Contents
I. Eligibility For State Titles and Championship Cup
II. Types of Titles
III. Title Match Guidelines
IV. Capturing and Defending Titles (including Time Limitations)
V. In-Match Scoring
VI. Rating Points and Player Ranking System
VII. Additions or Changes to the Rules
Rules
I. Eligibility For State Titles and Championship Cup
The "State Title Governing Board" (or "Governing Board") is a group made up of Eric Lowrey, Michael Saperstein, and Hal Zemel.
Every member of the Governing Board is eligible for all State Titles and Championship Cup.
Any additional golfers who are known to all core members before an official title match (or series of title matches), when playing in a threesome or foursome with this group, are also eligible.
A non-Governing Board member must participate in ALL matches in a series of matches for a given title in order to be recognized as eligible for that title.
The board may add additional members by unanomous decision of all living board members, and may also remove members by unanomous agreement. If any player has been inactive in State Title and Championship Cup events for 10 or more years, he may be removed from the board by agreement of all other living board members.
II. Types of Titles
"Championship Cup" is the most prestigeous title, and it can be awarded once-per-year at most. It is typically awarded annually to the individual who wins the series of matches played during the Governing Board Christmas Trip Golf Competition; however it can be awarded at a different time by agreement of the Governing Board. If a Championship Cup competition is not at least started during an entire calendar year, then the Champioship Cup title will be considered vacant.
A "State Title" is created for every state in which at least two of the Governing Board members compete in a match (or series of matches). There are additionally "Team Titles" for each state, awarded if there are two teams of two players each within a foursome in said match. Both of these titles for a given state are independent of each other, and any one given match may involve distinct competitions for both titles simultaneously. In this case, "Team Titles" need not require the same number of matches in a series as a "State Title" to be considered legitimate.
Championship Cup matches are therefore inherently State Title matches as well. For example, the 1998 Championship Cup matches were also for the Florida State Championship. It is NOT required, however, that all Championship Cup matches for a given year take place in a single state.
"Major" titles are a class of "State Titles". They are titles for which all members of the Governing Board tend to compete together often, generally at least about once a year. As of January, 2004 only Florida is considered a "Major" title. "Non-Major" titles can be elevated to "Major" status, and "Major" titles can be demoted to "Non-Major" status, only by complete agreement of all living Governing Board members.
Championship Cup differs from state titles in that Championship Cup is awarded once-per-year (i.e. a yearly title or trophy) while state titles are retained until they are lost (like a boxing or wrestling championship).
III. Title Match Guidelines
At least two members of the Governing Board must be involved in a match for it to be declared a title match. If, during a vacation, all three members of the Governing Board will be playing together (with the title holder, if he is not a Governing Board member), only those matches can be declared title matches for individual titles.
Before a title match (or series of matches) may occur, the tentative match schedule must be agreed upon by the competitors. For example, if there will only be one match (as opposed to, say, three matches in four days) for a given title, it must be known to all competitors before any matches are played. If the actual number of matches differs from the tentative schedule, it is acceptable as long as it is not because the current leader wants to "protect" his lead by not playing. Individual circumstances of any possible violations of this rule will need to be discussed and ruled upon as they arise.
Title matches DO NOT have to be 18 holes. They MUST be a minimum of 9 holes. They are a maximum of 18 holes; there will be no playoff or extra holes. If more than 18 holes are played on a single day, it will be considered multiple matches. If a match is stopped because of rain, darkness, or any other factor out of the golfers' control, only all holes completed by all competitors before the match was stopped will count toward the match results. Again, standard rules of fairness and sportsmanship apply, and violations of these priciples will need to be discussed and ruled upon as they occur.
If a match is stopped before all holes have been completed, and at least half of the expected number of holes have been completed, then the match can be considered "complete" (as a stand-alone match or within a series of matches). If fewer than half of the expected number of holes have been completed, and at least one more match remains in the series of matches, then the score at the time of the stoppage should carry over to the start of the following match and it should be considered one extended match. If fewer than half of the expected number of holes have been completed, and no further matches remain in the series of matches, then the match is declared "no contest" and does not count.
