The Clarens - April 2024 - Newsletter

Dear Member

During the month of April, we saw Autumn heading our direction with some speed.

979 Rounds of golf were played amongst the falling leaves and changing weather.

May 2024 Calendar

‍Business Hours

As Winter is creeping up on us, our business hours have changed as of the 1^st of May 2024

Weekdays: 08:00 – Closing

Weekends: 07:30 – Closing

The last tee time for both 9 and 18 holes will be at 13:00

Summer hours will be in effect again as of the 1^st of September 2024

Greenkeepers Report

Cart path construction will commence shortly, completion of the repair of the path on the 16^th hole is expected to be soon.

As the growth season has passed, the fairways have not been mowed since the 5^th of April, the greens are being cut daily.

The tee boxes and greens surrounds are being cut when necessary. The greens surrounds have also received a layer of topdressing.

As the growth season is over, we require that all golfers replace their divots

Rainfall Calendar

Singles Match Play

We wish all the match play competitors the best of luck.

Please note that the first pool games need to be completed by the 18^th of August 2024. The finals will then be played before the end of August 2024.

Please see the necessary match play documentation on the notice board.

Business League 2024

‍Cigarette Butts

We hope you've been enjoying your time out on the greens. There's something special about a sunny afternoon, a well-timed swing, and the satisfaction of a ball well played. However, we've noticed an increasing issue that we'd like to address - cigarette butts littering our beautiful course.

We understand that for some, a leisurely smoke is part of the golfing experience. However, discarded cigarette butts mar the beauty of our greens and fairways as they pose a significant environmental hazard. They can take up to ten years to decompose, all the while leaking toxic chemicals into the soil, potentially harming the local wildlife and plant life.

We ask you to consider the spirit of golf, namely respect for the course, for fellow players, and for the environment as they are an integral part of the game we all love. Please, if you choose to smoke, dispose of your cigarette butts responsibly. Use the provided receptacles or carry a portable ashtray, provided by the Caddie master.

Together, we can keep our course not only challenging and fun but also clean and green. We thank you for your understanding and cooperation, and we look forward to seeing you (and not your cigarette butts) out on the course.

Weekly Competition Results

Wednesday 03 April 2024 (4 Ball Alliance – Flags)

Business League Round 3

First Place – Team Tshwaranang

Second place – Team Gorillas

Friday 05 April 2024 (Medal)

Puma Energy Competition

• No competition took place

Wednesday 10 April 2024 (Masters Par 3 Challenge / IPS)

18 Holes competition

First Place – Louwrens De Jager

Second Place – Henri De Jager

Friday 12 April 2024 (IPS)

Puma Energy Competition

First Place – Graeme Ambrose

Second Place – Kevin Jordaan

Wednesday 17 April 2024 (Skins)

18 Holes Competition

• No competition took place

Friday 19 April 2024 (Bonus Bogey)

Puma Energy Competition

• No competition took place

Wednesday 24 April 2024 (Medal)

KWV Thirsty Thousand

• No competition took place

Friday 26 April 2024 (IPS)

Puma Energy Competition

First Place – Graeme Ambrose

Second Place – Wouter De Wet

Photo credit: Danika Zwahlen

Members performance

We wish both Janice Brownlee and Rose Mokoena the best of luck as they will be competing in the Amateur Ladies Championships to be held at Schoeman Park on the 11^th and 12^th of May 2024. Furthermore, the two ladies have been chosen for the Free State team to compete in the 72 Hole teams Championships which will be held at Reading Country Club from the 20^th of May to the 22^nd of May 2024.

‍Best of luck.

Rule for the Month

Purpose of Rule:

Rule 1 introduces these central principles of the game for the player:

• Play the course as you find it and play the ball as it lies.
• Play by the Rules and in the spirit of the game.
• You are responsible for applying your own penalties if you breach a Rule, so that you cannot gain any potential advantage over your opponent in match play or other players in stroke play.

Rule 1:

The Game, Player Conduct and the Rules

1. The game of Golf

Golf is played in a round of 18 (or fewer) holes on a course by striking a ball with a club.

Each hole starts with a stroke from the teeing area and ends when the ball is holed on the putting green (or when the Rules otherwise say the hole is completed).

For each stroke, the player:

• Plays the course as they find it, and

• Play the ball as it lies.

But there are exceptions where the Rules allow the player to alter the conditions of the course and require or allow the player to play the ball form a different place than where it lies.

2. Standards of Player Conduct

1.2a Conduct Expected of All Players

All players are expected to play in the spirit of the game by:

• Acting with integrity – for example, by following the Rules, applying all penalties, and being honest in all aspects of play.
• Showing consideration to others – for example, by playing at a prompt pace, looking out for the safety of others, and not distracting the play of another player. If a player plays a ball in a direction where there might be a danger of hitting someone, they should immediately shout a warning, such as the traditional warning of “fore”.
• Taking good care of the course – for example, by replacing divots, smoothing bunkers, repairing ball-marks, and not causing unnecessary damage to the course.

There is no penalty under the Rules for failing to act in this way, except that the Committee may disqualify a player for acting contrary to the spirit of the game if it finds that the [player has committed serious misconduct.

“Serious misconduct” is player behaviour that is so far removed from what is expected in golf that the most severe sanction of removing a player from the competition is justified.

Penalties other than disqualification may be imposed for player misconduct only is those penalties are adopted as part of a Code of Conduct under Rule 1.2b

1.2b Code of Conduct

The Committee may set its own standards of player conduct in a Code of Conduct adopted as a Local Rule.

