For the purposes of applying the Rules of Golf, all flights in any Sterling Farms Men’s Club flighted tournament, including weekend events, are deemed to be part of a single competition (reference Rule 10.2a).

Weekend Event Scoring

A men’s club member must play with you and attest to your tournament scores.  If that member has to leave during the round, have him sign your card and then ask another player in your group (a member if possible) to attest your score from that point forward.  Immediately post your round to Golf Genius. In the case of the MetNet qualifying round, a member other than your partner must accompany you and attest to your score.

Tournament Tees

In Club Championship matches and Governors Cup matches opponents may agree to play any tee rated for men. If opponents can’t agree to a tee selection the Blue Tees shall be played.

In all team-based weekly events and other special events (Opening/Closing Events, Presidents/Vice Presidents Cup, Club Qualifiers, Member/Member, Member/Guest) the Blue Tees must be used.

In weekly events, where you are competing against players from other tees, you may play either the Black, Blue or White Tees. Be sure to identify the tee from which you are about to play on the scoreboard or you will be DQ. If White tees are selected use White Tee Handicap then subtract two strokes from your handicap allotment. If Blue Tees are selected simply use your Blue Tee handicap. If Black Tees are selected use Black Tee handicap and add one stroke to your handicap  allotment. Be sure to list your name in the handicap flight for which you qualify after you make the preceding tee-handicap adjustment or you will be DQ. (For instance, a player with an index of 16.1 would list his name in the 17+ flight if playing from the Blue tees with his 19 course handicap, but he’d list his name in the 10-16 flight if playing from the White Tees with his 2-stoke-adjusted 16 course handicap.) White tee players are excluded from gross prizes, Black Tee players must compete directly with Blue Tee players for gross prizes.

“C” Scores/Handicap Posting

You must promptly post your score for any tournament (weekly or otherwise) for handicap purposes or be subject to DQ. In addition, your scores in the following high-level tournaments must be posted as a “C” or “Competition” scores rather than as more typical “home” scores:

Every Club Championship round in which you play
Every Governor’s Cup round in which you play
Every Presidents/Vice Presidents Cup round in which you play
Member/Member Round

Member/Guest Round
InterClub Qualifying Round
Shoreline Qualifying Round
MetNet Qualifying Round
Both InterClub Rounds
Shoreline Round

Tie Breakers

Occasionally during our weekend events, tournaments or qualifiers we come across a tie. The Club employs the Golf Genius standard in determining a “match of cards” winner. Please note that ties during the Club Championship and Governor’s Cup are dealt with through a playoff rather than a card match, and that there is a special playoff procedure for first place in the Player of the Year finals (described further below). The match of cards steps are as follows:

Score/net score from back nine (holes 10 to 18)
Score/net score from last six holes (holes 13 to 18)
Score/net score from last 3 holes (holes 16 to 18)
Score/net score from the 18th hole
If still unresolved, declared tie with combined prize added and split

When Tiebreakers are required for net scores, in stroke play handicap strokes are applied based the fraction of holes being considered.  In match play, handicap strokes are applied based on scorecard handicap hole allocations.

Our Player of the Year contest ends with a playoff round among the top eight point earners. In the case of ties for eighth place, the top point earners and all players tying for eighth place will compete in the final playoff round. After the final round, ties for final cumulative positions, other than first place, will be dealt with by combining and splitting prize money. In the case of a final cumulative standings tie for 1st place, there will be a 3-hole playoff. If there is still a tie after three holes, there will be sudden death until there’s a winner.

Note: If one or more players qualifying for the top eight can not participate in the final round they will be awarded final round points based on their order of finish in the year-long standings. If just one player isn’t participating, he gets 8th place points. If two aren’t participating the one with the higher standing gets 7th place points, the one with the lower standing gets 8th place points, and so on.

Practice Before Tournament Rounds

Effective immediately, in addition to your right to practice on the course the day of a match play competition, players may now play/practice on the course on the same day as a Stroke Play competition (reference Committee Procedures under Rule 5.2b).

List of Sterling Farms Major and Mini-Major Events.

Opening Event – (Additional Fee)

The Opening Event is targeted towards getting members back into the swing of things. This event is normally played in mid to late April. It is played as a two man scramble. You can select your partner or have the Club set you up with a partner. Foursomes (two twosomes) are selected at random in an attempt to introduce members to other members they may not know.

