Bylaws and Rules

  • Article I. Purpose

    • FIRST: To stimulate interest in the game of golf in the greater Kentuckiana area and create friendly competition opportunities

    • SECOND: To promote and foster relationships and the fraternity of the tour for the mutual benefit of members and the tour

    • THIRD: To educate the membership, promote, and encourage conformance to the USGA Rules of Golf

    • FOURTH: To maintain handicaps with a uniform handicapping system as set forth by the USGA

    • FIFTH: To provide an authoritative and governing body to oversee club activities

  • Article II. General

    • The annual meeting of the KAGT membership shall be held during the offseason on a date established by the Executive Board.  Special meetings can be called for by the Executive Board as deemed necessary or desirable, or by petition signed by at least 25% of the membership.

      • Annual or special meetings may be held through email or other social media platform at the discretion of the Executive Board if it is in the best participatory interest of the full membership

      • Quorum at special meetings will be set at 1/3 of the membership

  • Article III. Membership

    • All membership dues shall be established by the Board of Directors as they deem to be adequate to operate and maintain the club at the annual meeting. Membership fees are due at the time of the player’s first tournament of the season.

    • New members will be considered for membership up until the new membership deadline (the second major of the year)

    • Any new member must have an existing tour member as a sponsor

    • Any current member wishing to sponsor a new member should contact the KAGT Membership Director and Commissioner with new member information

    • All current KAGT members will be made aware of the potential new members and given the opportunity to provide feedback

      • During this time, current KAGT members may veto or vouch for a potential new member, followed by a vote by the KAGT Executive Board to accept or deny membership

      • Accepted new members will then be sent an official invite by the Membership Director

    • Memberships in the club are for the current season only, with memberships expiring after the Tour Championship until membership fees are paid in full

    • In the event that any member of the club shall commit any act which reflects discredit or disrepute thereon or shall refuse or neglect to comply with the rules and regulations adopted by the KAGT Executive Board, such member shall be subject to suspension or expulsion after ten days written notice and the right to be heard, by a unanimous vote of the Board of Directors at any regular meeting or special meeting called for such purpose.

    • A member in good standing can sponsor a non-member to play in a tournament as a guest

  • Article IV. Officers and Committees

    • The permanent officer positions will include the Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, Membership Director, Rules Chairman and Treasurer

    • The permanent advisor positions will include the Out of Town Advisor, Handicap Chairman, and Social Chairman

    • New officer or advisory positions (permanent or temporary) may be created at any necessary time by a vote of the Executive Board

      • Any member wishing to obtain one of these positions can indicate interest to the Commissioner

      • The Commissioner will communicate this interest to the membership and the executive board will then vote on each new position

    • Any of the officers may convene a committee (either full-time or temporary) to assist in their duties

  • Article V. Executive Board

    • The Executive Board will consist of the officers listed in Article IV, Section 1

      • The Executive Board will vote on new appointments in the case of an executive board resignation or other vacancy

    • Executive board voting will be held in private and consist of one vote each from each executive board member

      • Rule/Bylaw Changes and new/cancelled tournaments must be passed by a 75% (3/4) majority

      • New members, major course locations, and executive board vacancies must be passed by a simple plurality

  • Article VI. Amendments

    • These By-Laws may be amended by a unanimous vote of members present at the annual meeting or at any special meeting held for that purpose, or at anytime by a vote of the KAGT Executive Board.

    • Any proposal that receives 50% and up of the vote (but not unanimous) of members present at the annual meeting or at any special meeting will go to vote by the Executive Board

Rules

 

  1. Golf

    1. All tournaments will be played using the official USGA rulebook (http://www.usga.org/Rules.aspx?id=7788)

      1. KAGT Local Rules

        1. In closely mown areas through the green, players may use Preferred Lies as defined by the R&A Rules of Golf in Appendix 1, Part B4, Item C

        2. A range finder, or GPS device (that measures distance only), may be used and the player using it must announce the distance obtained to the rest of the group if prompted.

          1. Players are not required to give specific readings for anyone else’s ball or other location

        3. Carts and push carts are legal

    2. All members are expected to have a basic, working understanding of both the USGA Rule book and KAGT Local Rules

      1. When in doubt, players should refer to Rule 3-3 (doubt as to procedure).  Players should play two balls out and get an official ruling before submitting your score.

    3. Pace of Play

      1. Groups are expected to abide by course pace of play rules and keep pace with the group in front of them

      2. Players should play a provisional ball when a ball is believed to be lost outside of a hazard or out of bounds.

      3. Players and/or groups may be issued a warning for continued slow play

  2. Tournaments

    1. All tournaments outside of the Indiana Open, the KAGT Open, the KAGT Match Play and the Tour Championship will be hosted by a tour member

      1. Tournament hosts shall adhere to the checklist provided on the Tournament Information/Application sheet by the KAGT Executive Board

    2. Preplays

      1. In the case a player cannot play on the day of a tournament, they will have an approximately two week period leading up to the tournament to play their round

      2. The Preplay period starts with the Saturday two weekends before the official tournament weekend

      3. All preplayed rounds must be played with another KAGT member as witness, either as a fellow pre-play partner, practice round participant, or caddy

      4. Preplayed rounds must be played on the same course and set of tees as the official round

    3. Registration

      1. Registration begins at least two weekends before the tournament date (the start of the Preplay period) and ends 7 days before the tournament.

        1. Any late entries (after the registration deadline) can play if there are any available spots in the tee times (e.g. one of the groups is a threesome).