If a given competition involves more than one match, players will accumulate "standings points" based on the results of each match, such that at the end of the series of matches the player with the most standings points will be declared the new title holder. Standings points for results of each match will be awarded as follows:
Two Player Match: Winner = 2 points, Loser = 1
Three Player Match: Winner = 3 points, 2nd Place = 2, 3rd Place = 1
Four Player Match: Winner = 4 points, 2nd Place = 3, 3rd Place = 2, 4th Place = 1
All ties for a place will split the standings points for the tied places; for example, a tie for 2nd and 3rd places in a 4 player match will result in each player receiving 2.5 points.
IV. Capturing and Defending Titles (including Time Limitations)
If at least two members of the Governing Board compete in a state where no title holder is currently recognized, the title will be awarded to the winner of the competition. In the case of a tie, all players involved in the tie will be co-champions.
If at least two members of the Governing Board compete in a state where the title is currently at least partially held by one of the competing members of the Governing Board, the title will be awarded to the winner of the competition. In the case of a tie, the current title holder(s) will retain the title if he is involved in the tie. Otherwise, all players involved in the tie will become co-champions.
If at least two members of the Governing Board compete in a state where the title is currently held, but the title holder is NOT a member of the Governing Board, the title will be awarded to the winner of the competition regardless of whether the title holder is involved in the competition or not. In the case of a tie, the current title holder will retain the title if he is involved in the tie. Otherwise, all players involved in the tie will be co-champions.
If at least two members of the Governing Board compete in a state where the title is currently held, but the title is held by a member of the Governing Board who is NOT involved in the competition, the title will be re-awarded ONLY IF the end of the series of matches is at least 300 days following the end of the series of matches where the current title holder most recently playe for the title. In case of a tie, all players involved in the tie would become co-champions. (Note: The time limitation would be a 1-year period, but to avoid controversy when trips fall on slightly different dates from year to year, the 300 day limitation was chosen instead.)
If, in any case, a title is held by co-champions, and not all of the champions are involved in a match (or series of matches) that qualifies via any of the above conditions as a title match (series), all title holders not involved in the competition will be stripped of their share(s) of the title.
All titles are held without time limit until future competition qualifies as a match for that title. For example, Hal Zemel won the Georgia State Title in September, 1998. If none of the Governing Board again play together in Georgia (and as of September, 2004 they have not), Hal Zemel will forevermore be recognized as the Georgia State Champion.
A. Special Case For Championship Cup: If a Championship Cup series of matches ends with 2 or more players tied for the championship, the Cup is awarded for that year to all of the players involved in the tie and is considered a split title. There is no "retention" for the previous Championship Cup holder as there would be for a state title holder. Note that it is thus possible that a series of matches that ends in a tie could result in a split title for Championship Cup while the same series of matches results in a retained State Title for a single competitor.
B. Special Case For Major Title: Major titles require a minimum of 2 matches in a series to crown a new title holder. In the case that only 1 match is played, a Championship can become vacant if the current title holder played and did not either tie or win the match. Note that Minor titles cannot become vacant.
C. Special Case For Team Titles: Team Titles DO NOT have the 300 day limitation before they can be competed for again. If 2 or more members of the Governing Board are playing in a Team Match, the Team Titles are AUTOMATICALLY on the line REGARDLESS if the team that currently holds those titles is competing or not.
V. In-Match Scoring
All matches will be scored using the modified Stableford-Plus-Holes-Won System, as follows:
A. Holes: All holes won earn 1 point for the player (or team) with the lowest individual hole score (handicap strokes included) on every hole. In the case of a tie for the lowest score on the hole, the point is split equally among the players (or teams) who tied with the lowest score.
A-i. Note for team competition: In the case where players on multiple teams tied for winning the hole, the point would be split equally among the teams, regardless of whether 2 players on the same team made the same score or not.
B. Bonus Points: All scores on a hole of par or better (handicap strokes included) earn additional bonus points for the players (or teams) shooting the score.
B-i. Pars: All pars (including handicap-pars) are worth 1 additional point.