Governor’s Cup – (Additional Fee)

The Governor’s Cup is a “mini-major” team event. Members will select their partners (the SFMC is happy to help find partners for new members) and play in a better ball of two single elimination match play event against other teams (Four-Ball Match Play). Teams are flighted into 8 team brackets according to the team’s total handicap. During play, handicaps are adjusted based on the Handicap Index revision just before the start of the match. A traditional bracket format is set up will be used within each flight where the number 1 seed will play the number 8 seed, etc. The team that wins each match continues to advance through the brackets until a champion is crowned.

Club Championship – (No Fee)

The Sterling Farms Men’s Club Club Championship offers golfers of all ability levels the opportunity to participate in its Club Championship. The format is Match Play, single elimination. Members are assigned to a “flight” based on their course handicap. A traditional bracket format is set up with the number 1 seed playing the number 16 seed. The seedings are based on the Handicap Index during the revision closest to the start of match play. The winner of each match continues to advance through the brackets until a champion is crowned.

The number of flights and their handicap break-ups will be determined based on the
number of players. Members over the age of 55 may choose to compete in either the
Senior Flight or the appropriate Flight according to their course handicap.

Member / Member – (Additional Fee)

The Member / Member Tournament is one of the Clubs most popular events.  It is a one day tournament played in June.  It is played as a Best Ball of 2 format.  You can select your partner or have the Club set you up with a partner.  The tournament is followed by a lunch and raffle where team prizes are awarded.

Member / Guest – (Additional Fee)

The Member / Guest Tournament is a great event to show off the Sterling Farms Golf Course to golfers who are not members of the Men’s Club as well as golfers who are not residents of Stamford.  It is normally played in August.  It is played as a Best Ball of 2 format.  You are allowed to select your foursome (other twosome) or let the pro shop select for you. The tournament is followed by a lunch and raffle where team prizes are awarded.

Interclub – (Fee to sign up; additional costs if you make the team)

This two-day event is heralded as “The Ryder Cup of Stamford”.  It is an annual event played between the two public courses of Stamford, CT: Sterling Farms and Hubbard Heights. One round of golf is played at each course.  Each club is represented by 14 players. 10 Net qualifying spots are open to our Men’s Club Members.  The Interclub is traditionally held in August.

President’s / Vice President’s Cup – (No Fee)

The President’s / VP’s Cup is the last of the Men’s Clubs major tournaments.  This is a 36-hole Net stroke play tournament.  There is an 18 hole qualifying round open to all members.  The top 8 net scores in both the President’s and VP’s categories (16 total) play in a final 18 hole round.  The lowest combined net 36 hole score wins. Field flighting will be determined by a as close to an even split with half of the field being in Presidents Cup and the other half being in Vice-President’s Cup. Once someone is flighted to a bracket, they will remain in that flight regardless of handicap change

Shoreline – (Fee to sign up; additional costs if you make the team)

The  Shoreline is an annual event played between six public golf courses located along the shores of Connecticut.  Each year a different club hosts the event.  The competition consists of an 18 hole Net round.  Each club is represented by 17 players.  14 Net qualifying spots are open to our members.  This event is played in the fall.

The participating golf clubs include: Sterling Farms (Stamford) — Hubbard Heights (Stamford) — Fairchild Wheeler (Bridgeport/Fairfield) — H. Smith Richardson (Fairfield) — Longshore (Westport) — Ailing Memorial (New Haven)

Closing Event – (Additional Fee)

Closing Event All good things must come to the end and the SFMC ends our season with our closing event.  You and a partner will join forces for this 18 hole one day tournament.
Teams will play 9 holes of a scramble format and 9 holes of alternate shot.  At the conclusion both gross and net prizes will be awarded.

Stamford Amateur Golf Tournament – (Not a SFMC event)

This tournament is a two day tournament taking place consecutive Saturday and Sunday. One weekend day 18 holes are played at Sterling Farms Golf Course and the other weekend day 18 holes are played at E. Gaynor Brennan Golf Course (in no specific order). Please contact the Sterling Farms Pro-Shop for more information.

