Rules
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LOCAL RULES (To be read in conjunction with the Rules of Golf and any additional Local Rules posted on the Notice Board)
1. OUT OF BOUNDS
1.1 On holes 9 and 12 the Out of Bounds is defined by the imaginary line between the course-side points at ground level of white stakes with black tops and/or boundary fence posts.
2. PENALTY AREAS
2.1 In respect of the 5th, 6th, 8th, 12th & 17th holes, they are deemed to extend to infinity. Any ball lying beyond the natural borders of these Penalty Areas is not considered to be out of bounds, but in the Penalty Area. Any ball lying outside the course boundaries MUST NOT be played. Penalty – Disqualification.
2.2 Where the margin of a Penalty Area is not defined by lines or a line of single stakes, the margin of a Penalty Area is the edge of the grass adjacent to the Penalty Area.
3. MOVABLE OBSTRUCTIONS
3.1 Movable Obstructions include (but are not limited to) stones in bunkers, even if embedded.
4. ABNORMAL COURSE CONDITIONS
4.1 IMMOVABLE OBSTRUCTIONS includes:
(a) Any staked tree which interferes with the player’s stance or intended swing. Relief MUST be taken (Rule 16.1).
(b) Any red, yellow, blue or white stake (but not stakes defining Out of Bounds).
(c) The concrete drain on the 6th hole.
4.2 Sprinkler heads near greens the “2 and 2” Rule applies (Model Local Rule F-5). See the Notice Board for full details.
4.3 GROUND UNDER REPAIR includes:
(a) Any area defined by white stakes and/or a sign and/or a continuous or broken white line. Relief MUST be taken from any area defined by a continuous white line, unless notified otherwise.
(b) Any washout in a bunker.
(c) Any bunker with white stake or signage is compulsory GUR. Relief MUST be taken outside of bunker
5. DROPPING ZONES
5.1 If a ball is known or is virtually certain to lie in the Penalty Area behind the 13th putting green, the player may as an additional option drop a ball, under penalty of one stroke, within one club length of the blue dropping stake.
5.2 If a player is playing the 17th hole and the player’s ball is known or is virtually certain to lie within the blue staked area designating a No Play Zone, the player MUST take penalty relief under Rule 17.1e with the reference point being the blue stake.
6. BALL LOST OR OUT OF BOUNDS
6.1 If a player’s ball is lost or is known or is virtually certain to lie out of bounds, the player has an additional option under Model Local Rule E-5 to drop a ball on the fairway in line where the ball crossed the boundary, under penalty of two strokes, unless otherwise notified. See the Notice Board for the full details.
7. MAXIMUM SCORE (Rule 21.2b)
7.1 In stroke play, a player’s maximum score for a hole shall be five over par gross score.
8. SUSPENSION OF PLAY
8.1 When play is suspended due to a dangerous situation, play MUST stop immediately upon the sounding of the siren. Play shall not recommence until sounding of the all-clear siren. Penalty –Disqualification.
9. GROUND STAFF WORKING IN BUNKERS
9.1 Any bunker containing a member of the ground staff is treated as GUR from which play is prohibited.
PENALTIES FOR BREACH OF LOCAL RULES (unless otherwise stipulated):
Match Play – Loss of Hole
Stroke Play – the General Penalty (Two strokes)
Player Information:
(a) All players must report to the Golf Shop prior to play.
(b) All players must carry and use a sand bucket/bottle.
(c) “Ready Golf” is encouraged. Please ensure that you keep up with the group in front.
(d) Smoking restrictions apply on the course. Please refer to the Smoking Management Plan.
Updated 18 September 2022.
Click here to read information about the rule for lost ball or ball out of bounds.
Click here to read information about the rule regarding maximum strokes on a hole.
General Information
Insurance
Members are afforded limited cover for personal accident and personal equipment whilst on or in the precinct of any golf course in Australia. Members and guests who hit a golf ball over a boundary fence are required to report the details to the Golf Shop immediately or any the conclusion of their round. This includes the driving range.
Guidelines for Motorised Carts
Click here to read our Motorised Cart Guidelines.
