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THE OFFICIAL RULES OF THE WOLF-PACK
Ninth Edition (9.1) April 2010
II. PROCEDURE
III. RULES OF WOLF
IV. RULES OF PLAY
A. Commissioner. The Commissioner shall
(1) approve, deny and/or revoke eligibility of any player to participate in the Wolf-Pack;
(2) appoint and remove team Captains;
(3) preside over and administer a draft of players to stock and/or restock the Wolf-Pack teams;
(4) appoint and remove Wolf-Pack administrative officers such as Handicap Chairman, Treasurer, Statistician, etc.;
(5) resolve all disputes involving any Wolf-Pack matters;
(6) make emergency amendments to these rules during the season if deemed necessary in the interests of fairness;
(7) waive, in specific instances, any of these rules during the season if deemed necessary in the interests of fairness;
(8) have unlimited powers regarding any and all Wolf-Pack business.
B. THE MAN. THE MAN shall
(1) be the sole official chronicler of Wolf-Pack events;
(2) have sole authority to create honorary awards and designate their recipients;
(3) have sole authority to name and/or rename all Wolf-Pack teams.
A. Teams. The teams are set for the entire season as of noon the day prior to the first match of the season. At the end of the season, each team has one of the following options as to its future:
(1) player(s) may be traded from one team to another team, providing the Commissioner, the Captain of each team involved, and each player involved in the trade approves the trade;
(2) any player may voluntarily resign from their team and request to be put into the drafting pool, along with any new players, for the next season; or
(3) a Captain may dismiss a player from his team. The dismissed player may request to be put into the next drafting pool.
Players in the drafting pool as a result of action under Rule II.A.(2) or (3) may not be drafted by the team they resigned from or were dismissed by in the next draft unless both the Captain and player involved agree to such action. The period for action under Rule II.A.(1) through (3) extends from the end of the season until the Commissioner closes such period for action at the following Winter Meeting.
B. Tees used.
Men’s tees players may elect to play from any men’s tees and ladies’ tees players may elect from any ladies’ tees. Where there is a tees with both men’s and ladies’ slope/rating, any player may elect to play from it. The election of tees applies to an entire round (i.e. may not switch tees from hole to hole). Before the season starts, every player must elect a “fall back” tees (e.g. the second longest, next to the shortest, etc.). This is the tees a player will use if he/she fails to timely elect tees for a match. The deadline for electing the match tees is the same as that for submitting match information as set forth below in Rule II.D. A player permitted to replace a player originally designated for a match after the deadline has passed will play from the replacing player’s “fall back” tees.
C. Multiple matches.
.
II C. Multiple matches. Two double matches may be scheduled each season.
The groupings in these matches will be determined by the positions of the teams in the standings. The top four teams will be in one group, while the bottom four teams will be in another group.
D. Match information.
In order to proceed fairly and expeditiously, it is required that by 11:00am of the Thursday preceding each Monday or Tuesday match; the Monday preceding each Wednesday match; the Tuesday preceding each Thursday match; and the Wednesday preceding each Friday match, each Captain must report the following to the Commissioner:
(1) the player who will be representing their team and the tees being selected; and
(2) his/her handicap index effective for the upcoming match.
In the case of multiple matches, the following information in addition to that required for single matches;
(3) the group in which each player is to play, e.g., Player A in the first group and Player B in the second group.
(4) the group in which each player is to play if the other of the scheduled players fails to play, e.g., if Player A is absent then Player B shall be in the first group, and if Player B is absent then Player A shall be in the first group.
If Player C replaces one of Players A and B, then Player C shall play in the group in which the replaced player was to play. If Players C and D replace Players A and B, then these players are free to play in whichever group they decide to play.
Subsequent to this report, substitutions may only be made in an emergency and must be approved by the Commissioner.
E. Cancellations.
Cancellations. A match may be postponed to a later date by a majority vote of the captains no later than 24 hours prior to the event. The Commissioner reserves the right to cancel or postpone matches under exceptional circumstances. Matches will not be cancelled or postponed solely because team(s) are unable to be represented thereat. All postponed matches will be rescheduled, if possible, before the third Saturday in November.