• The Code may include penalties for breach of its standards, such as a one-stoke penalty or the general penalty.
• The Committee may also disqualify a player for serious misconduct in failing to meet the Code’s standards.

3. Playing by the Rules

1.3a Meaning of “Rules”; Terms of Competition

The term “Rules” means:

• Rules 1-25 and the definitions in these Rules of Golf, and
• Any “Local Rules” the Committee adopts for the competition or the course.

Players are also responsible for complying with all the “terms of Competition” adopted by the Committee (Such as entry requirements, the form and dates of play, the number of rounds and the number and the order of holes in a round).

1.3b Applying the Rules

(1) Player responsibility for Applying the Rules. Players are responsible for applying the Rules to themselves.

• Players are expected to recognize when they have breached a Rule and to be honest in applying their own penalties.
• If a player knows they have breached a Rule that involves a penalty and deliberately fails to apply the penalty, the player is disqualified.
• If two or more players agree to ignore any Rules or penalty they know applies and any of those players have started the round they are disqualified (even if they have not yet acted on the agreement).
• When it is necessary to decide questions of facts, a player is responsible for considering not only their own knowledge of the facts but also all other information that is reasonably available.
• A player may ask for help with the Rules from a referee or the Committee, but if help is not available in a reasonable time the player must play on and raise the issue with a referee or the Committee when they become available (see Rule 20.1).

(2) Accepting Player’s “Reasonable Judgement” in Determining a Location When Applying the Rules.

• Many Rules require a player to determine a spot, point, line, edge, area or other location under the Rules, such as:
• Estimating where a ball last crossed the edge of a penalty area,
• Estimating or measuring when dropping or placing a ball in taking relief,
• Replacing a ball on its original spot (whether the spot is known or estimated),
• Determining the area of the course where the ball lies, including whether the ball lies on the course, or
• Determining whether the ball touches or is in or on an abnormal course condition.
• Such determinations about location need to be made promptly and with care but often cannot be precise.
• So long as the player does what can be reasonably expected under the circumstances to make an accurate determination, the player’s reasonable judgement will be accepted even if, after the stroke is made, the determination is shown to be wrong by video evidence or other information. If a player becomes aware of a wrong determination before the stroke is made, it must be corrected (see Rule 14.5).

1.3c Penalties

(1)Actions Giving Rise to Penalties. A penalty applies when a breach of a Rule results from a player’s own actions or the actions of their caddie (see Rule 10.3c).

               A penalty applies when:

• Another person takes an action that would breach the Rules if taken by the player or caddie and that person does so at the player’s request or while acting with the player’s authority, or
• The player sees another person about to take an action concerning the player’s ball or equipment that they know would breach the Rules if taken by the player or caddie and does not take reasonable steps to object or stop it from happening.

(2) Levels of Penalties. Penalties are meant to cancel out any advantages to the player. There are three main penalty levels:

• One-Stroke Penalty. This penalty applies in both Match play and stroke play under certain Rules where either (a) the potential advantage from a breach is minor or (b) a player takes penalty relief by playing a ball from a different place than where the original ball lies.
• General Penalty (Loss of Hole in Match Play, Two-Stroke penalty in Stroke Play). This penalty applies for a breach of most Rules, where the potential advantage is more significant than where only one penalty stroke applies.
• Disqualification. In both match play and stroke play, a player must be disqualified from the competition for certain actions or Rule breaches involving serious misconduct (see Rule 1.2) or where the potential advantage is too significant for the player’s score to be considered valid.

(3)No Discretion to Vary Penalties. Penalties need to be applied only as provided in the Rules:

• Neither a player nor the Committee has authority to apply penalties in a different way, and
• A wrong application of a penalty or a failure to apply a penalty may stand only if it is too late to correct it (see Rule 20.1b(2), 20.1b(3) 20.2d and 20.2e).

In match play, the player and opponent may agree how to decide a Rules issue so long as they do not agree to ignore any Rules or penalties they know applies (see Rule 20.1b(1)).

(4) Applying penalties to Multiple Breaches of the Rules. Whether a player gets multiple penalties for breaching multiple Rules or the same Rule multiple times depends on whether there has been an intervening event and on what the player did.  

For the purpose of applying this Rule, there are two intervening events:

• The completion of a stroke, and
• Being aware or becoming aware of a Rule (this includes when a player knows they breached a Rule, when the player is told of a breach, or when the player is uncertain whether or not they have breached a Rule).

Penalties applies as follows:

• Single Penalties Applied for Multiple Breaches Between Intervening Events: If a player breaches multiple Rules or the same Rule multiple times between intervening events, the player gets only one penalty. If the Rules breached have different penalties, the player gets only the higher-level penalty.
• Multiple Penalties Apply for Breaches Before and After Intervening Event: If a player breaches a Rule and then breaches the same Rule or another Rule after an intervening event, the player gets multiple penalties.

Exception – Failure to Replace a Moved Ball: If a player is required to replace a moved ball under Rule 9.4 but fails to do so and plays from a wrong place, they get only the general penalty under Rule 14.7a.

But any penalty strokes a player gets for taking penalty relief (such as one penalty stroke under Rules 17.1, 18.1 and 9.2) are always applied in addition to any other penalties.

PGA Championships fun Facts

Kind Regards

Heindrich Dyer

Golf Director

URL: www.theclarens.co.za         |          Email: golf@theclarens.co.za         |       Tel:  +27 58 256 1270

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