Rules

RAGA Sanctioned Events

1. To be considered a RAGA sanctioned event a quorum must be established, namely 3 or more member golfers
2. At least 6 members must be notified and given an opportunity to participate in a sanctioned round
3. Scorecards must be reconciled between the twosomes for verification of final number of strokes among the group of golfers
4. Mulligans, or “Breakfast Balls” can be used off the 1st tee only, if needed
5. Game type can be agreed upon by the group
6. “Gimme” putts can be awarded for putts inside the leather of the putter if more than one playing partner agrees it should be awarded
1. If teams have been established, then gimme putts must be approved by an opposing team member
2. Gimme putts that may be in questionable distance must be putted out if it is for par or better on the given hole

Majors (VGC)

1. VGC titles: Masters, U.S. Open, British Open, Virginia Championship
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 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. hereby none as the “3/4th Rule” or “Founders Quorum”
4. The defending champion must be able to defend their title if it currently held by a RAGA member.
1. Non-members may win the title but do not need to be present to defend the following year
5. No gimmes, no mulligans (except off the first tee, “Breakfast Ball”), winter rules do not apply except for in extreme course conditions.
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. 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.
3. Max = double par / hole with the exception of the last hole of the competition (as of 8/15/15) for all competitors, i.e. your score on the final hole is only limited by the shots taken to get in the ball in the hole.
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. 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. 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. Delays / resumption:
1. If there is a delay in play, resumption may be considered at a later date if the 3/4th Rule is met
2. Scoring may be picked up from where play stopped or the round can reset if agreed upon by the original foursome
9. At this time, no handicap system will be used to determine the major winner

RVA Cup

1. A year-long point system tally will determine an RVA Cup season winner
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. Additional rounds can qualify for points allowing a golfer to take the top 8 points rounds in determining their final RVA Cup point tally
3. Points:
1. Foursome [pure, stroke play]: 1st=50, 2nd=40, 3rd=30, 4th=20
2. Foursome [pure, team play]: 1st=45, 2nd=25
3. Eightsome [pure, stoke play]: 1st=80, 2nd=70, 3rd=60, 4th=50, 5th=40, 6th=30, 7th=20, 8th=10
4. Eightsome [pure, team play]: same as foursome per team member
5. Foursome/Eightsome [modified, stroke play]: eagle=+5 (per), birdie=+2 (per), secondary game winner: single=+5, team=+3
6. Groups between 4-8 golfers will be awarded points up to the number of golfers based on the eightsome allocations, i.e. 6 golfers would award 60pts to 1st place, 50pts to 2nd, and so on.

The Donkey Cup

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

Olympic Golf

1. Group Stage: Round-robin competition pitting each county against each other no more than 3 times, establishing a win-loss record, top 4 records after group stage completion will move on to playoff stage. Tiebreaker is based on # of pars or better achieved in group stage competition.
1. Win-loss records can be determined in stroke play rounds with each golfer 1v1 against all other golfers. For example, in a typical foursome round, lowest scoring golfer (winning the round) would be 1-0 versus the other three golfers, meaning 3-0 overall. Second place would be 0-1 versus first place but 1-0 versus other 2 golfers, meaning 2-1 overall, and so forth.
2. Playoff Stage: Top rank team based on win-loss/tiebreakers versus bottom ranked playoff team, second ranked versus 3rd ranked, in match-play format. Winners play for gold/silver, losers play for bronze/4th place in medal stage.
3. Medal Stage: Countries play for gold/silver and bronze/4th place in match-play format.