
HGL Rules & Guidelines
Core Philosophy: Play ready golf, play fast, and have a good time.
Membership Requirements
2026 Membership Fee: $250.00 (Non-refundable).
Weekly round of golf not included in price membership fee.
Open to men and women (minimum age: 21).
Must maintain an valid handicap via USGA GHIN. 100% Handicap used.
General Playing Rules
USGA Rules apply, with exceptions.
The league will play ball down (no preferred lies) under normal conditions. However, in the event of adverse weather or course conditions, lift, clean, and place may be implemented. Any such decision will be made and communicated prior to the start of the round.
All putts must be holed out. No gimmies are allowed under any circumstances. Play each hole until the ball is in the cup.
Players must pick up their ball once they have reached double par on any hole. This rule is in place to help maintain pace of play.
Exposed tree roots and rocks in the general area are considered ground under repair. Players are entitled to free relief.
Local OB / Lost Ball Rule
To speed up the game all OB and Lost balls will be played as Lateral Relief:
Allowing a drop within two club lengths of the point where the ball last crossed the hazard margin, no closer to the hole.
Lost Ball / Out of Bounds: No re-teeing or Provisionals allowed. All lost ball or out of bounds situations must take mandatory lateral relief with a one-stroke penalty, per local league rule. This is to maintain pace of play.
Please note: If the tournament is rained out, event will not be rescheduled.
Season Format
Special Events: TBD
Regular Season Format: Stroke Play
Captain Cup Format: Match Play 2v2 Scramble
Pace of Play Policy
Players must maintain pace with the group ahead—not merely stay ahead of the group behind. Once the group in front finishes their round, your group has 15 minutes to complete yours.
Failure to do so will result in a 2-stroke penalty for each player in the group.
Tee Assignments
Men: White Tees (Around 6,000 yds)
Women: Teal Tees (Around 5,000 yds)
Arrive ≥5 minutes before tee time or risk disqualification. Players must arrive on time for their scheduled tee time. Failure to do so will result in disqualification from the competition.
Scoring & Handicaps
Paper scorecards are the official record. All players must review and sign their scorecard immediately after the round. Unsigned or inaccurate cards may result in disqualification.
Score Entry: Director will insert all scores and post to website.
Net Scoring: 100% USGA handicap used for net score calculations.
Verification: The Tournament director will verify GHIN handicaps before posting net results.
In the event of a tie at the end of the regular season tournament, the tie breaker will be determined by the player with the lowest overall gross score.
Player Conduct
Behave professionally and respectfully.
Avoid excessive anger, damaging property, endangering others, offensive language, fighting.
Not manipulate scores for handicap advantage.
Penalties: Disqualification, suspension, or expulsion (no refunds) for detrimental conduct.
Disputes
Resolve within your playing group.
For further clarification, contact the tournament director.
League Point Structure
Regular Season (per event)
1st: 20pts 2nd: 19pts 3rd: 18pts
4th: 17pts 5th: 16pts 6th: 15pts
7th: 14pts 8th: 13pts 9th: 12pts
10th: 11pts 11th: 10pts 12th: 9pts
13th: 8pts 14th: 7pts 15th: 6pts
16th Place: 5pts 7th: 4pts 18th: 3pts
19th Place: 2pts 20th Place: 1pt
Majors (per event)
1st: 40pts 2nd: 38pts 3rd: 36pts
4th: 34pts 5th: 32pts 6th: 30pts
7th: 28pts 8th: 26pts 9th: 24pts
10th: 22pts 11th: 20pts 12th: 18pts
13th: 16pts 14th: 14pts 15th: 12pts
16th Place: 10pts 7th: 8pts 18th: 6pts
19th Place: 3pts 20th Place: 2pts
Payouts
Regular Season (80% of all league entry fees)
1st: 25% 2nd: 18% 3rd: 15% 4th: 13%
5th: 11% 6th: 8% 7th: 6% 8th: 4%
Special Events (100% of all entry fees)
1st: 50% 2nd: 25% 3rd: 15% 4th: 10%
League Champion
The Huntsville Golf League Champion is determined by the total accumulation of points over the 20-week season. In the event of a tie in total points, the tie-breakers will be applied in the following order:
Most Wins
Most Top-5 Finishes
Most Top-10 Finishes
At the conclusion of the season, the Top 8 players in the final standings will receive a payout.
HGL Club Champion
The Huntsville Golf League Club Champion will be crowned based on the lowest gross score from the final 2-day tournament of the season. No handicaps will be applied—this is a true test of skill and consistency over two rounds. Winner will receive an engraved trophy that will be kept until the end of the following season at which time it will be turned in and presented to the next season winner.
Captain's Cup
Teams & Captains
Teams: Two teams; Number of golfers in league split in half will determine the size of each team.
Captains: Top 2 regular season point earners.
Draft: Alternating picks; 1st-place finisher drafts first.
Match Format
2-Man Scramble Match Play
Blind Pairings: Teams submitted without knowledge of opponent’s pairings.
Scoring: 1 point per match win; 0.5 point for tie; NO handicaps.
Tie‑Breaker
If match is tied after all team have played (ex 9.5–9.5), captains compete in a chip-off on the practice green, closest to pin wins. Flip of the tee determines which captain hits first.
Payouts (20% of all league entry fee’s will make up pot)