Member’s Guests
Members may not introduce guests on Tuesday mornings, Wednesdays and Saturdays unless designated as a guest or invitation day. On other days, permission must be sought from the Captain, CEO or Director of Golf. If guests wish to enter a competition they must possess a current Golf Australia handicap.
Members introducing guests must accompany them at all times unless otherwise arranged with the Captain, CEO or Director of Golf. Members are responsible for their guests and therefore must fully acquaint them as to the requirements regarding dress and behaviour.
On a guest day, guests only need to pay the competition fee. On other days including the Captain’s Challenge the guest pays the Member’s guest fee and the competition fee if playing in a competition. A guest is therefore eligible to win a competition.
Guests are not permitted to play in Honour Board or major events.
The same guest can only be introduced up to seven times a year and no more than three times a year between the months of March and November inclusive.
The Captain’s Challenge is included as a guest round.
Competition and Social Golf Times
Members are required to familiarise themselves with the general entry conditions for all competitions including the specific entry conditions pertaining to individual events, the current Rules of Golf, all Local Rules printed on the scorecard and temporary Local Rules on the noticeboard.
All competitions are under the control of the Match Sub-Committee, which reserves the right to alter the date of, cancel, or vary any competition.
Mondays
Course opens for play at 7.30am, Social golf all day commencing from 1st tee.
Tuesdays
Compulsory competition from 1st and 10th tees from 7am – 8:52am.
Optional competition from1st & 10th tee from 11:30am – 12:50pm.
Social play after 3.15pm.
Competition for Women as per fixture book.
Wednesdays
Compulsory Competition on 1st and 10th tees from 6:30am – 8:22am.
Compulsory Competition on 1st and 10th tees from 11am – 12:52pm.
Social play from both tees after 3.15pm.
Competition for Men as per fixture book.
Thursdays
Compulsory Competition on 1st tee from 6:30am – 8:22am.
Optional Competition/Social Play from 10th tee 6:30am – 8:22am
Optional Competition/Social Play from 1st & 10th tee 11am – 12:52pm
Social Play from 1st & 10th tees at 3:15pm
Fridays
Optional Competition/Social from 1st tee from 6:30am.
Exception – Captains Challenge is a compulsory competition in both AM and PM shotgun starts.
Saturdays
Compulsory Competition on 1st and 10th tees from 6:30am – 8:22am.
Compulsory Competition on 1st and 10th tees from 11am – 12:52pm.
Social play from both tees after 3.15pm.
Competition for Men and Ladies to be as per Fixture Book.
Sundays
Optional Competition/Social on 1st & 10th tees from 6:30am – 8:22am.
Optional Competition/Social Play on 1st & 10th tees from 11am – 12:52pm
Social Play from 1st & 10th tees at 3:15pm
The above schedule is general and will be revised from time to time to suit various events on throughout the year. Refer to timesheets for additional information.
Any Member playing social golf is to play a maximum of 2 balls at any given time. Any Member playing social golf outside of the designated daily timeslots and coming across greens/course staff on the hole they are playing, are to pick up and move to the next hole. Course staff have right of way at these times. All golfers are to report to the Golf Shop prior to play.
Guidelines for Pull Buggies/Carry Bags
- Pull buggies and carry bags are not to be left in front of greens and never on the greens.
- Always exit greens from the side or rear. This will greatly assist pace of play.
- Pull buggies are permitted to be pulled across greens to reduce wearing of green edges.
- If course condition are wet, walkers should only walk on the driest and firmest parts of the golf course and should stay away from critical golf areas as much as possible.
Medical Certificates
Motorised carts may not be used in the men’s Club Championships unless the member has completed and submitted a Motorised Cart Medical Certificate. The medical practitioner signing off on the medical certificate shall not be a member of The Brisbane Golf Club. Motorised Cart Medical Certificates are available from the CEO.
Motorised carts may be used in all ladies’ competitions including Honour Board events with the exception of all rounds of the A Grade Club Championships.
When motorised carts are not permitted on the golf course, all members registered with a Motorised Cart Medical Certificate may be allowed on the golf course at the discretion of the Match Sub-Committee. They may share the motorised cart with a non-registered player.
Mobile Phones
To eliminate disturbance to fellow members, whether on the course or in the Clubhouse, mobile phones are to be set to silent and voice mail or message bank facilities. Outgoing calls should, for the same reason, be made out of earshot of fellow members and should be restricted to calls of an essential nature in all areas of the Club’s facilities.
