Federal Center

Constitution and Bylaws

Federal Center

Men’s Golf League 2000

The objective of this organization will be to promote golf, fellowship, friendly competition, sportsmanship, golf etiquette and provide recreation for male employees, retirees, and relatives of the Battle Creek Federal Center.

The league is open to all males employed at the Battle Creek Federal Center, male spouses and relatives (to include but not limited to fathers, sons, brothers) of Federal Center employees and any retired Federal Center employee. A member may have a partner that is not in any of the above categories with approval of the Executive Board. Any other exceptions must also be approved by the Executive Board. Limitations on membership may be applied by the Board based on golf course and tee time availability.

Prior to the end of the current golf season, the League shall elect a President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer and three members of the Tournament/Rules Committee. The Tournament/ Rules Committee shall consist of five people – three elected by the League members and two appointed by the President. The Vice-President will be the nonvoting chairman of the committee. The Officers and the Committee shall together be known as the Executive Board.

Election of league officers will be held by secret ballot prior to or at the Awards Banquet. Nominations will not be accepted at the banquet. If all offices are not filled, the President will appoint the vacant positions.

2. Within two weeks after election, selects two Tournament/ Rules Committee members.

4. At the end of his term of office, appoints a three-man nominating committee to select candidates for the elected positions for the following year. No one candidate may run for more than one position.

5. Receives compensation for performance of duties at a rate to be determined by the Executive Board (not to exceed league membership entry fees).

4. Serves as the source for receiving complaints and/or grievances from members and forwards them to the Tournament/Rules Committee for resolution.

6. Receives compensation for performance of duties at a rate to be determined by the Executive Board (not to exceed league membership entry fees).

6. Awards weekly prizes based on the results provided by the League Statistician and the Flight Advisors.

7. Receives compensation for performance of duties at a rate to be determined by the Executive Board.

1. Maintains League records, including computing, publishing and posting standings no later than 10:00 a.m. of the first Thursday following League play.

3. Receives compensation for performance of duties at a rate to be determined by the Executive Board.

1. Collects and verifies accuracy of score cards for one flight prior to passing the cards to the League Statistician no later than 10:00 a.m. of the morning following the match.

5. Receives a fee from the League as determined by the Board for performance of duties.

6. Accepts green (and cart if applicable) fees from the teams in his flight and pays for entire flight at courses requiring single payment.

3. Renders decisions on complaints, grievances, and problems. The Vice-President, who chairs the committee, presents complaints for resolution but does not cast a vote regarding the decision by the Tournament/Rules committee.

4. Receives compensation for performance of duties at a rate to be determined by the Executive Board (not to exceed league membership entry fees).

Each year, the Constitution and Bylaws shall be approved by a majority of the membership present at the annual membership meeting. Changes to the Constitution and Bylaws can only be made at the annual meeting and then only when approved by a majority of the League members present unless authorized by the Executive Board in the event of emergency. All proposed changes should be submitted to the Executive Board for review two weeks prior to the annual meeting.

The Executive Board has the authority to interpret the Constitution and Bylaws in order to resolve any particular problem that may arise during the season.

Competition will be on a team basis, with two men comprising a team. Team handicaps will be placed in numbered order from low to high for all teams. From this list, flights will be formed with teams of similar handicaps comprising a flight. Each team will play every team in its flight. The season will have two halves. Standings will be determined by won/lost points. The last week of each half will be position nights with first place team in standings playing second place, third place team playing fourth place etc.. Score cards for the next to the last week for each half must be turned in no later than the Friday before scheduled matches of week 8 and 16 or match is considered a forfeit.

A. Play will consist of a 9-hole match-play, four-ball competition for 18 points. In addition, two points will be awarded to the team scoring the low team net score.

1. Team Net – two points per hole (18 points total). One point per team is scored for each halved hole.

3. Circle 10 rule applies, players will pick up their balls after 10 strokes have been assessed and put a 10 with a circle for the hole.

4. Players will lose 2 points for the hole and will lose 2 points total for the game.

1. Maximum handicap per flight will be established by the Executive Board prior to League play.

2. Strokes will be assigned by the difference in team handicaps. Team handicaps will be computed by totaling the individual handicaps for each team. The strokes will be assigned to the most difficult holes according to the scorecard. This will not affect the individual handicaps used for computing low individual net, low gross, etc.

3. The Secretary will assign strokes and annotate the team handicap on the scorecard. The Flight Advisor is responsible for insuring that the scorecards are returned to the League Statistician.