Event Qualifying

The following rules were designed to create an atmosphere of tournament golf while attempting to qualify for the Men’s Club major events.
1. The number of holes required for qualifying is 18.
2. Sign up for the President Cup, Vice President Cup and the Club Championship will be on the Men’s Club bulletin board and on this website.
3. Sign up for Shoreline and Interclub events will be in the Pro Shop and on this website.
They both require an additional qualifying fee.
4. Pairings will be made based on:
Requested date of play
if 4 or less = 1 foursome
5 or more = 2 or more groups
Players are ranked by handicap index then grouped from best to worst
* If there is a group with 2 players, the board will try to have a member of the Board of Governors play as a marker.
5. Pairings will be posted no later than the Thursday prior to the weekend before the qualifying round.
6. The participants are responsible for contacting each other and obtaining a tee time via the tee time system for the weekend they are qualifying. If difficulty arises with a pairing partner(s), please contact president@sterlingfarmsmc.com. Even if your group has less than four players, you must obtain a tee time for a foursome (except Friday time slots). This protects the rest of the field in case a group gets shut out from the tee time system. The Tournament Committee will fill any vacancies with members who were shut out.
7. Immediately following the round of golf, the foursome must attest the scores and enter into Golf Genius. Following the round, please be sure to enter your score into GHIN as a “Competition” (“C”) score.
8. The Men’s Club does not receive any special treatment when it comes to the Sterling Farms tee times. When you sign up to qualify you must accept any available tee time. If you do not accept a time that was available, your entire foursome will be excluded from the event they are trying to qualify for.
9. Only rounds that cannot be completed due to poor weather in which the golf course is officially closed (players called off the course for severe or dangerous weather) for a period of more than two hours will be considered for continuation of play on another day if possible. Play will continue from the point where you were called off the course even if play continues on another day. Men’s Club Tournament Chairmen’s decision is final.
10. 10 Round Rule: Starting in 2009, you must now have 10 rounds posted in order to be automatically eligible to participate in our special tournaments. A minimum of 3 out of the 10 rounds must be from the current season, with the remaining (7 maximum) coming from the previous year, if needed.
Failure to meet this criteria is handled on a case by case basis. After speaking with the member a decision will be made on the following:
Allow or not allow the member to participate in the tournament
What handicap should the member compete with
What seeding should the member have (Club Championship Only)

Sterling Farms Men’s Club Policy on Weather

When playing in any of our tournaments, keep the following weather rules in mind:

Note:  Bad weather, in itself, is not a good reason to suspend play.

Nevertheless, if the course signals a lightning alert, or if you on your own feel that there is danger from lighting, immediately suspend play, mark your ball’s position and seek shelter.  If the course management temporarily closes the course due to excessive rain, similarly immediately suspend play and seek shelter.

In Match Play

Per Rule 5.7a, in addition to the above automatic suspension-of-play events, opponents may agree that the course is unplayable and suspend play.  Mark your ball’s position and seek shelter.

In Stroke Play

In addition to the above automatic suspension of play events, competitors may only agree to suspend play on their own authority if the hole on the green they are playing is completely surrounded by temporary water — so that no matter where they might take temporary water relief they would still be forced to putt through temporary water.  (The cup being filled with water is irrelevant.) This suspension is optional — the competitors may also decide to play on.  If suspending play, mark your ball’s position and seek shelter.

How to deal with a suspension

Match Play opponents may agree to resume play at their discretion, though they are still required to complete their match by the date required for their tournament. If course management will allow you to go directly to the hole you were playing after the suspension, do that:  replace your ball where it was marked and play on.  If course management requires you to buy a new round, you may casually play up to the hole on which play was suspended, then replace your ball on that hole and continue your formal match.  If the players fail to complete their match before the end of the required completion date in the schedule, the Committee will decide who won by lot.  (Schedule your round early to avoid such an issue.)

Stroke Play competitors are required to wait a minimum of one hour after suspension of play to see if the danger of lighting ends, course management reopens the course, or if the temporary water surrounding a hole has dissipated. If such positive events occur, immediately resume play.  Replace your ball where it was marked and play on.  If these issues have not been cleared up after one hour, you are free to wait longer if you wish (and if a fellow competitor will join you) or leave and resume play on another day later approved by the Club President or Tournament Director.  (Inform them immediately that your round could not be competed.) Note that the President/Tournament Director may find it impossible to reschedule a round, or may insist that the round be resumed on the very next day, or may on occasion provide you with more latitude in terms of timing depending on the circumstances.  If course management will allow you to return to your previous hole on the subsequent day, do that.  If course management requires you to buy a new round, you may casually play up to the hole on which play was suspended, then replace your ball on that hole and continue your formal play.

In both Match Play and Stroke play, If the mark identifying your ball’s position is missing, estimate the spot and replace there.