Practice Facilities
The Brisbane Golf Club offers excellent practice facilities allowing members to work on all aspects of the game at a time of their convenience. Facilities include a 270-metre driving range with a full grass hitting area, a short-game facility for chipping and bunker practice, two practice putting greens, and three spare holes.
When not in play, the spare holes (19, 20 and 21) are ideal for developing golf skills in a real course environment. Members are required to report to the Golf Shop before proceeding to the spare holes and members playing through have right of way. Chipping practice is allowed using a maximum of 20 golf balls if there is a designated chipping area in place. If there is no designated chipping area in place, care must be taken not to damage the fairways with excessive use from any one area, and all divots must be filled with sand. When practising shots over 20 metres a maximum of 2 balls is allowed.
The driving range is available for use by members. Guests may only use the driving range for the purpose of warming up prior to playing a round of golf. Only range balls are to be used on the driving range and these are available for hire from the Golf Shop. Under no circumstances are range balls to be retrieved other than by the Golf Shop.
Please note the shorter hitting area on the left-hand side between the building and driving range is for golf tuition only.
Members must refrain from hitting with golf clubs they know will or might exceed the boundaries of the driving range. Consideration of our neighbours and their safety is paramount. If a golf ball is hit over the boundary fence on any side please report the incident to the Golf Shop and/or use the Out of Bounds Register.
Out of Bounds Register
The Club has instigated a register for balls that are hit outside of the driving range into neighbouring land. It is important that we monitor these events as we are regularly faced with requests for compensation to vehicles and building damaged as a result of balls leaving our grounds.
All members should be aware that the proper recording of these events will enable the Club to make a claim with our insurance company to cover the damage costs. If we are unable to identify the time and member responsible the insurer will likely refuse our claim. No action will be taken against the member for the damage, but we do need to identify them to claim under our insurance policy.
Please be diligent in recording if you hit a ball into a neighbouring site. Better still, don’t hit clubs where the likelihood of hitting a ball out of bounds is high.
The reporting of balls leaving our grounds applies across the whole course. It would be impractical to have a register in all places this happens but the requirement to report the event remains. Please do so at the pro-shop whether you believe any damage was caused or not. The insurance issues are the same for the course and the driving range.
The out of bounds register has been installed in a black box on the driving range.
Tees
The tees being used each day will be printed on your scorecard or shown on the MiScore App. Members are required to check in at the Golf Shop before play.
Honour Board Events are played from the blue and red tees unless you’re a Centurion Club member.
Centurion Club
To be eligible for inclusion in the Centurion Club, on the date of the competition, your age in whole numbers and not rounded up added to your GA handicap must be equal to or exceed 100. i.e. if your age is 68 and 9 months you are aged 68. There might be a few members who are on the cusp of being eligible on any given day, this will depend on the fluctuations to your GA handicap and when your next birthday occurs.
Members of the Centurion Club have the option to choose from which set of tees from which they wish to play on that day in all the Honour Board/Major Events listed in the fixture book, including Monthly Medals and Captains Challenges.
If members of the Centurion Club are competing in an Honour Board/Major Event and wish to compete in the gross event, then they must play from the Blue (Men) or Red (Ladies) tees. These include:
- Club Championships
- Club Foursomes (gross prize)
- Yeerongpilly Cup
- Captains Medal
- Mixed Foursomes (gross prize)
- Summer Cup (gross prize)
If members of the Centurion Club are competing in an Honour Board/Major Event and they only wish to compete for the nett or stableford prize, then they have the option to choose which set of tees from which they wish to play. These include:
- Club Foursomes (nett prize)
- Mixed Foursomes (nett prize)
- Summer Cup (A and B grades nett, C grade stableford).
- All other Honour Board/Major Events not listed that do not have a matchplay component.
For any Honour Board or Major Event that has a qualifying day and then matchplay, members of the Centurion Club have the option to choose which set of tees from which they wish to play. This includes the Byneset. For example, Centurion Club members can play from the yellow tees in the qualifying portion and matchplay portion in the Mocatta or the Johnson Staines. They just notify the pro shop prior to play and notify their opponents on the first tee.