Richmond Amature Golfers Association (RAGA)


In association with the Donkey Cup, Virginia Golf Championships, and RVA Cup (but not affiliated with the Richmond Golfers Association or any other entity of similar naming) we would like to welcome you to the Richmond Amature Golfers Association (RAGA) of the greater Richmond, Virginia area. Herein you will find the founding principles, history, and bylaws of our organization. We hope that you find your membership with RAGA will help you enjoy the wonderful game of golf even more. Drive it straight, hit it pure, and roll it true.


History:

As with many a great idea, the Richmond Amature Golfers Association evolved from a long history of good times and great friendships. Tracing the origins back to 2002, a group of high school and college friends decided to gather for a weekend of golf in Myrtle Beach, SC. This annual gathering, to be known as the Donkey Cup, grew to 28 golfers at its height in 2008 and continues to meet, without exception, every summer at the Legends Golf Resort. The regular Richmond participants of this celebration of golf decided to enhance the local golf outings by seeking ways to add fun and competition amongst our similar skilled group of golfers. The Virginia Golf Championships had its inaugural season in 2009 consisting of 4 major championships during the course of the golf season. Founding members: Steve Leighty, Jon Nelson, Jon Czyszczon, and Rick Davis competed for trophies and bragging rights at some of the top golf courses in Virginia. Others were invited take part try their hand at hoisting top honors until it was determined that enough Richmond area golfers were regularly available to participate in a season long point system. During the 2015 season, a point system will be piloted (a pure and modified) to better assess this year-long competition for area best amature golfer to culminate in the RVA Cup champion.


Principles:

  1. 1.Establish fun and meaningful rounds of golf in the Greater Richmond area

  2. 2.Provide honest but competitive enjoyment for members in the RAGA

  3. 3.Create clear guidelines and simple rules to follow round by round over the course of the golf season


Bylaws:

Membership

  1. •A prerequisite number of rounds with current members must be achieved for membership consideration.

  2. •Golfers must be available to participate in _X_ number of rounds with follow members per year. This is to ensure a fairness and equitable balance in competitions. In addition, this will determine qualification considerations for the RVA Cup.

  3. •Questions on membership may be put to current members for group consideration


Handicap System

  1. •Currently no handicap system is being used as each round is determined by straight-up strokes

  2. •Pilot programs are being used to determine the best handicap systems to used in an effort to create more equity amongst a wider array of golfers


Etiquette

  1. •Honest and integrity to the game of golf is of the utmost importance during all RAGA events

  2. •Fairness should be always considered when determining group decisions on tee boxes, drop areas, weather conditions, speed of play, lost balls, etc., in all sanctioned events

  3. •Consumption of alcohol is solely determined by the individual golfer in any event, but please be responsible


Rules:

RAGA Sanctioned Events

  1. 1.To be considered a RAGA sanctioned event a quorum must be established, namely 3 or more member golfers

  2. 2.At least 6 members must be notified and given an opportunity to participate in a sanctioned round

  3. 3.Scorecards must be reconciled between the twosomes for verification of final number of strokes among the group of golfers

  4. 4.Only public courses should be used for RAGA sanctioned events

  5. 5.Game type can be agreed upon by the group


Majors (VGC)

  1. 1.VGC titles: Masters, Open Championship, PGA, US Open

  2. 2.A pre-set time and course, with proper notification of the major, must be used prior to the event taking place (no “day-of” decisions)

  3. 3.3 out of the 4 golfers must be of the original founders (Steve, Nelson, Czy, Rick) need to be participating in the event for it to be considered as a major

    1. 1.hereby none as the “3/4th Rule” or “Founders Quorum”

  4. 4.The defending champion must be able to defend their title if it currently held by a RAGA member.

    1. 1.Non-members may win the title but do not need to be present to defend the following year

  5. 5.No gimmes, no mulligans, winter rules do not apply. Max = double par / hole.

    1. 1.Other rules and games may apply if group chooses as long as it keeps fairness for the golfers and allows for a singular winner of the title

    2. 2.All hazards will be played as lateral from where the golf ball last entered the hazard. Drop areas from the hazard should be agreed by the group.

  6. 6.Majors may be played in multiple rounds but only if determined prior to the 1st round and subsequent rounds must be played within 48 hours of the initial round

  7. 7.In case of a tie after the predetermined final hole, a playoff hole can be used to determined the winner between the tied golfers.

    1. 1.If no additional holes can be played within 48 hours: a put-off, chip-off, chip-n-putt off, par 3, or any agreed upon event can be used to determine the final victor

  8. 8.Delays / resumption:

    1. 1.If there is a delay in play, resumption may be considered at a later date if the 3/4th Rule is met

    2. 2.Scoring may be picked up from where play stopped or the round can reset if agreed upon by the original foursome

  9. 9.At this time, no handicap system will be used to determine the major winner.


RVA Cup

  1. 1.A year-long point system tally will determine an RVA Cup season winner

  2. 2.Points will be awarded for each RAGA sanctioned round with a final point tally to be determined on a minimum of 7 rounds.

    1. 1.Additional rounds can qualify for points allowing a golfer to take the top 7 points rounds in determining their final RVA Cup point tally

  3. 3.Points: (pilot stage)

    1. 1.Foursome [pure, stroke play]: 1st=50, 2nd=40, 3rd=30, 4th=20

    2. 2.Foursome [pure, team play]: 1st=45, 2nd=25

    3. 3.Eightsome [pure, stoke play]: 1st=100, 2nd=80, 3rd=60, 4th=40, 5th=30, 6th=20, 7th=10, 8th=0

    4. 4.Eightsome [pure, team play]: same as foursome per team member

    5. 5.Foursome/Eightsome [modified, stroke play]: eagle=+5, birdie=+2 (at any point in round, not per), secondary game winner: single=+5, team=+3


The Donkey Cup

  1. 1.RAGA sanctioned events and majors may be authorized during The Donkey Cup weekend if the above bylaws and rules are met.

  2. 2.Donkey Cup members are eligible for Major titles as long as the 3/4th rule is met. They do not need to be present to defend their title in the following season.


Current Members:

Rick Davis*

Matt Burton

Jed Dutton

Steve Leighty*

Dave O’Neal

Jason Ruth

Jon Nelson*

Mike Brittingham

Ben Rand

Jon Czyszczon*

Todd Coriaty

*founding members

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Richmond Amateur Golf Association (RAGA)