F. Suspension of play.
If a course closes during play the players shall wait one hour to see if the course will re-open, unless each player agrees not to wait or agrees to wait longer than one hour. After one hour, unless otherwise agreed, the matches will be halted if the course does not re-open. If the course closes a second time after play has been resumed, the wait shall be thirty minutes. If the course closes a third time after two resumptions, a wait will not be required. An official round will be shortened to the number of holes completed by each group. Failure of each group to complete nine holes results in cancellation of those matches. The players in the lead group* are the official timekeepers, and the timing shall begin as soon as notification of the course closing is received. If the course does not officially close, then the players in the lead group shall determine by vote whether play should be suspended due to unplayable or unsafe conditions (e.g. rain, lightning, etc.). It is the lead group’s responsibility to ensure that the following group(s) are informed of this decision. If the lead group decides not to resume play within one hour, the match is completed at that point. If the lead group decides to resume play, and then suspends it again, they must decide within thirty minutes to resume play or end the match. A third suspension of play by the lead group results in cessation of the match. All actions by the lead group under this section must be approved by at least a majority of those voting (a player may abstain from lead group voting) members of the lead group. As in the scenario in which the course officially closes, if each player involved in the match agrees, the above time limits may be modified.
*The foursome listed first on the schedule for each outing is the lead group. However, if it is time for the lead group to tee off and one player of that group has not yet arrived, but is expected, then the other group becomes the lead group, unless it too is waiting for an expected player.
G. Handicap Indices.
For those players desiring this service, the Handicap Chairman will compute their handicap index monthly using USGA procedure. For those players keeping their own handicap, your index on the first of each month shall be used for that entire month and you are required to submit your handicap index effective for each month promptly to the Handicap Chairman. For those players relying solely on a third party, such as a private club, to keep their handicap, you are required to submit your monthly handicap index and effective date promptly to the Handicap Chairman. Those players not covered by the above three situations must resolve their handicap determination procedure with the Commissioner and the Handicap Chairman prior to the first match of each season.
H. Match Handicaps.
(1) The course handicap of each player will be calculated, using standard USGA procedure, based on the player’s current handicap index and the slope rating of the set of the tees which that player is playing;
(2) The match handicap will be then be calculated according to the following USGA procedures. The difference between the lowest course rating of the different sets of tees being used in that particular match and the course rating of the tees the player will be playing will be computed, decimals being rounded off to the nearest whole number, with a decimal of 0.5 being rounded upward. Finally, the match handicap will be adjusted according to the course rating difference using the lowest course rating of the different sets of tees being used in that particular match as a base. For example, if the women’s course rating is 73.5 and the lowest course rating of the different sets of tees being used in that particular match is 70.9, the women will add three strokes to their handicap. (73.5-70.9 = 2.6, rounded up to 3 strokes);
(3) it is the responsibility of each team Captain to verify the handicap for his team’s representative and to timely notify the Handicap Chairman if the handicap of any match participant is challenged;
(4) at any given match, the Handicap Chairman has the authority to adjust, recalculate, and/or modify handicaps of any and all match participants, based on information received at the match site from either the golf course or an individual player, until the first player has teed off in any group that is part of that given match;
(5) should a player inadvertently and mistakenly begin play in a match with a match handicap other than the one assigned by the match announcement or modified/changed by the Handicap Chairman per Rule II.H.(4), then
a) if the error, i.e., the incorrect handicap, is discovered before play on the first hole affected by the error has started, then the correct handicap should be used;
b) if the error is not discovered until after play on the first hole affected by the error has started, but before Official Results have been issued (see Rule II.I.(5), below) then the entire round should be played using the mistaken handicap and while the Wolf competition will not be adjusted for the error, the player’s net score will be computed using the correct handicap;
c) if the error is not discovered until after Official Results have been issued (see Rule II.I.(5), below) then both the Wolf points and the net score made using the mistaken handicap stand.
