I have spoken to the top teams that are still still in the hunt and all have agreed that the playoff schedule will be as follows:
• Tuesday, Aug 25 - Position Round
• Tuesday, Sept 1 - Final Four playoff round
• Championship Round - played on Sept 17 or 18
Anyone who wants to continue to play on Tuesdays during the Final Four week and beyond will need to inform one of the committee members by the Monday prior so tee times can be set aside for you. No contest, 50/50 or skins & pins - sorry.

The year end festivities are scheduled for Tuesday 9/29 in the Grill Room, confirmed by Aimee. We have been given some choices and the committee has been authorized to negotiate with Aimee without me! I’m sure they make her an offer she can’t refuse! Stay tuned for more details!

Previous Weeks Notes, Issues & Resolutions

Sand Trap Suggestion from the peanut gallery...
There was a suggestion that when a ball lands in the grass growing in the sand trap that the player be allowed to remove the ball and play it outside of the trap no closer to the hole. This suggestion is being rejected on the grounds that there is plenty of sandy areas in the trap where you can rake and place the ball and play the sand shot. If you choose to remove the ball from the sand trap you will incur a one stroke penalty.

All regular season weeks have sponsors! Thank you all for your continued support of the TTL!
For more information about TTL Contests CLICK HERE.

WCC Course Conditions -
During the past week WCC put a new crew in place and the course is slowly getting put back to its playable condition. Rusty assures me that all three courses are starting to show improvement and will be back to normal within the next two weeks.

In accordance to our League Rule concerning a Lost Ball - It has been decided to not penalize a lost ball on the course provided there is no possibility of the ball going out of bounds or into a water hazard. This will need to be agreed to by both teams at that time. Drop as close as possible to where you believe it to be lost and proceed without penalty. Please limit your search to 3 minutes.

Grumblings from the peanut gallery…
I want you all to know that I have heard the comments about the course conditions at WCC. I am in agreement that they are less than acceptable but I am getting mixed messages as to the cause of these issues and intend to address them with Rusty soon. FOR NOW… please realize that these conditions are the same for and affect EVERYBODY! The current course conditions at WCC favor NOBODY!

Remember you are allowed to move the ball one club length, no closer to the hole anywhere except on the green. There are several areas on some of the greens where you may need to move the ball more that the allotted one foot - please confirm this with your opponent BEFORE you move your ball.

Additionally, in accordance to our League Rule concerning a Lost Ball - It has been decided to not penalize a lost ball on the course provided there is no possibility of the ball going out of bounds or into a water hazard. This will need to be agreed to by both teams at that time. Drop as close as possible to where you believe it to be lost and proceed without penalty. Please limit your search to 3 minutes.

RULING CLARIFICATION
A situation arose yesterday where a ball was hit into a pretty purple flowered bush that was planted in the rock area around a few palm trees. As stated in the Ball in Rocks Around Trees rule, the ball may be removed from the rock area 2 club lengths, no closer to the hole, without penalty. This rule was instituted on March 26 of this year. Since there are these pretty purple bushes that are within these rock areas, IF THE BALL IS FOUND, it may be removed from the bush/rock area as the Ball in Rocks Around Trees rule, states.

RULES AND PROCEDURES
A few situations involving rules interpretations have been brought to my attention this week. I suggest everyone who has any questions regarding the TTL Local Rules CLICK HERE and book mark this page on your phone for future reference. It would save tension and discussion on the course. Here’s what I was questioned about:

1. The TTL League has no ruling instance where two strokes are penalized. Most of the USGA rules involving two strokes have either been overruled by the TTL Local Rules or do not apply to the match play format. All rulings for the TTL match play result in a one stroke penalty or loss of hole.
2. All water and OB is played as lateral - for water hazards CLICK HERE and for out of bounds CLICK HERE. There are several more situations covered on the TTL Website in the Rules section. If you do not find your particular situation, PLEASE SEE A COMMITTEE MEMBER BEFORE YOU SIGN THE SCORECARD! Play two balls if you have to - if you turn in a signed scorecard, it’s too late to contest any issue on the course.
3. CLICK HERE to see how substitutes are called to play. Every player has access to contact any sub at anytime to procure them for when they will not be there. The subs have been and will always be listed at the end of the 48 emails address all of the TTL correspondence goes to (immediately after Dave Wetzel). As always some subs get picked sooner than others for whatever reason.
   

