Course Guidance
The following notes are intended to be an aid to interpreting local features on the course and hopefully your enjoyment of playing. A number of general points should be considered. Reference to the appropriate R&A rule is indicated in brackets.
• It is recommended that an identifiable mark should be put on your ball before starting play particularly when playing competitions (Rule 6.5).
• The course has a number of water features. Water hazards are marked out with yellow posts, lateral water hazards with red posts. Players should be fully aware of the rules governing relief from each type of hazard (Rule 26). • Please repair all divots and try and repair at least two pitch marks on the greens.
• All roadways, paths, drainage covers, sprinkler heads, staked trees and trees protected by plastic rabbit spirals on the course are immovable obstructions from which relief without penalty may be taken. If any such obstruction occurs within two club lengths of a green and intervenes on the line of play to the hole, relief without penalty may be obtained provided the ball lies within two clubs lengths of the obstruction and is not in a hazard. Bridges and culverts will be dealt with on the relevant holes. • Heavy vehicle tracks may be treated as GUR (Rule 25.1).
• The club permits the use of GPS devices for distance measurement. Other measurements such as wind speed/direction and temperature are not allowed (Rule 14.3).
• Eaton has a target time for a three ball of 3hr40min and four ball 4hr. Please try to keep up with the group ahead of you. It is recommended that a provisional ball be played (after being declared!), where the first ball may be difficult to find, in order to speed up play.
The interpretation of local rules is illustrated with a hole-by-hole description.
Hole 1
Flower bed to left of tee in play. Out of Bounds (OOB) in gardens beyond flower bed clearly demarcated by wired fence. Players must not attempt to retrieve their balls from the gardens. The strip between this OOB and the line of beech hedge inside the fence is in play. Each hole contains up to three distance marker discs - white for 200yd, yellow for 150 yd and red for 100yd. There are also 150 yd marker posts off each side of the fairway. All the measurements are to the centre of the green. The marker discs are immovable obstructions and relief without penalty may be taken. The distance posts are removable. The ditch beyond the green is a water hazard and relief, if taken, must be taken from the far side of the hazard (Rule 26).
Hole 2
Caution should be observed when driving to avoid striking a vehicle on the adjoining road with the ball. You are advised to wait for a lull in the traffic. The pond and ditch are water hazards. The bridge over the ditch is in play and within the hazard. Relief without penalty cannot be taken from the bridge (except from the entry/exit margins outside the hazard lines). In playing off the bridge you are allowed to ground the club (Rule 26).
Hole 3
The pond to the right of the fairway is a water hazard. The OOB along the left of the fairway is marked by white posts up to the wall. Most of the boundary of the course is not marked out with white posts. In the case of a fence the line is taken between the inner (course side) aspect of the posts and similarly for a hedge a line between the inner aspect of the main bush stems or tree trunks (Rule 27).
Hole 4
The pond to the rear right of the green is a lateral water hazard.
Hole 5
The ditch before the fairway is a water hazard and the bridge part of it (see Hole 2). The ditch to the right of the fairway is a lateral water hazard up to the second bridge (and thereafter a water hazard). Players are reminded with a lateral water hazard that, in taking the two club length relief from the point of entry, such relief may be taken from either side of the hazard at a point equidistant from the hole (Rule 26-1c(ii)) The pond on the approach to the green is a water hazard.
Hole 6
This hole contains 2 hazards. The central one is a water hazard and the one to the left a lateral water hazard. The toilet facilities are immovable obstructions and relief without penalty may be taken! (Rule 24-2).
Hole 7
Pond to the right of the fairway is a water hazard. OOB exists to the left and behind the green. Players may find behind the green, with an unplayable ball, that it is not possible to obtain relief with a penalty drop and that it might be more advantageous to retake the shot (under stroke and distance).
Hole 8
Pond to the right of the men's tee is a water hazard.
Hole 9
(no comments)
Hole 10
Players starting their game from this hole must give priority to players on the 9th hole especially when a competition is in play.
Hole 11
(no comments)
Hole 12
The ditch guarding the entrance to the green is a water hazard. The three bridges are in the hazard (see Hole 2).
Hole 13
The ditch running parallel with the hole on the right is a lateral water hazard. The crossing ditch on either side of the fairway is a water hazard. The ditches are partially obscured from the tees and any decision to deem a lost ball to be in such a hazard must be supported by strong visual evidence. There has to be almost no doubt that the ball is in the hazard (Rule 26-1). The fairway crossing over the ditch is a culvert. The local rule when a ball comes to rest near one of the culvert stone parapets, but not in the hazards, is as follows:- If, in playing a shot with a usual club in the desired direction, the stance of the player or full swing of the club is impeded by the stone parapet then relief without penalty may be taken (Rule 24-2). Pond behind and right of green is part water hazard and part lateral water hazard.
Hole 14
Any ball played to the left from the men's tee must be accompanied by the shout of "fore". Any ball coming to rest to left of the white posts separating the hole from the 15th is out of bounds. The fairway crossing over the ditch is a culvert and the stone parapets played as with hole 13. A ball on the bridge over the ditch near the 15th green is in bounds and in the hazard (See Hole 2).
Hole 15
The greenkeeper's enclosure to the right of the start of the hole is OOB. The white posts separating the 15th and 14th holes are not in play on this hole and are immovable obstructions (Rule 24.2). The bridge over the ditch leading to the green is in the hazard (see Hole 2).
Hole 16
The ditch before the fairway is a water hazard and the bridge part of it (see Hole 2). The pond to the right of the fairway is a water hazard. OOB exists on the greenside of the pond as marked out with white posts. The ditch running to the left of the green is a lateral water hazard.
Hole 17
The ditch running across the exit from the tee is a water hazard and the bridge part of it (see Hole 2). The ditch beyond the bridge is a lateral water hazard.
Hole 18
The guidepost for the tee shots is a movable obstruction. The pond to the right of the fairway is a water hazard. The practice ground to the right of the fairway is OOB as indicated by white marker posts. Finally in abnormal ground conditions:- Preferred Lies normally run from about 1st October to 30th April and apply to a ball on closely mown areas only (including the first cut of the rough). Winter Rules are a Local Rule which is introduced if conditions of extreme wetness prevent the fair playing of the game and allow relief without penalty for a ball embedded in its own pitch-mark through the green . When lifted the ball may be cleaned (Rule 25.2).
May your drives be straight and your putts be few.