No rule changes for this year.
Rules changes from the 2005 season are shown in Red.

1. Have Fun!!
2. Handicaps will follow more closely to USGA rules. In League B, the difference of the two team's handicaps will be applied to the appropriate team's scorecard. For ease of use, League A will still apply handicaps to each individual based on their handicap and hole difficulty.
3. You can play the ball up, and can move the ball one club length distance, no closer to the hole.
4. You may not improve your lie (i.e. moving the ball from rough to fairway, fairway to fringe, or fringe to green).
5. Rake & Replace rule is in effect for bunker shots. You may pick your ball up, rake the trap, and then replace the ball in its approximate original position.
6. Hit when ready!
7. Lost ball rule: If the ball is hit in a hazard, or can't be found, the player must drop another ball in the approximate position the lost ball was thought to be in. A one-stroke penalty will be assessed for the lost ball.
8. Provisional Shot: For speed of play, please hit a provisional shot if you think your ball went out of bounds. If your ball is in bounds you can pick up your provisional shot, with no penalty, and play your original ball. The penalty is both stroke and distance, except under the circumstances described in rule 9.
9. If no provisional shot is played and you realize your ball did go out of bounds, please play your next shot from the approximate spot the ball went out of bounds. A two-stroke penalty will be assessed for the lost ball. For speed of play reasons, do not return to the tee to hit another ball after searching for a lost ball.
10. Gimme's are allowed! Any putt within 6 feet of the hole may be conceded. This is not mandatory; a gimme putt is at the discretion of your opponent.
11. Concession of holes is allowed, but it is important to play out every hole regardless of if you have a chance to win it or not. This is important in keeping an accurate and useful average.
12. Women will use the red tees; men will use the white.
13. For safety concerns: On holes where women's tee blocks are significantly in front of the men's, men will tee off first, regardless of honors.
14. Unless otherwise specified, USGA rules are in effect.
15. Four strokes over-par is the maximum score allowed on a given hole. (On a par three, seven is the maximum score. On a par four, eight is the maximum. On a par five, nine is the maximum.) You may pick your ball up and move on to the next hole after the four over-par stroke maximum is reached.
16. You are required to play or have a substitute ready to play each scheduled round, weather permitting.
17. Soft spikes are the only spikes allowed at Ironwood.
18. Only 2 minutes are allowed when searching for a lost ball. Keep pace with the group in front of you.
19. (League B) In the event your scheduled partner does not show, you will play the match solo. An extra half point will be awarded to you if you win the match. An extra quarter point is awarded if you tie the match. (Please do not put someone in this position. Find a substitute if you can't make it.)
20. (League A) The player the substitute player is playing for will receive points won in match. (Changed to encourage players to find a substitute.)
21. (League B) The team the substitute player plays for will receive the point won in match.
22. No club maximum.
23. Entry fee is forfeit after first regular season match.
24. Any discrepancies not covered by league rules will be sent to the IWU golf league, rule committee. All decisions made by this panel are final.
25. To simplify play in the best position league, we will be figuring handicaps for those teams using a substitute player after the round is completed. This way, we can do away with the substitute table and get an accurate handicap for all involved.
26. Any hole not completed due to darkness will be considered a tie.
27. All matches will start on time. If a member of the group you are playing with is late we will still start the group on time. The players who are present will tee off at their normal time. If after everyone else has teed off and one of the players is still missing, the teams can wait for this player until the next scheduled tee time. If the player is still not present at the time the next group is scheduled to tee off, players must resume their match without this player. The team with the missing player will play solo. If both players on a team are missing for the entire match, the match is forfeit and points are awarded to the players who are present. Any absent player may catch up to his/her group and join in at the start of any of the remaining holes. Holes will not be made up for those who arrive late!
28. Your highest score will be dropped for handicap calculation purposes after three rounds. For example, if you post scores of 39, 42, and 58 your handicap, with our old rules, would have been a 9. Under our new rules the handicap would be a 4. This will hopefully help the handicap reflect your capabilities more consistently and remove an abhorrent score.
29. The last week for each league will not be scheduled at the beginning of the season. The last week pairings will be determined by your individual or team standings in each league. This will allow for players to be able to better affect their final standings.
30. Make up matches are allowed under the following guidelines: Makeup matches must be head to head match-ups (Score card matches will no longer be accepted). All makeup matches must be completed before the start of your next regularly scheduled match.
31. Substitute handicaps will be calculated the same as other players with the following addition. The final handicap will be reduced by 20% (rounded up) with a minimum of 1 point handicap reduction. The handicap will work as follows for substitute players, those with a -5 to 7 normal handicap will subtract 1 point from their handicap, 8 - 14 will reduce by 2, 15 - 17 will be reduced by 3, and 18 -20 will be reduced by 4.
32. The nine most recent scores (excluding the score removed from rule 28) will be used to determine your official league handicap. This will give returning league players an established handicap starting the new season.

• Two-person. This league requires that you pick a partner for the duration of the season. Your handicap is an individual handicap. This league is flighted. Whichever player has the lowest handicap will be considered the "A" player. The higher handicap will be the "B" player. If your partner has the same handicap as yourself, a random draw will determine the flighting. Your teams "A" player will be matched against the opposing teams "A" player. Your teams "B" player will be matched against the opposing teams "B" player. Random assignments will allow you to play against different teams each week.
• Match Play. Your net score is compared to the opposing player’s net score after each hole. The player with the lower score wins that hole. The player who wins the most holes (see Scoring for League A below) in the nine hole round wins the point.
• Medal Play (stroke). Your net score is compared to the opposing player’s net score after the nine hole round. The player with the lowest score wins the point.

Scoring for League A

• 5 points are possible in each match.
• 1 point is awarded for each match's individual match play winner. (2 points possible, 1 for your match & 1 for your partners)
• 1 point is awarded for each match's individual medal play winner. (2 points possible, 1 for your match & 1 for your partners)
• 1 point is awarded for team medal play victory. This is determined by adding a teams net scores together and then comparing your teams score against the other teams cummulative net score. Lowest score wins the point.
• Point totals are accumulative for the match and the season. It is possible for you to win 5 points each week (if you and your partner each win the individual match/medal play and the team medal play).
• The winner of League A will be the team with the most points for the season.

• This league requires that you pick a partner for the duration of the season. Your handicap is a team handicap. It is especially important that you can attend consistently. Your Two-Person team will play against another two-person team each week.
• Best Position format requires both players to hit their own balls. After which, you must choose which ball is in a better position. You both take your next shots from this position. This continues until the ball is in the hole.
• Match Play. Your team score is compared to the opposing team's score on each hole. The team with the lower score wins that hole. The team that wins the most holes in the nine hole round wins the match.

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