CURRENT CLUB CHAMPIONS

Hyde Park Golf Club

RULES OF GOLF FOR 2019

As you should be aware the USGA and the R & A have adopted some new rules and rule changes governing the game of golf. 

Below are some of the rules that you need to be aware of:

• Out of Bounds or Lost Ball - The U.S.G.A rule in tournament play still calls for you to replay your shot from the original spot of play. They have allowed a local rule to be adopted that we will adopt. You still have the option of replaying the shot from the original spot, but you also now have the option of taking a two stroke and distance penalty. First, estimate where your ball is or where it went out of bounds. Imagine a straight line running from the hole through your estimated point. Next, estimate a point on the nearest edge of the fairway that is the same distance from the hole. Imagine a straight line running from the hole through that estimated point. Your relief area is two club lengths outside the two imaginary lines or anywhere between them but not nearer the hole where you estimated your original ball was lost. You cannot use this local rule if your ball was lost in a penalty or if a provisional ball was played. As an example if your tee shot is hit out of bounds you may elect to not re-tee but rather drop a ball per this local rule. You would be playing your fourth stroke. (Tee shot 1, Out of Bounds Penalty 2, Drop 3, Hitting 4.
  
• To see a video of this explanation click HERE.
  

• Rake & Place in Sand Traps - Remember that raking in a trap is an option. You are not required to do it. This year if you elect to rake the trap you are required to drop the ball from a height of at least 6 inches. You are no longer allowed to place the ball. You will also now be allowed to move the ball within a 12 inch radius of where it originally came to rest. (The ball must remain within the hazard). If you deem there is interference by an abnormal course condition you may use the following:
  
  • The nearest point of relief and the relief must be in the bunker.
    
  • If there is no such nearest point of complete relief in the bunker, you may still take this relief by using the point of maximum available relief in the bunker as the reference point
    
  • Penalty Relief by playing outside the bunker (Back on the line of relief) for one penalty stroke.
    
  • ClickHEREfor a complete U.S.G.A. guideline
    

• Lift, Clean & Place - After cleaning your ball you have a maximum area of 12 inches no nearer the hole to place it back into play. You are not allowed to change surfaces meaning you are not allowed to move it from the rough to the fairway or from the fringe onto the green.
  

• Grounding Club in a Hazard - You are now allowed to ground your club within a hazard (not a sand trap) with no penalty.
  

• Double Hitting - There will no longer be a penalty for double hitting a ball with one swing.

• Lost Ball Time Limit - The time allowed to look for a lost ball has been reduced from 5 minutes to 3 minutes. This time starts when the player who hit the shot arrives and begins looking. It is always recommended that the player hit a provisional ball in order to speed up play.

• ​Taking Relief - The relief area is measured by taking 1 or 2 club lengths using the longest club in your bag excluding a putter.
  

• Dropping Procedure - The ball must be dropped straight down from knee height while in a standing position.
  

• Putting - You now have the option to leave the flagstick in while putting. If the flagstick is attended while putting it must be pulled once the ball has been putted.
  

Again these are only some of the new rule changes for 2019. We highly recommend you acquire a rule book or search the web to review all the changes for 2019.

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The Board has finishedn planning for the upcoming 2019 season. A tentative schedule is posted.

With the course now being managed by a private concern, we will hopefully see marked improvements in the overall condition of the course as well as some new amenities. We wish the group the very best in their endeavor to return HPGC to its former glory days.

With the above taking place, Rick Horn has tendered his letter of resignation as President of your club to avoid any conflict of interests. Also, he will be very busy in managing the day to day operation of the course. The board met and recommended that Dave Clingersmith be appointed  as acting President for the reminder of this term. He gladly accepted thus assuring no disruption in the running of the club. Rick has agreed to remain a Board Member.

Last year we created a C Flight in order to widen the field of competition. The C Flight included golfers with course handicap ratings of 17 and over. After reviewing the results and looking at our current membership and handicap ratings, this years flights will be set as follows:.  A - 0 to 9 ; B -10 to 14 ; C - 15 and over.

We will maintain that the  required players for a Flight to qualify in a tournament is 8. So if 8 players are in any Flight for a tournament it will count. If less than 8 players are in the B Fight they will move up to the A Flight. If less than 8 players are in the C Flight they will move up to the B Flight.

Keep in mind the new Rule Changes for 2019, especially ones concerning dropping a ball, taking the distance  for an out-of-bounds shot instead of rehitting, and especially three minutes to find a lost ball.  Pace of play is going to be one of the things we will be stressing this year. Look below for some of the rule changes that will be in effect this year.

*****SKINS GAME ****

After several attempts following the few tournaments we have been able to get in due to the weather, it has become obvious that managing a handicapped skins game is just not working out. Unfortunately with the restaurant being closed, we are severely limited in having a common meeting place both before and after the tournaments in order to determine winners and provide pay outs. So until further notice the skin game will NOT be ran by the club but will revert back to being run by individual members with no handicapping in place. 

