Tournament Rules and Pace of Play Policy 

Tournament Rules & Pace of Play Policy

The Elite Invitational abides by the USGA Competition Rules of Golf. A local rules sheet will be provided on the 1st tee.

To enhance the competitive atmosphere, the Committee will have a minimum of 5 Rules Officials or Referees on the course during play. To protect the integrity of the course as well as to protect the field against variation, the Committee will have greater input on course conditions, particularly green speeds. The Local Rules sheet will be very comprehensive regarding location of boundaries, drop zones, and areas where relief is granted.

Additionally, like in the previous years, each competitor will receive a complimentary yardage book which will accurately represent the locations of penalty areas, waste areas, and boundaries. 

2. Pace of Play Policy: 

Checkpoints: Greenside on Holes  #3 #6 #9 #12 #15 #18 

To protect the field, the Committee has instituted the following policy:

1.     The ‘time par’ for 18 holes will be 4 hours 18 minutes (258 minutes). With a 7 minute grace period to allow for transportation from #1 green to #2 Tee and #9 green to #10 tee. The average amount of time per hole is approximately 14.5 minutes. 
2.     There are three initial conditions necessary for a referee to warn a group:
3.     Delay in the course of play was not due to a search for a lost ball;
4.     A group falls out of position with the game ahead of it. Out of position is defined as a gap of an entire hole between two groups;
5.     The group has fallen behind on time par in excess of 5 minutes per 3 holes. 
6.     If a group is warned, all competitors in the group are equally warned. There will only be one warning per group, per round. 
7.     The official issuing the warning will instantly monitor the group in question. If the warning is during a hole in progress, the referee will have discretion to determine if the group is attempting to catch up in good faith.
8.     Where the warning occurs will mitigate the amount of time granted to catch up to the game ahead. The time allowance on the subsequent hole will be 10 minutes on a par 3, 13 minutes on a par 4, and 15 minutes on a par 5.  Failure to close the gap will result in assessing each competitor a penalty of one (1) additional stroke per hole until the group has caught up to the game ahead.
9.     A group will remain ‘on the clock’ and monitored until it has caught up to the game ahead of it. Penalty strokes may incur as stipulated during such time.
10.     If a group has been warned, then will have caught up, but will have fallen behind once more, each player in the group will be assessed a penalty of one (1) additional stroke until the group has caught up to the game ahead.