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Welcome to the home page of the Serra de Monchique Golf Club.Please feel free to navigate through the site using the menu buttons on the top bar.
Serra de Monchique Golf Club is the club associated with Silves Golf Course. The club aims to provide competitions, control handicaps and to provide a social life for its members guided by the values statements authorised by the membership. Its rules are set up to provide a structure around which the club can be run.
Serra de Monchique Golf Club was formed in 2005, at Morgado de Reguengo when the regular players were invited to form a club. There were 30 founder members and the first General Meeting of the membership was held on 8th November 2005. At the end of 2006 the club moved to Silves Course, which had just opened. Mark Ellerton was appointed Captain for 2007. Pestana's very favourable terms of green fee arrangements led to an substantial increase in membership in 2008. Many Northern European countries are represented, including a number of Portuguese members.
The club plays competitions on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Tuesdays are for singles competitions either as Monthly medal or Stableford Qualifier. On Thursdays some members play at Silves in a format of their own choice, but many members elect to play on the other courses within the Pestana group. On Saturdays there is a wide variety of game formats, normally as team competitions as pairs or teams of four players. There are occasional qualifying competitions on Saturdays to suit our members who are in full time employment. Our eventlist will show these.
Through the green a ball that is embedded in it's own pitch mark in the ground may be lifted, without penalty cleaned and dropped as near as possible to where it lay, but not nearer the hole. The ball when dropped must first strike a part of the course through the green.
Through the green:
The whole area of the course except:
a: The teeing ground and putting green of the hole being played, and
b: All hazards on the course.
1. Out of Bounds (Rule 18)
- a. Beyond any wall, fence or white stakes bounding the course.
b. Beyond the stakes bounding the clubhouse and terrace.
c. Beyond the stakes on the left of the 18th fairway, towards the old practice putting green.
d. Beyond the fence to the left of the left lateral water hazard along the 10th hole. Any ball that crosses this fence is out of bounds even if it comes to rest on another part of the course (5th or 11th Holes).
e. Beyond inside edge of the road to the left of the 17th hole.
f. The Old Clubhouse, Car Park, Green Keepers Compound and Surrounds.
- Note: Note: Beyond – refers to inside edge of wall, line or stake at ground level. In cases, where stakes are present together with line (or wall), a stake is used as an indication and the line (or wall) is used to define the out of bounds, e.g. the painted white line on the path to the left of the 12th green.
Where stakes are present as an indication of OOB, e.g. the inside edge of the road to the left of the 17th hole, stakes with black tops have been placed to aid visibility. These stakes are moveable obstructions. All other white stakes without black tops must not be removed.
2. Penalty Area (Rule 17)
- a. Penalty areas are marked with yellow and red stakes.
b. Where there are no yellow or red lines the margins follow the natural lines of the penalty area.
c. If there is doubt whether a ball is in or is lost in the penalty area on the 12th hole, the player may play another ball provisionally under any of the applicable options in Rule 18-3a. If the original ball is found outside the penalty area, the player must continue play with it. If the original ball is found in the penalty area, the player may either play the original ball as it lies or continue with the ball played provisionally. If the original ball is not found or identified within the three-minute search period, the player must continue with the ball played provisionally.
d. If a ball is in the penalty areas at the back of the 16th green, including when it is known, or virtually certain, that a ball that has not been found, came to rest in the penalty area, a player may: Take stroke and distance relief under Rule 17.1d (1), adding 1 penalty stroke
OR
- Take lateral relief under Rule 17.1d (3).