B-ii. Birdies: All birdies (including handicap-birdies) are worth 2 additional points.
B-iii. Eagles: All eagles (including handicap-eagles, with the exception of non-handicap Holes-In-One) are worth 8 additional points.
B-iv. Holes-In-One: All Holes-In-One on par 3 holes are worth 17 additional points.
B-v. Double Eagles: All double-eagles (including handicap-double-eagles) are worth 35 additional points.
B-vi. Note on Multiple Players Making Par: Multiple competitors can earn bonus points for making par or better on a given hole, regardless of who wins the hole. The standard number of bonus points are awarded to each player regardless of how many players made par-or-better, and regardless of who won the hole.
B- vii. Note on Team Play: If multiple players on a team make pars or better on a given hole, both players earn the appropriate number of bonus points for their team.
At the end of the match, the player (or team) with the most points wins that match.
VI. Rating Points and Player Ranking System
The "Player Ranking Sytem" was established to create additional interest in all Governing Board golf events. It will rank players in order of how many "Rating Points" they accumulate through good play.
Rating Points are primarily accumulated for State Individual Titles held, including the Championship Cup. They are also accumulated to a small extent for State Team Titles held and/or good individual-match performances that did not result in a new State Title being won. Players are then ranked based on total number of rating points, establishing the up-to-date Player Rankings.
To determine ranking points, the following criteria should be used.
A. Brackets: Each State Title must be put into a bracket. All Major State Titles are automatically in the "High Point" bracket. Otherwise, the bracket for a given title is determined by the largest number of competitors in any single match within the current Champion's title reign. If there are any 4-player matches, it is "High Point", 3-player are "Medium Point", and 2-player only are "Low Point".
For example, Georgia (as of 7/21/99) is a "High Point" bracket, since Hal Zemel captured the title in matches against three opponents. Nevada, on the other hand, is a "Low Point" title, as only 2 players competed for that Championship.
B. Time-Frame: The recency of the title must then be taken into account. If the title has been won or defended within one calendar year of the end of the most recent Governing Board golf event, it is considered "Recent". If not, but it has been won or defended within two calendar years of the end of the most recent Governing Board golf event, it is considered "Moderate". If not, it is considered "Long Ago".
C. Individual Title Points: Points per individual titles are counted as follows:
High Point: Recent = 40, Moderate = 20, Long Ago = 8
Medium Point: Recent = 30, Moderate = 15, Long Ago = 6
Low Point: Recent = 20, Moderate = 10, Long Ago = 4
D. Championship Cup: The most recent Championship Cup competition is counted as a separate title and is worth 15 points in and of itself.
For example, if the Championship Cup is determined in a Florida State Title competition, the winner will receive points both for the Florida State Title and Championship Cup. If that player loses the Florida State Title in a non-Cup competition later, but retains the Cup, he will still receive 15 points for being the current Cup-holder.
E. Team Titles: Each member of a team receives individual ranking points for team events and titles won as follows:
Won or Last Defended in a "Recent" time frame = 4
Won or Last Defended in a "Moderate" time frame = 2
Won or Last Defended "Long Ago" = 1
Note that all team title victories count for points in a Recent and Moderate time frame, even if the title has since been lost.
F. Individual Matches: Points For All Individual Matches Count As Follows:
Match Won that Determines bracket for title: 0 points.
All other Major Wins, and all Major non-last-place finishes:
Recent = 4 points per place above last, Moderate = 2 points per place above last
All other Wins, and all other non-last-place finishes:
Recent = 2 points per place above last, Moderate = 1 point per place above last
Note: All matches resulting in a title win or successful defense (including
team title wins) must count for a minimum of 1 point, provided that the
player still retains that title and has not lost it and won it back. (If a player holds a given title for a long time, there are cases when such wins would otherwise count 0 points.)
VII. Additions or Changes to the Rules
Any additions or modifications to the rules can be made by the Governing Board at any time upon complete agreement of all living Governing Board members to the proposed additions or changes.
Also, the players in any given match can agree to waive or change all rules per agreement of all competing players.