I. Scoring.
(1) each group must submit at least one scorecard to either the Commissioner, the Handicap Chairman, the Statistician, or their Official Designee(s) at the match site following each match. Scorecards submitted must include a score for each hole for each player and the running Wolf score. If there is disagreement between players in one match as to individual hole scores or the running Wolf score, such disagreement should be clearly noted and/or a second scorecard should be submitted showing the contested data. Should the disagreement involve a certain player’s individual hole score, the score claimed by that certain player should be used in determining Wolf results for that hole. Disagreements may involve contested facts and/or contested application of USGA or Wolf-Pack rules;
(2) upon submission under Rule II.I.(1), above, that scorecard is “Official” and may only be changed as follows;
(a) with the express approval of the Commissioner or the Statistician, and then, only with respect to use of incorrect handicaps and mathematical computation errors, i.e., adding numbers to arrive at the gross score, subtracting numbers to arrive at the net score, Wolf calculations, etc.;
(b) changes to the scores on individual holes of Official scorecards will only be permitted in instances where: a disagreement(s) or a request(s) for a ruling subsequent to play has been noted on an Official scorecard; two Official scorecards having conflicting scores on a hole(s) for the same player(s) or conflicting Wolf results have been submitted; or play of a second ball under USGA Rule 3-3 has been reported.
The Commissioner or other appropriate Wolf-Pack official, as determined by the Commissioner, will resolve all situations and/or conflicts under Rule II.I.(2)(b), above, and make appropriate adjustments to the individual hole scores and running Wolf scores before the Official Results are announced. Each player’s individual hole score(s), individual gross score and individual net score will reflect adjustments, if any, required due to resolution of disagreements and/or requests under this section. Each player’s running Wolf scores and final Wolf result will reflect adjustments, if any, required due to resolution of disagreements and/or requests under this section in accordance with Rule III.G., below;
(3) after any action required under Rule II.I.(2)(b), above, has been taken, all of the Official scorecard(s) will be submitted to the Statistician for use in compiling the Official Results;
(4) before announcing the Official Results, the Statistician may review the Official scorecards for mathematical accuracy and, if a mathematical error is found, the statistician must take appropriate action to correct it;
(5) the Statistician shall issue Official Results as soon as possible. E-mailing these Official Results to Wolf-Pack members or hand delivery to the Commissioner constitutes issuance of Official Results;
(6) once Official Results have been issued, the competition with respect to that match is closed as defined by USGA Rule 34 and no further modifications to the scoring will be made, e.g., corrections of inadvertent scoring errors and inaccurate handicaps;
(7) submittal of scorecards containing inadvertent errors will not result in the penalizing of the player submitting same.
J. Winter Meeting. A schedule of matches, the entry fee and prize distribution schedule will be
presented for approval yearly at a Winter Meeting scheduled by the Commissioner.
K. Scheduling.
Schedule. A season shall comprise of 22 matches in total.
L. Substitutes.
A team may have a substitute player for a maximum of five matches a season, but none in the last three matches. The substitute player shall come from a pool of eligible players approved by the captains.
M. Premiere courses.
Prior to the start of a season, the captains shall designate by majority vote 5 premiere courses, which can be scheduled more than once that year.
N. Banned courses.
Prior to the start of a season, up to 3 courses may be banned from the schedule for that year when agreed upon by a majority (5) of the captains.
A. Four-Man (standard) Wolf.
(1) Handicap strokes. Each player shall receive the number of strokes equal to the difference between his handicap and the lowest handicap in his foursome;
(2) Picking up. An artificial maximum score, i.e., one achieved by picking up, or a net score based on an artificial maximum score, can never win a hole, but will tie if equal to or better than the opponents’ net score;
(3) Point value. Holes 1-8 and 10-17 have a point value of one. Holes 9 and 18 have a point value of two. If the points for a hole are not won by a player(s), then these points are carried over to the next hole;
(4) The Hammer. The Hammer rotation for holes 1-8 and 10-17 shall be randomly decided prior to the first hole. The Hammer for hole 9 shall be the player who has the fewest Wolf points after the eighth hole with any ties being decided by a coin flip. The Hammer for hole 18 shall be determined by the following procedure: Players A and B flip a coin to determine a first winner, Players C and D flip a coin to determine a second winner, and then the first and second winners flip a coin to determine the Hammer;
(5) Order of play. From the teeing grounds play should proceed from the longest yardage tees to the shortest yardage tees with players using the same tees playing in the same order as the Hammer rotation with the Hammer playing first with two exceptions. Exception one; on all par three holes, the Hammer should play first regardless of which tees the Hammer is playing. Exception two; with the approval of all players in any one group, the order of play from any one or all teeing grounds may be altered. Once the order of play from the teeing grounds has been altered as provided for above, the altered order may not be changed without unanimous consent of all players in that group. Upon leaving the teeing grounds, play should be in accordance with USGA practice as modified by the principles and concepts of “ready golf.”
