The Full Story

The Full Story

Sevens Golf Rules

• Each team can consist of 4 to 7 players.
• Players can register as individuals and be placed into a team by the league administrator, or can be placed on a substitutes list.
• Players may compete at any registered Sevens Golf venue but shall nominate a ‘home club’, from which they will collect any trophies or prizes.
• A team may consist of players who compete at different venues.
• A league may consist of teams and players who compete at different venues.
• The Team's weekly score will comprise the best 4 scores from the team of 7, with only one score per individual team member counting towards the team aggregate total.
• Stableford scoring is used by each player over nine (9) holes.
• Players can play at any time during the week, subject to course availability, but must play with at least one other registered Sevens Golf player or golf club member with an official Australian Handicap to mark their score card. I.e. Players do not have to physically play with a person from their own team, or the opposition team.
• Players can play up to 3 Sevens Golf rounds per week, subject to course availability.
• Score cards must be returned on the same day in which they are played, and at the same venue at which the round was played, or will be declared disqualified.
• The top 25% of scores in each league over a weekly period will win a prize. Only the best one (1) score from each player will be eligible to win a weekly prize.
• Pre-Season Rounds may be used at the discretion of the league administrator to determine competitive strength for a Round Robin Series.
• Where possible during the regular round robin series, each team will play every other team in their league at least once. Although for shorter format events this may not be possible.
• The league administrator may at his/her discretion add ‘phantom teams’ to a competition if they feel that more teams may register after the season draw has been conducted. ‘Phantom teams’ will act as byes until there is 4 players entered into the team.

Match Scoring & Result

• The team with the highest total of the four best individual 9-hole Stableford scores will be declared the match winner. Only one (1) score per individual team member counts towards the team aggregate total.
• Two (2) points are awarded to the team for a Match Win, one (1) point for a Match Draw and zero (0) points for a Match Loss.
• One Half (1/2) Bonus point will be available for a team in which all 7 players return at least one scorecard in a weekly period.

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Substitutions

• Teams may make substitutions to their team at any time, providing the player subbed in has not already been part of another team in the current season.
• Players that have been subbed in are subject to the same finals qualification criteria as all other players. i.e. Must return at least 5 scores before commencement of finals series.
• Once a player has been subbed out of a team, they will be placed on the substitutes list and will not be eligible to join another team for the remainder of the competition, however, they can continue to play as an individual.
• Players subbed out will still be eligible for the Player of the Year and Biggest Loser trophies, but will not be eligible to claim prizes won by their former team.

Finals

• At the end of the Round Robin Series there will be a Finals Series to determine the order for trophies to be awarded.
• The top teams in each league will progress through to the finals. Please see Sevens Golf Finals Match Format for more details.
• Players in teams not competing in the finals are still able to play in the weekly individual competition as there are still weekly prizes to play for.
• All players must have returned a minimum of 5 scores during the season before the commencement of the finals series to be eligible to contest the finals as part of their team. Failure to do so will result in the player being removed from the team and placed on a substitutes list where they can continue to play as an individual for the remainder of the season.
• During the finals series, a count back system will be used to break tied matches. The count back system is as follows: If teams are tied the match will be decided by the best three (3) scores. If still a tie, the best two (2) scores. If still a tie, the best score (1) only. If still a tie, the last six holes of the best score, then the last three holes of the best score, then hole by hole starting from the last hole working backwards. If still a tie, the two teams involved shall nominate one (1) player to contest a hole by hole sudden death Stableford match until the tie is broken, within 24 hours of the previous match ending. The Sevens Golf Administrator’s decision is final.

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Player of the Year Trophy

• Each league will award a Player of the Year trophy for the top male and female on the rankings at the end of the season.
• POTY Points will be awarded as follows: Based on the players best score for the week only. The highest individual score each week is awarded 10 POTY points, for every shot scored below the highest individual score, 1 point is deducted. i.e. Best individual score for the week is 26 – every player with 26 as their best score earns 10 POTY pts, 25pts – players earn 9 POTY pts, 23pts – players earn 7 POTY pts…….. 17pts – players earn 1 POTY pt, 16pts and below – zero (0) POTY pts.
• Pre-Season, Mid-Season and Finals Rounds are excluded from the Player of the Year calculation.
• Trophies will be awarded at the leagues presentation night.

Biggest Loser Trophy

• Each league will award a Biggest Loser trophy to the male and female golfer that has lost the highest number of strokes from their handicap at the end of the regular season.
• Pre-Season, Mid-Season and Finals Rounds are excluded from the Biggest Loser calculation.
• Trophies will be awarded at the presentation night.

