LOCAL RULES AND CONDITIONS OF COMPETITIONS

Effective February 1, 2012

The current Rules of the United States Golf Association govern play. See applicable Championship or qualifying round Notice to Players and FSGA Championship Policies for additional Local Rules and Conditions. Complete text of Rules and Appendix I may be found in the current Rules of Golf.    

Disregard Local Rules printed on club scorecards or posted at the course.

Unless otherwise noted, the penalty for breach of a Local Rule or Condition is:

Match play -- Loss of hole; Stroke play -- Two strokes.

LOCAL RULES

OUT OF BOUNDS:

a) Defined by inside points, at ground level, of white stakes, lines and perimeter fence posts.

b) When the inside edge of a paved road or curb defines out of bounds, a ball that is on or beyond the road or curb is out of bounds even though it may lie on another part of the golf course.

WATER HAZARDS AND LATERAL WATER HAZARDS: When a water hazard or lateral water hazard is bounded by out of bounds, the hazard margin extends to and coincides with the out of bounds line.

GROUND UNDER REPAIR:  Defined by white lines.  Other areas of ground under repair, even when not marked, include:

a)  French drains (trenches filled with stones or the like)

b)  Fire ant hills (Note: For a player whose ball is in a water hazard and is affected by a fire ant hill, see Decision 1-4/10)

SOD SEAMS: Through the green, sod seams (not the sod itself) are deemed to be ground under repair, and relief is available under Rule 25-1 if the ball lies in or touches a sod seam or a sod seam interferes with the area of intended swing. All seams within the sodded area are considered the same seam.

OBSTRUCTIONS AND INTEGRAL PARTS OF THE COURSE: 

a)  White lined areas tying into obstructions are part of the obstruction.

b)   When located within hazards, artificial walls and pilings are integral parts of the course unless otherwise provided in Notice to Players.

c)  When closely attached to trees, wrappings, electrical wire, and cables are integral parts of the course.

EMBEDDED BALL THROUGH THE GREEN: Local Rule as prescribed in Appendix I is in effect.

LOOSE IMPEDIMENTS: Wood chips and mulch are loose impediments.

DISTANCE MEASURING DEVICES: Except in Junior Competitions (not allowed), in all FSGA Championship and qualifying competitions, a player may obtain distance information by using a device that measures distance only. However, if, during a stipulated round, a player uses a distance-measuring device that is designed to gauge or measure other conditions that might affect his play (e.g., gradient, wind-speed, temperature, etc.), the player is in breach of Rule 14-3, for which the penalty is disqualification, regardless of whether any such additional functions are actually used. 

TURF PLUGS: On putting greens, turf plugs have the same status as old hole plugs and may be repaired under Rule 16-1c.

CONDITIONS OF COMPETITIONS 

LIST OF CONFORMING DRIVER HEADS: Optional Condition as prescribed in Appendix I is in effect.  

LIST OF CONFORMING GOLF BALLS: Optional Condition as prescribed in Appendix I is in effect.  

PACE OF PLAY: See separate memorandum to players for pace of play guidelines, when applicable.

SUSPENSION OF PLAY DUE TO A DANGEROUS SITUATION: Optional Condition as prescribed in Appendix I is in effect.  All practice areas are closed during suspension for a dangerous situation until the Committee has declared them open. Players who practice on closed practice areas will be asked to cease doing so; failure to comply may result in revocation of entry.

SIGNALS FOR SUSPENSION OF PLAY: 

a)  Suspension for a dangerous situation: One prolonged siren or airhorn note.

b)  All other types of suspension:  Three consecutive airhorn notes.

c)  Resumption of play:  Two airhorn notes.

OFFICIAL EVENT: In all FSGA Championships, an official event may be constituted by reverting to the results of an earlier round. Eighteen holes may constitute an official event.

CLOSE OF COMPETITION: The competition is deemed to have closed when the winner has been announced, or, in the absence of a prize ceremony, when all scores have been approved by the Committee.