(6) The Hammer’s call. The Hammer on each hole, after all players have hit their tee shots, can either choose a partner or declare Wolf. If a partner is chosen, then the Hammer and his partner play against the other two players as partners, unless Pig is declared (see Rule III.A.(7) below). If the Hammer declares Wolf, then he plays by himself against the other three players as partners. The low net score wins the hole. When a partner is chosen, each player risks the point value of the hole. When Wolf is declared, the Hammer risks 3x the point value, and each player risks the point value;
(7) Pig. The player chosen by the Hammer can refuse to be his partner by declaring Pig, and then proceeds to play against the Hammer and the other two players as partners, unless the Hammer declares anti-Pig (see III.A.(8) below). A player may not Pig the Dummy (see Rule III.B.(1) below). When Pig is declared absent a declaration of anti-Pig, the Hammer and his partners each risk the point value of the hole, and the Pig loses 3x the point value if he ties the hole and 6x the point value if he loses the hole. If the Pig wins the hole, he receives 3x the point value;
(8) Anti-Pig. If a player declares Pig, the Hammer may declare anti-Pig which forces the Hammer and Pig to be partners on the hole. The Pig and Hammer each now lose 3x the point value of the hole if they tie the hole and 6x the point value if they lose the hole. If the Pig-Hammer team wins the hole, each of the Pig and Hammer receives the point value of the hole;
(9) Time for action. All Hammer, Pig and anti-Pig calls must be made before the player making that call has left the teeing area. Should the Hammer fail to make a call before leaving the teeing area his call will be considered to have been Wolf. The teeing area of any one group is deemed to include all of the teeing grounds used by the players in that group.
(10) Blind Wolf. When a Hammer declares Wolf before any tee shot is struck in the group, the point value of the hole is doubled.
(11) Double blind wolf. After hammer positions have been determined and before any shot has been struck for a round, a player may call "double blind wolf" for any or all of the four holes he will have the hammer as well as provisionally hole No. 9 and/or Hole No. 18 (if he were to have the hammer). The point value of the hole(s) involved (including any carryover) would then be quadrupled. If such a hole is pushed, the point value of the subsequent hole would revert back to the value as if no "double blind wolf" were called.
(12)
B. Three-Man Wolf when the fourth player is absent the entire round.
(1) the four-man rules apply with a Dummy substituted for the absent player. The Dummy will pick a partner as follows; on handicap holes 1-6, the lowest handicap player; on handicap holes 7-12, the middle handicap player; on handicap holes 13-18, the highest handicap player. The Dummy will never go Wolf.
(2) the Dummy shall be assessed stokes over par equal to the handicap of the player with the lowest handicap of the players present, and these strokes shall be equally distributed over the eighteen holes based upon each hole’s handicap. For example, if the lowest handicap of the players present is 20, then the Dummy would receive a bogey on handicap holes 3-18, and a double bogey on handicap holes 1-2. The Dummy loses and accumulates points just like the fourth player would.