- The player may NOT take relief under Rule 17.1d (2)
3. Ground under Repair (Rule 16)
- a. All ground under repair areas are marked by blue lines, blue and white stakes, or white tape. These areas are protected and the ball must be lifted under Rule16.1b and dropped in the nearest point of complete relief in the general playing area. (Rule 14-3)
b. If the ball is OUTSIDE this area and it is necessary to stand INSIDE this area to take a shot, the player MUST take full relief to protect these areas.
c. In the general playing area of the course, severe damage caused by wild boar is considered ground under repair. If such an area interferes with the lie of the ball, the player may take relief according to the procedure outlined in rule 14-3. Interference by the damage with the player’s stance is deemed not to be, of itself, interference under this Rule.
d."Mushrooms that are attached on the putting green are GROUND UNDER REPAIR from which free relief is allowed under Rule 16.1d"
Players should note that under this rule, a player may take free relief by placing the original, or another ball, on the spot of the nearest point of complete relief. This must be either on the putting green, or in the general area.
4. Immovable Obstructions (Rule 16)
- All course furniture including information boards, bench seats, drainage grills and ball washers, irrigation units including sprinkler heads and control boxes, buggy paths, service roads and safety net behind 13th green, or on the left of the 18th fairway. (This does NOT INCLUDE RELIEF FOR LINE OF SIGHT).
5. Young Trees
- Protection of young trees identified by stakes, plastic tags or individual wire mesh: if such a tree interferes with a player’s stance or area of his intended swing, the ball must be lifted, without penalty, and dropped in accordance with the procedure prescribed in Rule16.1f (Immovable Obstruction).
Exception: A player may not obtain relief under this Local Rule if (a) interference by anything other than such a tree makes the stroke clearly impracticable or (b) interference by such a tree would occur only through the use of a clearly unreasonable stroke or an unnecessarily abnormal stance, swing or direction of play.
6. Integral Parts of the Course
- All stone walls and ruins on the course, including the ruin to the right of the 3rd Hole, walls supporting teeing areas and buggy paths, posts and ropes on the 13th tee, are all integral parts of the course. There is no relief without penalty.
7. Aeration Holes
- On the Putting Green a ball that comes to rest in or on an aeration hole may be placed at the nearest spot not nearer the hole that avoids the situation. This does not apply to a player’s stance or line of play.
8. Processionary Caterpillars
- Anywhere on the course processionary caterpillars are considered abnormal ground condition (Rule 16-1 applies).
9. Restriction on Who May Serve as Caddie
- A player is prohibited from having a professional golfer (active or retired) serve as his caddie during the stipulated round. A player having a caddie in breach of this condition must immediately upon discovery that a breach has occurred, ensure that he conforms with this condition for the remainder of the stipulated round.
Penalty for breach of THIS LOCAL RULE is a General Penalty for each hole for which the player is helped by this type of caddie.
10. Preferred Lies - When Implememted
- When a player’s ball lies in a part of the General Area, cut to fairway height or less, the player may take free relief ONCE, by placing the original ball, or another ball, and playing it from this relief area.
Reference point:
Spot of the original ball
Size of relief area measured from reference point, 1 score card length from the reference point.
Limit on location of relief area
1) Must not be nearer the hole than the reference point
2) Must be in the General Area.
Once the ball has been placed by the player, it is in play and cannot be moved again.
In proceeding under this rule, the player must choose a spot, place the ball and use the procedures for replacing the ball under Rule 14.2b (2) and Rule 14.2e.
Penalty for playing the ball from a wrong place in breach of a local rule is a General Penalty under Rule 14.7a.
11. Pick, Clean and Replace - When Implememted
- When a player's ball lies in the General area, cut to fairway height or less, the ball may be lifted, cleaned and replaced without penalty.
The player must mark the spot before lifting the ball (see Rule 14.1) and the ball must be replaced on it's original spot (see Rule 14.2).
Penalty for playing from the wrong place is 2 shots.
12. No Play Zones
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Any area defined by blue stakes and blue lines anywhere on the course is now deemed to be a NO PLAY ZONE that is to be treated as an Abnormal Course Condition.
Free relief MUST be taken under Rule 16.1f.
- Penalty for breach of this Rule is a General Penalty of 2 shots.
PENALTY FOR BREACH OF ALL OTHER LOCAL RULES -
GENERAL PENALTY (2 STROKES)