C. One member from each team must total the scorecard and attest to the same by signing the scorecard prior to leaving the golf course. The team winning the greater number of points is responsible for returning the completed scorecard to the scorecard box for the flight at the completion of the match.

1. This League will use the “Winter Rules” convention with regard to moving the ball. The ball may only be rolled with the club head in your own fairway only up to a distance of one foot but not closer to the hole. Penalty for infraction of this rule is one stroke and must be called immediately.

2. Special course rules outlined on the scorecard for specific holes will apply for out-of-bounds play. Where special course rules are not defined for the hole, the player will be penalized 1 stroke (not stroke and distance) for balls lost and balls hit out-of-bounds. Ball may be played as a lateral hazard from a playable location in line-of-flight from where the ball went out-of-bounds and penalized one stroke.

3. For all courses having holes with temporary greens or greens under repair, players will only be required to take a maximum of two putts once they are on the green. A player may attempt to make the first putt, however, if the first putt is not made, the player should pick up his ball and take two putts for the hole.

4. For Medalist (Wishbone) golf course holes with no designated drop areas and all carry (no bail-out), a drop is allowed after a maximum of two balls in the hazard on the tee shot. These holes are determined before league play. Players will be hitting their fifth shot after the drop. Players may elect to drop and hit their fifth shot without teeing off. This rule does not override local course rules.

5. Special Rule for D & E flights at Medalist (Wishbone) – For holes requiring a carry, players may elect to drop without a tee shot. Par 3 – drop off green – hitting 4; Par 4 & up – drop in beginning of fairway cut – hitting 3.

1. Slow play will not be tolerated. If the group behind you is a member of the league and requests to play through and your group is one full hole behind the group in front of you, you are required to allow requesting group to play through.

2. Reporting of slow play will be done by notifying a member of the executive board with names of offenders, flight and course prior to the flights next scheduled match.

3. Executive board will contact offenders for rebuttal and determine if offence is accountable. Teams obtaining two accountable offences within the season will have matches moved to the last tee time for the remainder of the season.

C. Handicaps for the first week of play will be the golfer’s ending handicap for the previous year. For rules covering the establishment of handicaps for new League members, see Article X below.

D. If required, restrictions on maximum handicap per individual or team per flight will be determined by the Executive Board.

A. All matches will be played at their assigned tee time on the day scheduled, except when both members of the team are absent due to TDY, sickness, vacation or other unusual or extenuating circumstances. If one team member is available, he must play with or without a substitute.

If circumstances as above prevent play at the specified time, the team unable to play must notify the opposing team and the League Secretary who will notify the flight advisor and respective golf course (if necessary) that the match has been postponed. Normally, the League Secretary will sanction postponements, but in his absence, another League Officer will have the authority.

Sanctioned match postponements must be made up prior to next scheduled match of the team requiring postponement on one of the courses used by the league. The opposing team may play at their scheduled time or with the team that initiated the postponement at a later date. If the match is played unopposed, the scorecard will be turned in to the League Secretary and held until the other team completes the make-up (prior to their next scheduled match) same course same nine. If the team that requested the postponement fails to make up the match within the allowed time, then the forfeit rule from Section II, Paragraph V will be applied. Any deviation from this rule must have Executive Board approval

B. If one team member is absent, a substitute may be used except in play-off matches. If a substitute is not used, a blind score for the absent partner will be assessed. The blind score for the missing golfer will be computed as a net four-over-par. The card will show each hole at net-par with the exception of the four most difficult holes as indicated on the scorecard. These will be assigned an additional stroke and scored as “net bogies”. EG, if par is 35, the blind score is 39; if par is 36, the blind score is 40, etc.

C. The blind score does not apply to team net. Two points will be forfeited to the other team. If both teams are using a blind score, then the two points for team net can be won (or halved) by the two golfers who were present.

D. Each team member of a two-man team must participate in more than 50% of weekly scheduled matches for the team to be eligible to win a half. Team members may participate individually with a sub or blind, or together as long as each team member played more than 50%. All other situations are subject to special decision by the Board

To win by forfeit, a team must wait 15 minutes past its scheduled starting time, but not later than the last scheduled tee time. If the opposition does not arrive, then the waiting team will win the forfeit and will play the nine holes. The forfeiting team will be credited with no win points and twenty loss points. The team that shows up shall play their regular round. After completion of all matches for the night, the affected team will choose the top or bottom score prior to a League officer or uninvolved party randomly selecting a scorecard from the box. The scores will then be matched and win/loss points assessed for the affected team. When a team forfeits a match and a card is drawn to determine points awarded to the team that was able to play, that team shall only be subject to a maximum of 10 points lost. The team may win more than 10 points, depending on the score of the card drawn. If a team forfeits two matches within a scheduled half. It will be dropped from further play, including tournaments. Team scoring for those matches played within the scheduled half will be adjusted to reflect an open night for teams scheduled to play a dropped team.

