Golf Genius ::

2018 LONG BEACH

MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

Conditions of Competition

Play is governed by the Rules of Golf, Effective January 2016, the Local Rules as described in the Notice to Competitors distributed to players at the tournament site, and these Conditions of Competition. Unless otherwise noted, the penalty for breach of a Local Rule or Condition is two strokes.

STARTING TIMES: Qualifying Round One starting times will be posted on the Match play Championship portal prior to the beginning of the tournament. Qualifying Round Two starting times will be determined based upon player standings upon completion of Round One, and will be posted on the Championship portal by 8:00 PM on Friday, June 1st. At the conclusion of Qualifier play, the tournament bracket and Round of 64 pairings will be posted on the Championship portal by 8:00 PM on Saturday, June 2nd.

DRESS CODE: Appropriate golf clothing must be worn at all times; no denim pants, short shorts, tee shirts, or tank tops.

CODE OF CONDUCT: By submitting an entry for any Long Beach Golf Festival-administered competition, the contestant understands that he/she may be removed from the competition by the LBGF Rules and Competition Committee at any time before or during the competition for unbecoming conduct, including, but not limited to:

Willful damage of the golf course or golf course property
Club throwing
Offensive or unbecoming language or actions
Verbal abuse of LBGF staff, officials, volunteers, host club staff, or other competitors
Potential endangerment of others
Manipulation of scores posted for handicapping purposes or other acts of cheating

TIME OF STARTING: All players must be present at the proper tee, ready to play, at their scheduled time, or if starting times fall behind, when the starter calls the first player in the group to play. Any player not present and ready to play at the time the first player in the group is called to the tee, shall be penalized two (2) strokes. If the competitor arrives more than five (5) minutes late for his assigned time he SHALL BE DISQUALIFIED.

TEE MARKERS & HOLE LOCATIONS: All competitors will play from the BLUE tees during Qualifying play, and from the Long Beach Golf Festival tees during bracket round play of the Championship. Hole Location Sheets will be provided on the first tee for all rounds of the Championship.

CONFORMING EQUIPMENT: The Optional Conditions in Appendix I for driver heads and conforming golf balls shall be in effect. Regarding club grooves, the player’s clubs must conform to the grooves and punch-mark specification in the Rules of Golf that are effective from January 1, 2010 (Decision 4-1/1).

DISTANCE-MEASURING DEVICES: A player may obtain distance information by use of a distance-measuring device. If, during a stipulated round, a player uses a distance-measuring device to gauge or measure other conditions that might affect his play (e.g. elevation changes, wind speed, etc.), the player is in breach of Rule 14-3.

CADDIES: Caddies are allowed, under the following conditions:

Caddies may ride in one of the two carts allowed per group in lieu of the player they are caddying for. They may not, however, take the place of another player in the group.
Caddies must not hold up play or challenge Rules Committee or Tournament Officials' directions.
Caddies may not give a "playing lesson" during the tournament or hold up play in any manner. Caddies may be asked to leave by the Rules Committee or Tournament Director if a delay occurs due to their actions.
Individuals designated as Caddies are therefore subject to the USGA Rules of Golf. Specifically, a rules violation by a caddie is the same as a rules violation by their player.

PACE OF PLAY: Rule 6-7 states, "The players shall at all times play without delay." Penalty for breach of Rule 6-7 is: First offense–warning; second offense–one stroke; third offense–two strokes (during Qualifier rounds), loss of hole (during bracket play); fourth offense–disqualification. A group is deemed out of position when starting the play of any par 4 or par 5, which is clear of all players, and the elapsed time for the round averages 15 minutes or more for the holes completed. In such case, all players in the group shall be notified that they are being observed and timed. A player is subject to penalty if his group is out of position, has been informed that they will be timed, and takes more than 40 seconds to play ANY stroke.

SCORECARDS: Signed and attested scorecards shall be returned, without delay, to the designated scoring area following the stipulated round. This pertains to both Qualifying rounds and bracket play rounds. For bracket play rounds, both players are required to appear in the designated scoring area. Once the player(s) has/have exited the designated scoring area the card is deemed officially submitted.

CLOSE OF COMPETITION: The Qualifying Competition is closed when the Match Play bracket and pairings have been posted. The Match Play Competition is closed when awards have been presented.

PLAYOFF: In case of ties within the Qualifying field, seeding will be determined by standard USGA card-off procedures, using final round gross scores from, successively (1) back nine; (2) last 6 holes; (3) last 3 holes; (4) last hole. The exception to this is if there is a tie for the final place(s) in the 64-player bracket-play field. In that instance, the players involved in that tie will take part in a sudden death playoff to determine the final seed(s). The playoff will start on a tee designated by the Committee, and will begin within five minutes of the determination that a tie exists.

PRIZES: In accordance with USGA Rules regarding the definition of amateurs, all prizes will be awarded in the form of gift cards or vouchers that may be redeemed for their market value of goods or services. No cash prizes will be awarded. Prizes will be awarded to each player who wins a bracket-round match, and will be successively larger for further progression in the field, with the Champion receiving $500 in gift cards or vouchers.

POSTING SCORES: The Long Beach Golf Festival Competitions Committee will NOT post competitor’s scores to the GHIN system, or to any equivalent handicapping service.