C. Three-Man Wolf when the fourth player arrives after play has begun.
(1) use Rule III.B. rules above;
(2) when possible, the players should wait for the absent player a reasonable amount of time;
(3) the tardy player replaces the Dummy in the rotation. If the tardy player arrives prior to any player hitting a second shot on the hole being played, the tardy player will be allowed to tee off, and the Hammer will be allowed to modify his decision;
(4) if any player has hit his/her second shot on the hole being played, then the tardy player cannot participate in that hole and loses a point for that hole and each other hole missed;
(5) the tardy player is penalized the minimum number of Wolf points he/she would have lost had that player been present and lost every hole played prior to his/her arrival up to a maximum of ten; and
(6) the other players keep the points that they have won or lost playing three man Wolf.
(7) A tardy player can win or lose points only for those holes he actually plays (i.e. no carryover). This, however, does not affect the penalty point(s) incurred by a tardy player pursuant to section III C (5).
D. Three-Man Wolf when a player leaves prior to the round being completed.
(1) use Rule III.B. rules above;
(2) all players keep the points they have won playing four-man Wolf;
(3) the player leaving is penalized the minimum number of Wolf points he/she would have lost had that player been present and lost every hole played subsequent to his/her departure up to a maximum of ten except as provided for in Rule III.D. (4) below;
(4) if the player leaves prior to the Hammer making a decision, the Dummy immediately comes into effect, and that player shall lose the point value of each hole he failed to complete. If the player leaves after the Hammer has made his decision, the Dummy will not come into effect until the next hole, and the player can still win points on the current hole, should his partner win the hole, but will lose the point value of each other hole he fails to complete.
E. Two-Man Wolf.
(1) two dummies shall be used with each Dummy being assessed strokes over par equal to the handicap of the player with the lowest handicap of the players present. Play shall occur in a manner analogous to that for three-man Wolf. The arrival of the third or fourth players shall be treated analogously to that of the fourth player in three-man Wolf;
(2) should one of the two players leave early, that player is penalized as provided for in Rule III.D.(3). The remaining player shall proceed under Rule III.F, below.
F. One player in group.
(1) if only two to four players are present at the beginning of the match, then these players shall combine into one group and play according to the appropriate above rules;
(2) if only one player is present, or if only one player is present from a single group while the other group is complete, or if only one player remains in a group due to the early departure(s) of other player(s), the one player is awarded one point for each of holes 1-8 and 10-17 played without competition and two points for each of holes 9 and 18 played without competition. The one player may still play for net points.
G. Wolf Scoring.
(1) a running (hole by hole) Wolf score showing each player’s cumulative Wolf points through each hole should be kept on the scorecard;
(2) should a player’s score on any individual hole(s) be adjusted under Rule II.I.(2)(b), above and such adjustment have an affect on the Wolf result for that hole(s), the Wolf results on the hole(s) affected and, hence, the running Wolf scores and the final Wolf results, will be changed to reflect the adjusted individual hole score(s) if any one player in a group has timely and clearly informed all other players in the group of his intent to have the disagreement, request and/or rule clarification resolved under Rule II.I.(2)(b). To be timely, the informing of all other players must be prior to the Hammer’s call or all players having played their first shot on the next hole, whichever occurs last. Should Wolf results on individual holes be changed in accordance with this section, ownership of the Hammer on the ninth hole and Hammer declarations subsequent to the hole(s) affected will not be changed. Note that the requirements of USGA Rule 3.3 regarding the informing of other players in the group are more stringent than those in this section and are also in effect;
(3) should the requirements of Rule III.G.(2), above, not be met, adjustment of individual hole score(s) under Rule II.I.(2)(b) will not affect the Wolf results as submitted in any manner.