Presentation Night

• Each player will have the opportunity to attend a Presentation Night on completion of the competition.

Player Requirements

• The player registration fee for each Sevens Golf competition is payable direct to Sevens Golf via the website or by phone.
• Scores will not be entered for players who have not paid the Sevens Golf registration fee.
• Players must nominate which nine holes they are playing, e.g. 1-9 or 10-18 or an approved nine hole composite course. Players will not be able to submit a Sevens score after they have commenced their 9-hole round.
• It is the players responsibility to ensure that score cards returned are correct and include the players name, correct handicap, and signatures of both the player and marker. Invalid scorecards will be disqualified in line with the Rules of Golf. The venue administrator may use his/her discretion before disqualifying players without an official Australian Handicap for the first four (4) rounds of the competition, after which no amnesty will be provided.
• Players must adhere to the Rules of Golf at all times. If unsure of a ruling, please ask your Club Professional or club staff member for clarification before submitting your scorecard.
• Players may need to meet minimum membership requirements at their participating club to be eligible to play Sevens Golf, please check with your club for membership requirements.
• Players should also check minimum dress requirements at their local club before playing their first Sevens Golf round.

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Handicapping

• New Players with no current GolfLink handicap will be given a Provisional Sevens Handicap on completion of each of their first 3 rounds before a score is accepted. Once three rounds have been completed the handicap will become an Official Sevens Handicap.
• New Players with an official GolfLink handicap will begin from their normal 18-hole Golf Link handicap.
• All players that have played in a previous Sevens Golf event will begin on their last Sevens Golf handicap.
• Sevens Golf reserves the right to manually adjust any players Sevens Golf handicap in the event that their Golf Link handicap has significantly changed since last competing in Sevens Golf.
• Handicaps displayed and used in the competition are equivalent to an 18-hole Stableford handicap. i.e. There is no halving of handicaps.
• Handicapping is performed based on every score entered.
• Players handicaps are calculated at the completion of each weekly round.
• The Differential is the number of strokes over or under par over an 18-hole course.
• Players are given a default differential equal to their initial handicap when first entered into the system. This default is included as a 'Acceptable Score' in determining the number of differentials to be used.
• When the score returned is worse than net par, the score is extended to 18 holes on a pro-rata basis. I.e. For a 9-hole score of 16 points which is 2 over par for 9-holes, the score is extended to 4 over par for 18 holes.
• When the score returned is equal to or better than net par, the score is extended to 18 holes by completing the card with net par figures. I.e. For a 9-hole score of 20 points which is 2 under par for 9-holes, the score is extended to 2 under par for 18 holes.
• Par score is 18 points for 9-holes on all courses.
• Once a player’s handicap record contains 20 scores, the next score they return will result in the oldest of the existing 20 scores being removed (to be replaced by the new score). Hence, the handicap record is considered to be a ‘rolling sample’ of the player’s scores.
• The maximum Sevens Golf Handicap for both men and women is 72.
• Disqualification of a Sevens Golf score will be affected under the following conditions:
• No handicap on card
• Higher handicap on card which affect the number of strokes received
• Card not signed by either player or marker
• Lower score than actually taken on a hole
• Card handed in after day of play
• Card not returned

The following scenarios and appropriate action is also advised:

• Lower handicap on card – card accepted as returned
• Score for hole omitted – card accepted as returned
• Higher score than actually taken on a hole – card accepted as returned

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To calculate a Sevens Golf Handicap:

STEP 1 - Use the table below to determine the number of Handicap Differentials to be included in the handicap calculation:

STEP 2 - Average the Handicap Differentials being used (as determined by the above table).

STEP 3 - Multiply the average by 0.93. (Note: This is the ‘Multiplier’ factor. The Multiplier is the incentive for players to improve their golf game. As a player’s handicap improves (gets lower), the player has a slightly better chance of placing high or winning a handicap event.)

STEP 4 - After applying STEP 3, delete all numbers after the tenths’ digit. Do NOT round to the nearest tenth. (For example 23.6983 becomes 23.6.)

STEP 5 - In the example provided in STEP 4, the exact Sevens Golf Handicap is therefore 23.6 (although note the Anchor Provision below).

Note i: ANCHOR PROVISION – A player’s handicap is not permitted to increase by any more than 4 strokes beyond their best exact handicap from the previous 12-month rolling period.

(a) A player’s Anchor Handicap is the best exact handicap they have achieved during the 12- month period that preceded their most recent round. (Exception: Where a player has not returned any cards in the previous 12-month period, the ‘Anchor’ Handicap will be the handicap calculated as a result of their most recent round.)

