Information

Local Rules apply to various areas of the course and MUST be adhered to.

Please check the club noticeboard as these can change on a daily basis

GROUND UNDER REPAIR - Rule 25

• New Turf - All areas of the course where turf has been newly laid, cut or removed.
• New Turf - All piled earth from ground works is GUR.
• Deep Tractor Marks - may be regarded as GUR (Rule 25-16).
• Drainage Channels - All drainage channels back filled with stones are GUR.
• Teaching Tee - The teaching tee between the 4th tee & 6th fairway.
• Newly Dug Ditches - Which have not yet been staked.
• Greens - The Rules of Golf referring to 'Putting Greens' also apply to temporary greens (where clearly defined and contained within perimeter rings). A ball coming to rest on a wrong green MUST be dropped off within 1 club length. Rule 25-3.
• Paths - All established 'worn' paths may be treated as GUR; this includes worn approaches to bridges.

OBSTRUCTIONS - Rule 24

• Rule 24 - An 'obstruction' is anything artificial within the confines of the course. This includes artificial surfaces (e.g. shell, tarmac & concrete paths).
• Man Made Constructions - The artificial faces of bunkers are an integral part of the course. The Committee has not declared any other constructions to be 'an integral part of the course'.
• Stones - Stones in bunkers are 'moveable obstructions' and may be removed.
• Marker Posts - The green 150 yards marker posts are 'obstructions' and relief may be taken under Rule 24. (Where the posts can be readily extracted from the ground it should be under rule 24-1, otherwise rule 24-2 applies).
• The Fences Protecting the 2nd & 14th Tees - Are immoveable obstructions. A player is entitled to relief when their ball comes to rest and their swing or stance is impeded by the fence. A player may choose to take relief under rule 24-2 or drop within the drop zone, which when not clearly marked is within 2 club lengths of either end of the fence but not nearer the hole.
• Young Trees - If a newly planted tree under 4 feet high or a staked tree interferes with a player’s stance or swing the ball must be lifted, without penalty and dropped in accordance with the procedure prescribed in rule 24-2b(i). (Within one club length of the nearest point of relief). The ball may be cleaned when so lifted.

BALL AT REST ON PUTTING GREEN MOVED OR MOVES

• When a player’s ball lies on the putting green, there is no penalty if the ball or ball-marker is accidentally moved by the player, his partner, his opponent, or any of their caddies or equipment. In these circumstances, the moved ball or ball-marker must be replaced as provided in Rules 18-2, 18-3 and 20-1. If it is determined that a player’s ball on the putting green has moved as the result of wind, water or some other natural cause, such as the effects of gravity, the ball must be played as it lies from its new location, again without penalty.

PRACTICE – Rule 7

• Though within the confines of the course, the grass area between the 10th and 13th holes and between the 4th and 6th holes are practice areas and may be used as such prior to play in line with the exception to rule 7-1b

DISTANCE MEASURING DEVICES

• Those which show distance only are permitted in all Club competitions.

OUT OF BOUNDS - POINTS OF CLARIFICATION

A ball is out of bounds if played in, over or through the natural boundaries of the course. i.e. fences, hedges, ditches and woods together with the white posts which define the confines of the course. The Bird Sanctuary, Firing Range, Cemetery, Putting Green, Car Park, Club House and surrounding pavements are all out of bounds.
The ball is OOB when all of it lies out of bounds. No relief is allowed from objects defining out of bounds such as walls, fences, railings and stakes as they are 'outside of the confines of the course'.
The natural boundaries are not hole specific and a ball lying beyond any boundary is out of bounds regardless of the hole being played. When white boundary posts or markings are not evident the natural boundaries are specifically defined as follows:

• In or over the hedge on the left-hand side of the 1st hole and from a point where the hedge ends on or beyond the public footpath.
• Beyond the ditch on the right-hand side of the 6th hole.
• In or over the ditch on the left-hand side of the 7th hole, commencing from the woodland area beyond the tractor bridge opening.
• In or over the ditch on the left-hand side of the 8th hole and from the point where the ditch meets the public pathway, on or over the public pathway.
• Through the wire fence surrounding the firing range by the 11th tee.
• On or over the public footpath on the left-hand side of the 11th and 12th holes.
• Beyond the fence protecting the car park on the left-hand side of the 13th hole.
• Beyond the fence surrounding the bird sanctuary on the right-hand side of the 15th and 16th holes.
• On or beyond the grating which separates 'the clubhouse and surrounding paving' from the pathway around the 18th hole.

TEMPORARY LOCAL RULES - Updated 12/10/2018

• 1st Hole – The unrecovered groundworks to the right side of the first green, including the rear of the first green is GUR.
• 12th Hole –The lateral groundwork ditches running across hole 12 just before the green are GUR along with the surrounding damaged ground. 

WINTER RULES ARE IN OPERATION

• Roll over - ‘A ball lying on any “closely mown area” through the green may, without penalty, be moved or may be lifted cleaned and placed within 6 inches of where it originally lay, but not nearer the hole. After the ball has been so moved it is in play.’  Penalty for breach of local rule: Match play loss of hole; stroke play - two strokes.  Note ‘closely mown area’ means any area of the course, including paths through the rough cut to fairway height or less (Rule 25-2).
• Damaged greens – ‘Core’ holes in greens following ground work are GUR and a ball resting in such may be rolled out of the hole. In addition, a ball lying below the natural surface of the green due to other damage may be moved to the nearest point of no interference. Bare Patches on greens - All ‘large’ bare patches and strips on greens are GUR.
• Attending the Flagstick - The Rules of golf require that the flagstick be attended or out when putting from on the green. This must be abided by in all club competitions. The rules are explicit in not allowing the flagstick to be left in.
• Lifting an embedded ball - Through the green a ball embedded in its own pitch-mark in ground other than sand may be lifted, cleaned and dropped, without penalty, as near as possible to the spot where it lay but not nearer the hole.