H. Scoring System.
(1) each team receives its player’s positive or negative Wolf points accumulated for the round;
(2) for regular (single) matches, each team also receives the following amount of net points depending on its player’s relative net score considering all players participating in that match:
1st ................ 7
2nd............... 5
3rd ............... 3
4th ............... 1
5th ...............-1
6th................-3
7th................-5
8th ...............-7
(3) for multiple (double) matches, each team also receives the following amount of net points depending on its players= relative net score considering all players participating in that multiple match:
1st ................ 8 9th ............... 0
2nd................ 7 10th............... -1
3rd ............... 6 11th .............. -2
4th ................ 5 12th .............. -3
5th ................ 4 13th .............. -4
6th................. 3 14th .............. -5
7th................. 2 15th .............. -6
8th ................ 1 16th .............. -7
(4) a player absent for part of a round is given the maximum score for those holes missed for purposes of the net competition;
(5) a player absent the entire round is placed last in the net competition;
(6) a team having a player absent the entire round receives -10 Wolf points. The Dummy shall accumulate Wolf points but shall not be given a net score;
(7) ties shall not be broken on a match basis;
(8) each team has the option of not counting up to two of its worst match results toward the seasonal competition;
(9) the following shall be used as tie breakers for the final season standings in the order listed:
a) most Wolf points accumulated;
b) most 1st place finishes based on both the Wolf and net contributions;
c) most 2nd place finishes based on both the Wolf and net contributions;
d) fewest 4th place finishes based on both the Wolf and net contributions;
e) most 1st place finishes based solely on the Wolf contribution;
f) most 2nd place finishes based solely on the Wolf contribution;
g) fewest 4th place finishes based solely on the Wolf contribution.
A. Play USGA rules with the following exceptions:
(1) when your ball lies on the fairway1 of the hole you are playing you may lift, clean and place (on the fairway) or drop (not on the fairway) your ball within one club-length of its original spot but no closer to the hole and at least as far from ANY point on the green as the shortest distance between the original spot and the green. All participants present at any specific match may, if in unanimous agreement, elect to play their balls as they lie and declare this exception not in effect for that match;
(2) “All areas
on the course where a player loses a ball or can’t play a ball can be considered
a “hazard” (one stroke penalty). If a player loses a ball in such an area or if
the player found his ball but would have been better off if the “ball had been
lost”, the player can drop the ball within two club lengths, no closer to the
hole, from where he and his opponents believe his ball last entered the “hazard”
or at the approximate location where the player believed the ball should have
been. This Rule includes all yellow staked water hazards which will be treated
as red staked hazards.
The player always has the
option before leaving the spot from where you just played your original ball,
announce the first ball is abandoned and, play another ball from that spot; once
played, that another ball becomes your ball in play (not a provisional) and your
original (first) ball is irrevocably abandoned (no matter where your original
ball is or is later found to be) - take one penalty stroke in addition to all
other strokes played.
If you hit your ball in another fairway and you find the
ball in a reasonable amount of time should play it.
If there is uncut, shrubs, weeds, grass, rocks or woods
between fairways and you are not sure if the ball made it to the other fairway,
assume it is in the uncut area and play as a hazard (1 stroke penalty from where
it entered hazard no closer to the hole).
If there is normal rough
between fairways (longer cut grass) and you can’t find the ball, assume it is in
the rough and play within two club lengths no closer to the hole from where you
think it is (1 stroke penalty).
(3) the only4 unplayable ball options are as follows:
(a) drop a ball5 within two club-lengths of the spot where the ball lay, but not nearer the hole - take one penalty stroke;
(b) drop a ball5 behind the point where the ball lay, keeping that point directly between the hole and the spot on which the ball is dropped, with no limit to how far behind that point the ball may be dropped - take one penalty stroke;
(c) drop a ball5 as set forth in (2)(c) using the location of the unplayable ball as the spot used in determining the SAL - take two penalty strokes;
(4) the maximum score for each hole is NINE regardless of your handicap; if you are lying eight, you should pick up and record a nine unless scoring a natural nine would win or have a chance of winning for your team in the Wolf competition;
(5) absolutely all putts must be holed or you must take a nine for that hole; and
(6) a plugged ball, except in a hazard, may be lifted, cleaned and dropped (placed if in one’s own fairway).
1 the fairway includes the fringe adjacent the green.
2 a straight line between the drop point and the hole of the green must intersect the SAL.
3 a line beginning at the center of the tee, generally following the shape of and continuing along points equidistant from opposite edges of all fairway segments, and ending at the center of the green.
4 the USGA replay the shot option for unplayable lies is not available.
5 a ball dropped under (3)(c) - unlike those dropped under (3)(a) and (3)(b) - need not remain in a bunker even though the unplayable ball is in a bunker.
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