EACH PLAYER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR KNOWING THE RULES!

Refund Policy: The refund policy is covered on the PHGA web site (click here to be taken to that section)

Scoring:
There are three different tournaments run during the Takahashi Classic;

• For the Takahashi Classic 2Man both players need to complete the tournament for their score to count.

• For the Supplemental tournament if one player in a supplemental team does not complete all tornament holes, that player will be considered as DNF (Did Not Finish) and whatever holes he did complete will count in the Supplemental Best Ball tournament and the Supplemental team will remain eligible in the tournament. If both players fail to complete all tournament holes then the Supplemental team will be considered as a DNF and the team will be ineligible for the tournament.

• For the Rubak, the same rules and format apply as the 2Man Tournament except just one day Sunday. The leaders from Saturday are excluded from the Rubak and will receive a refund of the Rubak portion of the entry fee. All other Takahashi entrants are eligible for the Rubak Tournament, even those who may not have completed the first 18 holes of the Takahashi Classic 2Man.

• Any player DQ’ed (Disqualified) for a tournament rules infraction will be DQ’ed from ALL Takahashi tournaments. In the case of the Supplemental tournament only the non-DQ’ed player’s scores will be used.

Play is governed by the USGA Rules of Golf.

The Local Rule 8E-5 “Alternative to Stroke & Distance for Lost Ball or Ball Out of Bounds” will be in affect for this tournament. A player is still permitted to proceed under “stroke & distance” at their discretion - doing so voids the option of this Local Rule. (Using this Local Rule results in a 2-stroke penalty.)

Players play from the same tee boxes as during the regular PRST season.

Out of Bounds (OB) is defined by the property-line fences on holes 3,6,7,11,12,13,14,15 and 16. It is also defined by the “road” on the back of #18 (the road and cement curb are entirely out of bounds).

ALL penalty areas (formerly water hazards) are played as RED Penalty Areas (whether-or-not marked).

DROP ZONES – There are drop zones on the back of holes #2 and #5 and on the left side of #9 for balls hit into the penalty area.

Embedded Ball relief is allowed in the General Area (formerly, “thru the green”) – no penalty & ball may be cleaned or substituted.

3 minute time limit when searching for a ball per USGA Rule 18.2, the time for a ball search before the ball becomes lost.

Mandatory (free) relief for a ball or stance on a wrong putting green (including the practice putting green).  Practice putting on the hole after play is completed is prohibited.

Abnormal Course Conditions (ACC), ground under repair is defined by a continuous white line not including a white line defining OB nor the white line indicating limits for golf carts near greens.

Free relief is given to a ball that touches or comes to rest in an Abnormal Course Condition or if the ACC interferes with a player’s stance or area of swing.  These ACCs include: French drains, cart paths or worn areas adjacent the path, GUR, immovable obstructions or temporary accumulation of water.  There is no “line of flight” relief for any immovable obstruction (except the fence protecting the 9th Tee Box while playing #8).  Taking relief for a ball coming to rest in a decorative flower bed is required – no penalty.

A ball touching any and all metal edging (near water) is considered in the penalty area. Any and all metal edging affecting the player’s stance or area of swing is considered an immovable obstruction and the player can take free relief.

All drops must be taken from “knee-height”. (If done incorrectly a player must correct with no penalty.)

A player may use a device that measures distance only. If it measures other conditions (e.g. gradient, wind speed, temperature, etc.) those features must be turned off.  A player may listen to music during play if it does not affect his playing competitors, but headphones, earbuds, etc. are not allowed during play.

It is the responsibility of all competitors to protect the field by ensuring that those in their group are adhering to the Rules of Golf.  It is also their responsibility to protect the other players by raising any procedural issues immediately if the other player may have proceeded incorrectly or is unaware of the proper procedure. “Group consensus” does not absolve the player from proceeding incorrectly or contrary to the Rules of Golf.

If there is doubt to how to proceed a player is entitled to proceed under Rule 20.1c by playing 2 balls.  Before doing so they must: 1) announce their intention before taking any action 2) indicate which ball they would like to score with (if the rules allow) and 3) report the situation to the Committee before returning their scorecard even if the scores are the same.

SPEED OF PLAY:  While it is expected that all players exercise proper etiquette and safety it is requested that the players play expeditiously and play “ready-golf” whenever possible and practical. Be ready to play when it is your turn or when it is safe to do so (even it is not your turn with respect to “distance from the hole”).

IDENTIFYING GOLF BALL: A player is allowed to identify his golf ball anywhere on the course including bunkers and penalty areas.  The player MUST mark the location of the golf ball before lifting. There is NO requirement to have another player observe this action.  It is recommended that the player put an identifying mark on multiple sides of the golf ball to eliminate lifting to see the player's marking should the golf ball lay with the marking on the bottom.

PLAYOFFS – Ties for 1st place teams will be a sudden death total team net score.  The holes played will be determined by the Palatine Hills staff. In the event a playoff is not possible the winning team will be determined by the Takahashi Committee.

SCORECARDS: Check and sign all scorecards before turning into the scorekeeper.  There should be a PHGA board representative off the 18th green near the pro shop to collect cards.  If for some reason there is no one to collect the card they can be emailed to PHGASCORES@GMAIL.COM.