Team Competitions

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Team Competitions

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Official Rules

Clarifications

24.1Overview of Team Competitions

24.2Terms of Team Competition

24.3Team Captain

24.4Advice Allowed in Team Competition

24.4aPerson Allowed to Give Advice to Team (Advice Giver)

24.4bRestriction on Advice Giver While Playing

24.4cNo Advice between Team Members Other Than Partners

Rule 23 Rule 25

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Purpose of Rule: Rule 24 covers team competitions (played in either match play or stroke play), where multiple players or sides compete as a team with the results of their rounds or matches combined to produce an overall team score.

Team Competitions

24.1

Overview of Team Competitions

A “team” is a group of players who play as individuals or as sides to compete against other teams.
Their play in the team event may also be part of another competition (such as individual stroke play) that takes place at the same time.

Rules 1-23 apply in a team competition, as modified by these specific Rules.

24.2

Terms of Team Competition

The Committee decides the form of play, how a team’s overall score is to be calculated and other Terms of the Competition, such as:

In match play, the number of points awarded for winning or tying a match.
In stroke play, the number of scores to count in each team’s total score.
Whether the competition may end in a tie and, if not, how the tie will be decided.

24.3

Team Captain

Each team may name a team captain to lead the team and make decisions for it, such as which players on the team will play in which rounds or matches, in what order they will play and who will play together as partners. The team captain may be a player in the competition.

24.4

Advice Allowed in Team Competition

24.4a

Person Allowed to Give Advice to Team (Advice Giver)

The Committee may adopt a Local Rule allowing each team to name one person (an “advice giver”) who may give advice and other help as allowed in Rule 10.2 to players on the team during a round and who may be asked for advice by players on the team:

The advice giver may be the team captain, a team coach or other person (including a team member playing in the competition).
The advice giver must be identified to the Committee before giving advice.
The Committee may allow a team’s advice giver to change during a round or during the competition.

See Committee Procedures, Section 8; Model Local Rule H-2 (the Committee may adopt a Local Rule allowing each team to name two advice givers).

24.4b

Restriction on Advice Giver While Playing

If a team’s advice giver is a player on the team, they are not allowed to act in that role while playing a round in the competition. While playing a round, the advice giver is treated like any other playing team member for purposes of the restrictions on advice and other help in Rule 10.2.

24.4c

No Advice between Team Members Other Than Partners

Except when playing together as partners on a side:

A player must not ask for advice from or give advice to a member of their team playing on the course.
This applies whether the team member is playing in the same group as the player or in another group on the course.

See Committee Procedures, Section 8; Model Local Rule H-5 (in a stroke play team competition where a player’s score for the round counts only as part of the team’s score, the Committee may adopt a Local Rule allowing team members playing in the same group to give each other advice even if they are not partners). Penalty for Breach of Rule 24.4: General Penalty Under Rule 10.2a.