Hunter Men’s Golf Club
George Hunter Memorial Golf Course - Address: 688 Westfield Road, Meriden, CT 06450 - Pro Shop: 203-634-3366
Abnormal Ground Conditions
Any casual water, ground under repair or hole, cast or runway on the course made by a burrowing animal, a reptile or a bird.
SLOW PLAY PENALTY
6-7. Undue Delay; Slow Play
The player must play without undue delay and in accordance with any pace of play guidelines that the Committee may establish. Between completion of a hole and playing from the next teeing ground, the player must not unduly delay play.
Penalty for Breach of Rule 6-7:
Match play — Loss of hole; Stroke play — Two strokes.
Bogey and par competitions — See Note 2 to Rule 32-1a.
Stableford competitions — See Note 2 to Rule 32-1b.
For subsequent offense — Disqualification.
Note 1: If the player unduly delays play between holes, he is delaying the play of the next hole and, except for bogey, par and Stableford competitions (see Rule 32), the penalty applies to that hole.
Note 2: For the purpose of preventing slow play, the Committee may, in the conditions of a competition (Rule 33-1), establish pace of play guidelines including maximum periods of time allowed to complete a stipulated round, a hole or a stroke. In stroke play only, the Committee may, in such a condition, modify the penalty for a breach of this Rule as follows:
First offense — One stroke;
Second offense — Two strokes.
For subsequent offense — Disqualification.
This site is maintained by the
Hunter Men’s Club, PO Box 2290, Meriden, CT 06450
!!! POST ALL YOUR SCORES !!!
As you know, Club events take place on weekends & holidays. This includes tournaments, weekend wing-dings and tee games. All Club and Course events are play under the rules of the USGA. As you also know, many club members play rounds during the week. It has come to our attention that many of these weekday (9 & 18 hole) scores are not being posted on a regular basis, especially the low scores! This includes morning wing-ding and weekly league play. As these are competitive rounds, USGA rules must be adhered to by all our members. This includes following the playing rules posted on the Starter's Shack each morning and posting your ESC score after completion of the round.
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"USGA Rule 1-3: Agreement to Waive Rules. Players must not agree to exclude the operation of any Rule or to waive any penalty incurred."
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My concern is with the "gentlemen" who play competitive golf 1, 2 or 5 days a week, who fail to post their low (or any) scores, who then play in weekend golf with a handicap that does not reflect their true playing abilities.
Being a game of gentlemen and self-enforcement, we obviously cannot force the rules of golf on anyone. However, the Hunter Men's Club can decide who plays in it's tournaments. The Club can decide who will be one of it's members. And under USGA Rules, the Club can adjust individual handicaps (see note below). These are just a few of the possible remedies for a problem that can and should be easily avoided.
For the sake of fair play, I strongly encourage all organized play (WEEKENDS AND WEEKDAYS) to follow USGA Rules. If Starter Shack signs say Summer Rules, then play the ball down EVERYWHERE! No moving the ball from behind trees! No kicking the ball out of divots! No Mulligans!
I also strongly encouraged golfers to post ALL of their competitive rounds whether 9 or 18 holes. You say you only played 13 out of 18 holes? Guess what, you must still post an 18 hole score (see USGA Rules for details). The same applies to playing 7 holes, which should be posted as a 9 hole score. There are other ways to equitably adjust your score under USGA Rules ("gimmees" for example).
The USGA says: "Post the score as soon as possible. If your score has not been posted the Handicap Committee can post a penalty score, which is the score and rating that equates to the lowest or highest handicap differential. If you forget to post regularly, the Handicap Committee can adjust your Handicap Index®. If you do not follow the USGA Handicap System™ the Handicap Committee will not issue one."
