will receive an additional target point. Point targets will elevate by 1 point for every 4 scorecards posted with a maximum of 5 target points added. A scratch golfer who plays often might see a point target jump to 71 points (A player) and Rick Dosky's (D player) point target jumps to 62 points.

The statistical handicapping detail for each golfer is available online. Golfers can visit the homepage and click on a recent scorecard they have entered. Once in that screen, the final menu choice on the right is "HANDICAPS". Golfers can choose from analyzing their Poststats points or strokes handicap.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

4-MAN SCRAMBLE TEAM HANDICAPPING
Do not try to understand it because we sure as hell don't. The points are what they are.

The computer handicaps based on general scramble statistics and USGA Stroke Handicap Indexes. It does not handicap using driving distance per player or putting skills of each participant.