OBTW… The data-entry person thanks everyone for putting only one number on the scorecard this week - you can all have a cookie!

SCORING
All adjustments for Teeing Ground Scoring Differential (TGSD) is now done by the new software. This should provide less errors by the data entry person! The software produces a comprehensive scorecard which is now being printed on a pre-printed template made from the old WT scorecards. See the example below for new style of scorecard and what all the numbers and letters mean!

There was one inquiry about how the team point is awarded. It is in our rules under the 10 stroke maximum rule. After extensive testing of the new software, I have come to the conclusion that the best and fairest way to calculate the team point this:

Team Match points are now based on Team Total Net Score - meaning that one point will be awarded to the team whose combined total net scores are lower than the opponent team. Ties will receive half of the indicated points. Full handicaps are used.

I tried three other ways and it was way too confusing to figure out - let alone explain it to everyone!

All of the images on this page are clickable and will open up a larger pdf file that you can save to your computers if you wish! There is a different look to the way the new software produces the weekly match reports. It produces one big long report that I split into two separate reports. The Round Report gives the abbreviated results of what happened for each team and player. The Match Details breaks down each match hole by hole.

If you have any questions about any rules or procedures, please look at the rules page. If you need further explanation, please send me an email.

TTL WEATHER NOTIFICATION SYSTEM
Some of you have been texted by the TTL WEATHER NOTIFICATION SYSTEM. In case of pending weather issues, you all will be instructed to keep your phones on and just loud enough to here the message to "BRING IT IN!!"

COMMITTEE RESPONSE to drop zones added to the Par 3 holes...
The need to have drop zones added to the Par 3 holes at WCC has been brought to my attention. The matter has been taken up by your committee and this is the decision:
As indicated in Situation 5 on THIS PAGE from the TTL Website, we do have one hole - Blue #7 - that we have designated to have a drop area. It is positioned in front of the group of palm trees in front of the red tee box - approximately 40 - 50 yards from the center of the green.
The committee has decided that for the remainder of this season, Blue hole #7 will be the only hole that a drop zone can be used. This situation will be eliminated next season. Here is the reasoning agreed upon by your committee:

1. This is a Match Play League. Every stroke matters. It is very possible that any player can hit a ball into the water, then hit from a drop zone and walk away with four (or maybe a 3?) on the hole.
2. The yardage differences between the White tees and the Black or Red tees are anywhere from 15 to 63 yards. Most of the black tees play closer to the Red yardages than what is indicated on the Black tee scorecard! Drop zones at WCC would likely be around the red tees. OK for the White tee player but not much different for the Black & Red.
3. It is agreed that the level of difficulty on some of these holes are higher than others, but every par three hole has plenty of room to bale out away from any trouble.
4. Drop zones are instituted at the committees discretion. They are usually needed for large tournaments to keep the pace of play moving. Drop zones are recommended by the USGA to keep the hazard in play (see attached word doc). The WCC par 3s could not accommodate that. As for pace pf play, there are certainly other issues that contribute to slow play besides the Par 3s!
   

What’s fair in match play is opponents competing from the same or similar parameters - not possible if a drop zone is implemented. If the reasoning for this is to speed up play, then it should be up to the match opponents to determine when enough is enough. For example, if Player A is on the green putting for birdie and their opponent - Player B - has hit two in the water - it’s safe to say that Player B is NOT going to win the hole. Player B should make Player A putt once or twice and then Player B should concede the hole to Player A, mark and X on their card and move on. Player A can also tell Player B to pick it up forcing Player B to take the 6 on the hole. Nobody wants to see anyone empty their bag into the drink!
If you really want to make your head explode - CLiCK HERE - to see how the USGA suggests how the committee should use a drop area!!!
As usual, please email TGF with any questions, comment or further discussion on this subject.