Hunter Member's Page
Meriden, CT
Slow Play
One more thing. Last weekend saw some really slow play at Hunter. Even worse, several groups made the
turn without checking in with the Starter. This resulted in even slower turns for the groups behind them. Worst of all
were those who gave the Starter an attitude. For whatever reason, the timing of those making turns from 9 to 10 or
18 to 1 did not smoothly meld with placing new foursomes onto the course. Say what you want about the situation,
however don't blame the Starter. He/She has been charged with fitting 10 lbs of stuff into a 5lb cupholder.
Back to the slow play that initiated the whole situation... If any of you have any positive suggestions on how to
improve the pace of play, I will listen. My suggestion is quite simple. Keep up with the group in front of you. If that
group shoots out a hole or two ahead of you after nine, then expect the Starter to place people in front of you.
Several weeks ago, the group ahead played of mine opened a two hole gap. At the turn, the ranger asked us to
pick up the pace. When I noted (and he confirmed) that we had played the front in 1hr 55 minutes, he apologized.
However, I still tried every little thing I could to pick up our pace.
We all know who the slow players are. Don't fall into their trap. Remember, when there are in your group, it is
your game that will suffer not theirs. When they hit their shot, keep an eye on their ball. If in trouble, insist that they
play a provisional. Don't stop to converse. Keep walking. If you are in a cart, go ahead and find their ball first as
they walk up. Then go to your ball and hit when ready. Limit yourselves to 5 minutes when looking for a lost ball.
I watched the pros last week. We all see the posturing they do after they get to their ball. Sometimes they
walk ahead, start a ridiculous 1 minute pre-shot routine, take 5 practice swings, walk away, talk 5 more, mark every
putt, etc. Yet they play their 6800 yard rounds in 4 to 4.5 hours. The difference is that they walk quickly to the ball,
so that they have the time to get ready to play the next shot. And it seems that the older the pro player, the faster
he walks.
So please. Keep up your pace. If you can't keep up the pace on the weekend, take a cart like I have had to
this year. And please, do not yell at the Starters. None of you want to do that job so don't make it worse for those
that do.
D Murphy
Nearest Relief
How many times have we ended up on a cart path and dropped the ball on the closest side of the path. You should know that this may NOT be the nearest relief!
For example: If the ball lies in the middle of a cart path, the nearest relief is always behind you (as you set up to hit the ball toward the hole). Why? The player must take his stance into account when seeking relief. Such relief demands that the ball and your stance be clear of the cart path. In a normal stance, the ball is about three feet from your toes. Therefore, taking relief in front of you requires an additional 4+ feet to stand clear of the path.
Described in a different way, imagine your ball lying anywhere on a three foot wide path. I would argue that your nearest relief is always behind you. That means the left side of the path for righties or the right side for lefties.
Relief is taken in a similar way from flower beds, irrigation trenches, tire ruts, and other ground under repair situations.
D Murphy
Lift Clean & Place
For years members of Hunter have taken relief by marking the ball, lifting it, cleaning it and dropping within a club length no nearer to the hole. Let's just say that this is how we should be playing the ball "Up". We have also had an unwritten rule that the lie of the ball should not be improved by moving from the rough to the fairway if the fairway is less than a club length away. The key word here is "unwritten".
In a recent event, a player took relief out of the rough onto the fairway (less than a club length). He was challenged by his playing partners. Since the relief was taken under USGA rules (which say nothing about improving a lie), and since there is no written local rule denying this type of relief, the player was not in violation of the Rules of Golf.
Since most of the players I have spoken with do not want to permit improving one's lies from rough to fairway, the Rules Committee will be looking at including a new local rule. This should be resolved prior to The Hunter on May 30.
D Murphy, Prez
CHAD BOUDREAU
2010-2011 HUNTER MEN'S CLUB CHAMPION
DEP denies Hunter Golf Club project - By: George Moore, Record-Journal staff, 11:07 a.m. 02/25/2009
MERIDEN - The Department of Environmental Protection has declined to fund a flood control project at the city's public golf course, local officials have reported.
Three years ago, the Hunter Golf Club acquired a $100,000 grant from the Department of Environmental Protection for flood control work at the course's 10th and 18th holes.
