Local Rules Summary

 

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WMC Local Rules

 

Willows Men's Club has adopted local rules intended to speed up pace of play and handle weather related conditions common to Willows Run.  This page is a brief summary. Please see the full rules (top menu, or the link above) for the full rule description.

 

Course Condition Rules

 

 

Rule 1: Soggy, squishy areas are defined as Abnormal Course Conditions (Temporary/Casual Water)

 

Rule 2: Bare dirt patches in Fairway (due to maintenance issues and/or weather), excluding divots, is defined as Abnormal Course Conditions (Ground under Repair). Brown grass is not dirt, play it as iit lies. Divots do not count. USGA is very firm on this. Play ball in divots "as it lies." (Except Winter Rules Lift, Clean & Place does give you relief from Divots).  Bare dirt in the rough is tough luck, play it as it lies (unless it is obviously ground under repair). 

 

Rule 3: Bunker flooded of water with no relief available in bunker – free drop "on the line" behind bunker.

 

For the first two rules, you can use Rule 16.1b for Relief from Abnormal Conditions (take Free Relief at nearest point of full relief, then 1 club length) for soggy and burned out areas, and bunkers under renovation.  If ball is in the bunker and no relief is available in the bunker due to flooding, you can take relief on line behind ball using Rule 16.1c but with no penalty.

 

Rule 4: You can lift, rake and place in an unmaintained area of a bunker.  If no rake is present, you can use your foot to smooth the general area.If your ball comes to rest in a footprint in an unraked bunker, you may lift, smooth and recreate your lie.  (COVID: No rakes are present so this rule applies in all bunkers)

 

Bunker Renovation Rules

Rule 4(a) New bunkers on Eagles Talon:  The new bunkers on Eagles Talon are now in full play.  Bunker walls are in the "General Area" not "in the bunker" so play it as it lies or use standard Unplayable Relief if need be (1) hit from original location, 2) as far back on the line as you want or 3) two club lengths, all with 1 stroke penalty). No more Ground Under Repair exceptions.

 

Rule 4(b) New bunkers on Coyote Creek: New Sod on bunker edges is Ground Under Repair with REQUIRED free lift and drop.  Please don't hit off new sod until August or so when it's got roots established. 

 

Rule 4(c) Former bunkers not yet restored: A few bunkers on each course are being deprecated but have not yet been restored to turf grass.  A ball coming to rest in those former bunkers should be treated as Ground Under Repair. Examples are the right bunker on Eagles hole #4, and the area in front of the left fairway bunker on hole #11. 

 

The following two new rules are adopted from the 2019 Rules of Golf Appendix and are recommended for Pace of Play.

 

Rule 5: Lost Ball - Alternative to Stroke and Distance - drop within 2 club lengths of the nearest edge of fairway with 2 stroke penalty (USGA Model Rule 8 E-5, simplified).  You are now lying three in the fairway without having to go back and hit again, and you are guaranteed to be in the fairway and it's much faster.

 

Rule 6:  OK to hit Provisional Ball for Ball that may be in a Penalty Area or may have landed “in play” but out of sight.  If original ball is found “in play,” you must play it.  If original ball found in penalty area, you must either play the ball where it lies, or play the provisional ball, e.g you can't choose at that point to take a penalty area drop. If original ball not found, you must play the provisional ball. In other words, once you hit the provisional ball, you can't later elect to take hazard relief options. (USGA Model Rule 8 B-3).

 

The following two rules apply only when Winter Rules are posted on the starter's shack: 

 

Rule 7: Lift, Clean and Place – replace the original ball within 6 inches in the same cut of grass.

 

Note: An embedded ball anywhere in the general area is covered by Rule 16.3, which allows you to lift, clean and drop within 1 club length, the entire season.

 

Rule 8: Lost ball (a) probably plugged below the surface in a soggy area or (b) in an area normally mown - free drop if your playing partners agree on the location, otherwise use the Lost Ball rules.  If it is not likely plugged but just lost, use the lost ball rule above.  See the full local rules for this rule for details.

 

 

 

Definitions

 

Out of Bounds replaced by Red Penalty Areas: There is no OB at Willows; it is all treated as Red Penalty Area.  Some penalty areas are marked “Environmental Area – Do Not Enter – Drop Required.” 

 

Penalty Area Borders are defined by Mow Lines: Within the boundaries of the course, the exact borders for “Penalty Areas” (formerly hazards) are frequently not marked with individual stakes. This is intentional. Willows Run considers the “Mow Line” around penalty areas to be the boundary, with the exception of long grass surrounding bunkers.  In all other areas, mow lines supersede any red stakes deeper in the penalty area. All unmown, natural growth areas other than those surrounding bunkers should be treated as Penalty Areas.  

 

Long Grass on Bunker Walls and Surrounding Bunkers: Long grass surrounding bunkers and on bunker walls are considered part of the general area (formerly "through the green") and are not considered either "in the hazard" or "Penalty area borders defined by mow lines." If your ball is in the long grass surrounding a bunker, standard rules for any ball in teh rough apply.  If you find your ball, it must be hit or declared unplayable. If it is lost, the regular rules for lost balls (Rule 5, two strokes in the fairway, OR stroke & distance) apply.  Rule 8 (long grass normally mown) does not include this area. If winter rules are in effect you can lift, clean and place as per Rule 7 in the same cut of grass.