          1. Otherwise the late registrant must preplay or personally call the course to find an extra tee time with the main tournament

    4. Any tournament failing to reach 50% participation of KAGT membership at the time of the tournament will be officially reviewed by the executive board during the offseason and voted upon by said board for KAGT sanction the following year

    5. Any members wishing to host a new tournament may apply to the commissioner using the official Tournament Information/Application sheet

      1. New tournaments will be voted on by the executive board and must pass by a 75% (3/4) majority

    6. All tournaments must be played on readily accessible, public courses so that all players have the opportunity to pre-play

      1. Exceptions may be approved on a case by case basis by the executive board

    7. Groupings

      1. Tournament groupings are created at the discretion of the Tournament host

        1. The default option is a random draw, with exceptions for new members playing with their sponsor and grouping handicaps together for pace of play

          1. If players would like to be grouped together, they may request so to the tournament host

          2. Current round match play competitors are not allowed to be grouped together

    8. Ties/Playoffs

      1. In the case of a tie for first place, a playoff will decide the champion.  The playoff format will be decided by the tournament host before the tournament and can include:

        1. A sudden death playoff

        2. A chipping or putting competition as defined by the host

        3. A scorecard playoff based off of back nine scores

    9. Majors

      1. The Indiana Open, KAGT Open and Tour Championship are deemed “majors”

      2. Majors will be played from the closest tees to 6,800 yards, but not exceeding 7,000 yards

      3. Course selection for majors will be voted on by the executive board

      4. Majors will default to a sudden death playoff if possible, followed by a chipping/putting competition if possible, followed by a scorecard playoff

    10. Dress code

      1. Players should follow the guidelines of most courses requiring a dress code. Appropriate clothing must be worn for all KAGT tournaments. Items of clothing specifically not permitted at KAGT tournaments are: blue jeans, cutoff shorts, running or gym shorts, tank tops, tube tops and gymnasium type sweatsuits.

    11. The KAGT Match Play Championship

      1. The Match Play Championship shall begin the day following the season’s first tournament

      2. Seeding will be determined by a weighted index of points, scoring average, and money won over the last twelve tournaments

      3. The play-in, first, and second rounds may all be 9 hole matches

      4. Match Play matches may not be played during any other tournament

        1. Any player found to have played their match play during another tournament will automatically be disqualified from the Match Play, receiving no points or prize money

    12. Tournament Rain Policy

      1. If the weather causes some delays, but for the most part, players are still allowed on the course, players will play as many holes as possible, reasonably time permitting.  Once a player’s round reaches a minimum of 13 holes, their KAGT round is official and any unfinished holes will be scored according to a player’s handicap, a.k.a. the most likely score you would take on a given hole

        1. E.g. A player getting 18 strokes for the day would take a bogey on each hole; a player getting 3 strokes would take pars except on any unplayed hole that is one of the three toughest on the course

      2. If playing the minimum of 13 holes is not possible and the tournament day is rained out, players will have two weeks from the day of the tournament to play their round, at a time of their convenience, although the round must be played with at least one fellow KAGT member as a witness per Preplay rules in Section 2, Item b)

    13. Guest Play

      1. Any guest playing in a tournament must have an official USGA handicap

      2. Guests are not eligible for any tournament points; point slotting will be moved accordingly to the other players

      3. Guests are not eligible for the automatic Tour Championship qualification with a victory

  3. Handicapping

    1. Each member must be in possession of an official USGA handicap in good standing at all times

      1. USGA handicap info must be passed on to the Commissioner and Membership Director at the beginning of each KAGT season

    2. Any member/guest who plays a tournament without an official USGA handicap is not eligible for points or prize money

  4. Points

    1. Each tournament will use the following point structure: 1st place 100 points, 2nd 85, 3rd 75, 4th 65, 5th 55, 6th 45, 7th 40, 8th 35, 9th 30, 10th 25, 11th 20, 12th 15, 13th 10, 14th and on 5 points.

      1. Major tournaments (as defined in Section 2d, item i) are worth 1.5 times the normal tournament point value

    2. The top 6 regular season scores from each player will count towards the point standings

    3. Point Structure will be reviewed and voted on by the executive board after the annual meeting

  5. Tour Championship

    1. The Tour Championship is open to the top 50% of finishers in the points standings (e.g. 22 members, 11 entries) and rounded down (e.g. 23 members, 11 entries)

    2. Any player who wins a tournament automatically qualifies for the Tour Championship regardless of finish in the points standings

  6. Entry Fees / Prize Money

    1. Each tournament shall have a $10 entry fee

      1. Major tournament entry fees are to be 1.5 times the normal tournament fee

    2. $1 from every entry fee will be placed into the Tour Championship pool and will be added to the prize pool at the Tour Championship

      1. The Tour Championship Pool will be maintained and supervised by the Treasurer

    3. $1 from every entry fee will be placed into the Points Standings pool and will be paid out in the following manner: 20% to Regular Season Points Champion, 40% to Overall Champion, 20% to Overall Second Place, 15% to overall Third Place, 5% to Overall Fourth Place

      1. The Points Standings pool will be maintained and supervised by the Treasurer

    4. Places paid is determined by the size of the field, as noted below

      1. < 8 players; 1st 70%, 2nd 30%

      2. 8-13 players: 1st 55%, 2nd 27.5%, 3rd 12.5%

      3. 14-18 players: 1st 50, 2nd 25%, 3rd 15%, 4th 10%

      4. > 18 players: 1st 45%, 2nd 20%, 3rd 15%, 4th 12.5%, 5th 7.5%