After three years of design work, including a major revision to the plan two years ago, the course received word Tuesday that the DEP has declined to move forward with the project, said course General Manager Tom DeVaux.
The course spent about $30,000 from the DEP grant to design the flood control project, but it will probably not have access to the rest of the money for construction.
The 10th and 18th holes are transformed into small ponds when it rains, often making one side of the entire course
unplayable, DeVaux said.When that happens, Hunter is reduced to a nine-hole course.
(Some might call these the Murphy's Laws of Golf)
Don't buy a putter until you've had a chance to throw it, Kevin...
Never try to keep more than 300 separate thoughts in your mind during your swing, Murphy...
When your shot has to carry over a water hazard, you can either hit one more club or two more balls, Bob
Ramino (God bless him)...
If you're afraid a full shot might reach the green while the foursome ahead of you is still putting out, you have two options: you can immediately shank a lay-up or you can wait until the green is clear and top a ball halfway there. Al...
The less skilled the player, the more likely he is to share his ideas about the golf swing.
No matter how bad you are playing, it is always possible to play worse (Murphy's Law #1).
The inevitable result of any golf lesson is the instant elimination of the one critical unconscious motion that allowed you to compensate for all of your many other errors, Wrona
Everyone replaces his divot after a perfect approach shot, Chuck.
A golf match is a test of your skill against your opponents' luck, everyone.
It is surprisingly easy to hole a fifty foot putt... For a 10 on that hole, JLo88.
Counting on your opponent to inform you when he breaks a rule is like expecting him to make fun of his own haircut.
Nonchalant putts count the same as chalant putts
It's not a gimme if you're still away.
The shortest distance between any two points on a golf course is a straight line that passes directly through the center of a very large tree, Jenkins.
You can hit a two acre fairway 10% of the time and a two inch branch 90% of the time, Mandeville.
If you really want to get better at golf, go back and take it up at a much earlier age.
Since bad shots come in groups of three, a fourth bad shot is actually the beginning of the next group of three, Simmons.
When you look up, causing an awful shot, you will always look down again at exactly the moment when you ought to start watching the ball if you ever want to see it again, Murphy.
Every time a golfer makes a birdie, he must subsequently make two triple bogeys to restore the fundamental equilibrium of the universe, AAA.
If you want to hit a 7 iron as far as Tiger Woods does, simply try to lay up just short of a water hazard.
To calculate the speed of a player's downswing, multiply the speed of his back-swing by his handicap; i.e., back-swing 20 mph, handicap 15, downswing = 300 mph.
There are two things you can learn by stopping your back-swing at the top and checking the position of your hands: how many hands you have, and which one is wearing the glove.
Hazards attract; fairways repel.
A ball you can see in the rough from 50 yards away is not yours.
If there is a ball on the fringe and a ball in the bunker, your ball is in the bunker. If both balls are in the bunker, yours is in the footprint.
It's easier to get up at 6:00 AM to play golf than at 10:00 to mow the yard (or go to work).
A good drive on the 18th hole has stopped many a golfer from giving up the game.
Golf is the perfect thing to do on Sunday because you always end up having to pray a lot.
A good golf partner is one who's always slightly worse than you are... That's why I get so many calls to play with friends.
If there's a storm rolling in, you'll be having the game of your life - Caddy Shack Syndrome...
Golf balls are like eggs. They're white. They're sold by the dozen. And you need to buy fresh ones each week.
It's amazing how a golfer who never helps out around the house will replace his divots, repair his ball marks, and rake his sand traps.
If your opponent has trouble remembering whether he shot a six or a seven, he probably shot an eight or worse.
It takes longer to learn to be a good golfer than it does to become a brain surgeon. On the other hand, you don't get to ride around on a cart, drink beer, smoke cigarettes and fart if you are performing Brain Surgery, Rick!!!!
- D Murphy, HMC Prez