In case of inclement weather or darkness during a match, the match will be considered complete if five or more holes have been played. The League night for the flight will count if more than one-half of the scheduled matches are completed. The net scores will be equal to the actual scores less the strokes received on the holes played. The unplayed holes will be scored as net pars. If the weather is doubtful on the afternoon of the scheduled matches, the teams must go to the golf course to determine if the matches can be played. If the flight has more than one-half of the teams completing their matches, then the match(es) that is (are) postponed should be played within two weeks. The respective Flight Advisor has the authority to cancel the matches with the approval of the golf course.

A. Courses to be played will be selected by availability and choices of the Executive Board.

B. Team entry fee will be determined by the Executive Board. Flights will play the same courses for two consecutive weeks, usually including the front and back nine holes.

C. To be scheduled for League play, a team must have paid its League dues to the Secretary-Treasurer on or before the date of one week before the League’s first week of scheduled play. Team dues are required for a team to be considered eligible for League play.

A. At the end of the League season, playoffs will be held in each flight to determine the flight champion. The playoffs will match the first-place team from the first half against the first-place team from the second half.

B. Playoffs will be 18 holes (two 9-hole matches) using the same point system as League play. The course will be determined by mutual agreement or by the Executive Board if mutual agreement cannot be met.

C. If the same team wins both halves, that team is the flight champion and the runner-up is awarded to the team that has the next highest overall winning points.

D. During playoffs, the first half winners will use the lowest individual handicaps they had at the end of either half. This will prevent handicap escalation prior to playoff. Second half winner will use the handicap they have at the end of the second half.

A. Weekly awards of golf balls are given in each flight—one for individual low net, two for team low net. A golfer may win only one ball per week. A match must be played on its scheduled day on its designated course for participants to be eligible for the weekly award. (All ties for low net will receive golf balls.) Substitutes who are league members are eligible for weekly awards when playing in a flight other than their own.

C. An award for most improved golfer by flight will be presented at the end of the season.

A. New members to the League must establish a handicap prior to their first scheduled match. This can be done in one of three ways:

1. Presenting to the League Secretary a U.S.G.A. card or sanction card from another league which shows an established handicap from the previous year.

2. You may play in the pre-season Kickers Tournament and turn in the 18 hole score. It will be used with your first league score.

B. Substitutes must be sanctioned by the League Secretary before they can golf in League play.

To be sanctioned, a substitute must have an established handicap following rules A.1 or A.2

C. A substitute who golfs without having been sanctioned will be considered to have golfed as a blind and his score will be assessed as a blind score for the team.

The Constitution and Bylaws can only be changed by the members during the Annual Meeting. Changes must be submitted to the Tournament/Rules Committee at least two weeks prior to the annual meeting. The annual meeting will take place prior to the Fifteenth of April. Notification of said meeting will be placed in the Bulletin prior to the meeting.

A. The Federal Center Men's Golf League fully funds the annual Federal Center Open Tournament, which is organized and run by the Tournament/Rules Committee.

B. The Tournament/Rules Committee will organize and arrange all events sponsored by the League, determining the format, date, course and awards for each event.

The Flight Advisor shall make payment to Courses that require payment by flight and do not allow individual payments. Each Flight Advisor will be given a check for the proper amount to use to pay such a course. The check will be issued by the League Secretary, or in his absence, the President.

A. Each Team Captain is responsible for delivering proper dollar amount (green fees + cart if required, green fees only if cart optional) for his 2-man team to his flight advisor. This shall be done prior to (during week preceding) the day of a match scheduled at a course requiring payment by flight. This is to include forfeits but not SANCTIONED postponements.

B. Those teams that do not pay in advance of play and still have not paid by the Thursday following their scheduled match will be assessed 20 loss points for that match and each match until paid.

C. If a team does not pay the Flight Advisor for two matches within a scheduled half, it will be dropped from further play, including tournaments. Team scoring for those matches played within the scheduled half will be adjusted to reflect an open night for teams scheduled to play a dropped team.

D. When a Flight Advisor has received the entire amount for his flight (minus sanctioned postponement) he will turn the money over to the league secretary/treasurer for deposit.