March 1, 2010

LAGUNA VISTA, TX — With the 2009 Virtual Tournament underway, Jason Watson and Brian Long called a press conference to discuss the use of mulligans. Both players decided getting the word out would help increase the integrity of future tournaments.

"Personally I feel really guilty using mulligans," says Watson, a 8-year member of the Captains Club. "So I never us them. I don't really care if my playing partners use them, but they are only hurting themselves in the future. This also includes Fowble-Fluffs in the rough. Especially for tournament style majors like the Carl Spackler Open Championship."

Brian Long, who thinks the same, but had another angle to cover. "I never use them and hate people that do," says Long. "I get irrate when playing partners use Marti-Mulligans and bug you about how they beat you."

The Carl Spackler Open does not endorse mulligans due to integrity of the statistics that establish golfer handicaps. "What is wrong with the truth," says Brian Long. "You look like Kyle Marti when you tell everyone you can shoot 100, but cannot shoot under 115 in tournament play."

Golfers are reminded of a few important items moving into mid-winter. The tournament in Amherst, VA will not permit fluffing or mulligans. It is critically important that members understand the colored stakes and lost ball penalties.

White stakes means take a stroke penalty and hit another. If you hit your drive beyond the white stakes, you are hitting your third shot from the tee box. Land outside the white stakes is almost always property not owned by the golf course.

A lost ball is penalized the same as white stakes, however you may or may not have knowledge of a lost ball from the tee box. Enter the provisional shot that ensures a golfer does not have to return to the tee box after acknowledging the ball is lost.

The Carl Spackler Open does allow a golfer to drop in the neighborhood of a lost ball or white staked area with a two-stroke penalty. This means the golfer is hitting their 4th shot.

"The handicap systems are designed for the truth," said Brian Long. "Your game is going to be exposed. Now is better than later."

Red stakes and yellow stakes have similar rules and penalties. Both allow a golfer to play the ball as it lies. Both consist of 1-stroke penalties and both usually involve water or marsh hazards. Both allow a golfer several options including hitting another from the original spot.

The red staked hazard is a hazard that runs parallel with a fairway or green. It is marked with stakes or red lines. Golfers are expected to drop two club lengths (no closer to the hole) from where the shot crossed into the hazard.

The yellow staked hazard is a hazard that crossed through a fairway or in front of a green. It is marked with stakes or yellow lines. These hazards almost always require a bridge. Golfers are expected to drop anywhere (no closer to the hole) on a line where the shot crossed into the hazard and the flagstick.

The 2010 Virtual Tournament continues for another 10 months. There are 50 to 70 golfers expected to participate in the season-long tournament.