(b) Each time a player has a score processed for handicapping purposes, they shall also have their Anchor Handicap re-determined. This re-determined value is only permitted to apply to the NEXT round the player plays, NOT the CURRENT round. The Anchor Round permitted to apply to the current round is that Anchor Round which was calculated from the most recent score played prior to the current round.

(c) A newly-determined Anchor Round is considered in the processing of the player’s NEXT score irrespective of when this next round is played. (As a result, it is permissible for a player’s Anchor Handicap to become more than 12 months old in the period between two rounds being played.)

(d) Upon the completion of Step 5 above, the calculated figure will be compared with the Anchor Handicap. If the Anchor Handicap is four or more strokes lower than the figure produced by Step 5, the Anchor will take effect and the player’s Exact Australian Handicap will be the sum of the Anchor Handicap PLUS 4.0 strokes. (Example: Where in the previous 12-month period a player’s best exact handicap is 11.4, the player’s handicap will not be permitted to increase beyond 15.4.)

(e) There will not be any limit on downward movement of a player’s Sevens Golf Handicap.

(f) The Anchor will only take effect once a player has 20 scores in their handicap record. (For Anchor purposes, an exact handicap calculated on the basis of less than 20 scores cannot be an Anchor Handicap and is totally disregarded.)

(g) Where the player’s Home Club performs an outward handicap adjustment, for Anchor purposes, an exact handicap calculated prior to such a manual over-ride cannot be an Anchor Handicap and is totally disregarded. (The same exclusion does not apply in the case of downward manual adjustments.)

STEP 6 – The exact Sevens Golf Handicap is rounded up to the nearest whole number to determine the playing handicap. E.g. An exact handicap of 23.6 becomes a playing handicap of 27.

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Handicap Adjustments

When a Sevens Golf administrator uses the ‘Adjust Handicap’ function in Sevens Golf, Sevens Golf will automatically add a series of artificial scores to the player’s handicap record. It is these artificial scores that will result in the player’s handicap adjusting to the desired figure. Relevant points regarding this process are as follows:

~ If the required new handicap is a lower figure than the existing exact handicap, Sevens Golf will populate the respective player’s handicap record with ten identical artificial scores.

~ If the required new handicap is a higher figure than the existing exact handicap, Sevens Golf will populate the respective player’s handicap record with twenty identical artificial scores.

~ If the Club’s Sevens Golf administrator enters a required new figure of for example 17.3, Sevens Golf will round this figure to the nearest whole number (in this case it would be 17). The artificially generated scores in this case will all have a handicap differential of 17. (Note: The average of the handicap differentials in the player’s handicap record will be multiplied by 0.93. As a result, the figure entered into Sevens Golf will not become the player’s exact Sevens Golf Handicap. Where a specific handicap figure is desired by a Club, it should allow for this consideration by slightly inflating the value it enters into Sevens Golf, and also take account of ‘good’ scores in the player’s handicap record.

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Sevens Golf Finals Format

For Divisions with 13 teams or more competing - Top 8 Teams Qualify

1st Qualifying Final

• Match 1 - 1st Place vs 4th Place
• Match 2 - 2nd Place vs 3rd Place
• Match 3 - 5th Place vs 8th Place
• Match 4 - 6th Place vs 7th Place

2nd Qualifying Final

• Match 5 - Loser Match 1 vs Winner Match 4
• Match 6 - Loser Match 2 vs Winner Match 3
• Winner of Match 1 & 2 - Bye

Semi Final

• Match 7 - Winner Match 1 vs Winner Match 6
• Match 8 - Winners Match 2 vs Winner Match 5

Grand Final

• G/F Match - Winner Match 7 vs Winner Match 8
• Consolation Final - Loser Match 7 vs Loser Match 8

For Divisions with 10-12 teams competing - Top 6 Teams Qualify

Qualifying Final

• Match 1 – 3rd Place vs 6th Place
• Match 2 – 4th Place vs 5th Place
• 1st and 2nd Place - Bye

Semi Final

• Match 3 – 1st Place vs Winner Match 2
• Match 4 – 2nd Place vs Winner Match 1

Grand Final

• G/F Match - Winner Match 3 vs Winner Match 4
• Consolation Final - Loser Match 3 vs Loser Match 4

For Divisions with 7-9 teams competing - Top 4 Teams Qualify

Semi Final

• Match 1 – 1st Place vs 4th Place
• Match 2 – 2nd Place vs 3rd Place

Grand Final

• G/F Match - Winner Match 1 vs Winner Match 2
• Consolation Final - Loser Match 1 vs Loser Match 2

For Divisions with less than 7 teams competing - Top 2 Teams Qualify

Grand Final

• G/F Match – 1st Place vs 2nd Place

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