GHIN HANDICAPPING SYSTEM
The GHIN handicapping system has gone very well and has been well received by the membership. All paid members are provided with a GHIN number in order to access the system and enter in their scores. Moving to the GHIN system provides you with the ability to see your handicap at anytime should you choose to play in a tournament elsewhere. Updating the handicaps is done automatically and on a regular basis which proves to be more accurate as well. For those that do not have access to a computer or smart phone in order to enter your scores, cards can still be dropped into our club box and your score will be entered by one of the GHIN committee members. Anyone wishing to have a GHIN handicap on file for participation in the WNYPLGA and BDGA tournaments only, and not participate in our club tournaments, may do so by becoming an Associate Member. Cost is $25.00.

HYDE PARK GOLF COURSE RATING
On Tuesday July 2nd the GHIN system has been updated with the new course ratings for Hyde Park. The process took a little longer then we would have liked but we now have an accurate course rating. You may notice your handicap change and we will be looking at resetting the handicaps for the A, B and C flights. The course rating is below:​

*** A USGA Course Rating is the evaluation of the playing difficulty of a courder for a scratch golfer under normal coiurse and weather conditions. It is expressed as strokes taken to one decimal place, and is based on yardage and other obstacles to the extent that they affect the scoring ability of a scratch golfer.

*** A Slope Rating evaluates the relative playing difficulty of a course for players who are not scratch golfers. The lowest Slope Rating is 55 and the highest is 155. A golf course of standard playing difficulty has a Slope Rating of 113.

JACO'S CUP
Thanks to Jaco's Pizzeria who sponsors our version of the Fedex Cup. Let's all participate, have fun and feel free to offer up suggestions.

This will be a year long event and is a total point system based on ALL tournaments.
Points cannot be accumalated unless dues are paid.
Handicap scores, all players in one flight
Anyone posting a score in any tournament will receive points. 

Points will be awarded as follows:

 If there are 20 players who posted scores first place will receive 20 points, second place 19 points, third place 18 points and so forth with the last place person receiving 1 point.  When two or more players tie with the same score the points for those postions will be added together and distributed evenly. For example, three players shoot 80 and are in the third spot of a 40 man tournament. So they are in point slots 38, 37 and 36. Those points will be added together and divided among all three players so each would receive 37 points.
In team events such as a Two Man Best Ball the following system will be used. If 18 teams (36 players) enter and post scores both individuals from the first place team will receive 18 points, both individuals for second place will receive 17 points and so on with the last place team each receiving 1 point.
The Club Championship and the City Championship will be considered Major Tournaments and points awarded will be doubled. If 25 players post scores the first place finisher will receive 50 points, second 48 points, and so on with the last place person receiving 2 points.

Gift Cards will be awarded as follows:

1st Place - $75
2nd Place - $60
3rd Place - $50
4th Place - $30
5th Place - $25

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If you have any questions or concerns regarding your point total please use the Contact Us form above. I will gladly contact you to correct any mistakes and review any issues.

You can download a spreadsheet that shows points earned for each individual tournament by clicking here

FINAL STANDINGS

Last Name First Name Total
O'Callahan Dan Jr. 381
Munro Jim 355.5
Spanbauer John 338
Tubinis Stan 328
Demunda Paul 325
Horn Rick 321
Ross Dave 306.5
Spanbauer Mike 294.5
Casero Jerry 269
Teeto Tom Sr. 250.5
O'Callahan Greg 244
Vitello Joe 241.5
Williams Rick 232
Rickard Tim 220.5
Cuddy Dave 219
Ciurczak Dave 209
Ciurczak Jim 208.5
Corsaro Gary Jr. 206.5
Perry JoJo 202.5
Ross Nick 202
Clingersmith Bill 197.5
Spacone Bob 194.5
Teeto Tom Jr. 190
Clingersmith Dave 188
Perry Chris 171.5
Mcleod Brad 167.5
Fabrizio Al 164.5
Jacob Mike 149.5
Signore Gerry 148
O'Callahan Dan Sr. 146.5
Hanna Tom Sr. 133.5
Oliveira Mike 129.5
Sippel Kyle 114.5
O'Donnell Bob 114.5
Holody Phil 113
Duff Chris 110
Corsaro Gary Sr. 110
Gravino Brandon 106
Rickard Duane 103.5
Crocker Doug 98.5
Destino Joe 96
Tedesco Tom Jr. 90
Reynolds Dave 86.5
Zendano Rocco 83.5
Kaumeyer Bruce 74.5
Brantigan Brian 69.5
Nearhouf Fran 67
DeSimone Nick 66
Briglio Joe 64
Hood Greg 60.5
Hood Steve 56.5
Bellegia Chris 48
Pratt Terry 46
Demarco Nick 39.5
Bane Gerry 39.5
Turner Carl 26
Stott Rob 25
Radt Doug 24
Kajfasz Stosh 24
Pochatko Ross 22
O'Callahan Derek 21.5
Hanna Tom Jr. 14.5
O'Farrell Mark 12.5
Campbell Pete 9
Bartels Doug 5.5
Tedesco Tom Sr. 4.5
Shanahan Dan 3.5
Becker Dakota 3
Ricotta Mike 1

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