Golf Simulator League 2024-2025

Posted on October 18, 2024 by chesgolf in Golf News, Slide

Chesapeake Bay Golf Club’s
Winter Golf Simulator League – Season V

PLAY FAMOUS COURSES EVERY WEEK ON OUR STATE-OF-THE-ART TRACKMAN SIMULATORS
DECEMBER 2, 2024 – February 7, 2025 (Playoffs ends March 14, 2025)
League Commissioner: Andrew Barbin Jr, PGA Head Golf Professional

Sign Up: Online Golf Genius Page | Call Pro Shop: 410-658-4343 x3

FORMAT & GENERAL OVERVIEW:

The league comprises of 2-person teams that play 9 holes once a week on our TrackMan Simulators.
Teams will accrue points based on their performance relative to the entire field.
The format every week is team better ball.
This league is open to both men and women of all ages and will be handicapped.
Scoring will be handicapped utilizing your existing GHIN handicap or a handicap created by the commissioner.
The top 24 teams (based on a field of 48 teams) will make the playoffs and compete in a head-to-head match play bracket for the championship.
Each week we will pay out cash prizes to the top performers.

SCHEDULE

(subject to change – pending course releases by TrackMan)

Week 1: St. Andrews B9: 2022 British Open venue, oldest course in the world
Week 2: Le Golf National B9: 2024 Olympics Venue
Week 3: Valhalla B9: 2024 PGA Championship Venue
Week 4: Lofoten Links F9: Top 100 course in World
Week 5: Muirfield Village B9: The Memorial Venue
Week 6: Royal Portrush B9: 2025 British Open Venue
Week 7: Quail Hollow B9: Host of Wells Fargo Championship & 2025 PGA Championship
Week 8: Royal County Down F9: #6 Ranked Course in the World
Week 9: Pinehurst No. 2 B9: 2024 US Open Venue
Week 10: Bethpage Black B9: 2025 Ryder Cup Venue
Playoffs Week 1: Royal Montreal Blue B9: 2024 Presidents Cup Venue
Playoffs Week 2: Casa De Campo F9: #1 course in the Caribbean, Top 100 in World
Playoffs Week 3: PGA West Stadium Course B9: “Hardest Course in the World”
Playoffs Week 4: Real Club Valderrama F9: Iconic Ryder Cup venue.
Playoffs Week 5: Pebble Beach 18H: One of the most iconic courses in the world & US Open regular venue.

COURSE SETUP

Courses will be set up with medium pins, calm wind, medium firm fairways, medium firm greens, and green speed stimped at an 11 (same as putting turf). Putting will be on the “Aimed” setting, with automatic gimmies inside 12 feet. Aiming markers always on.

COSTS:

Team Entry Fee: $150 per person ($300 per team) – covers administrative costs and end of year prizes.
Daily Fee: $30 per player each week + $10 for cash prizes (mandatory). Simulator Pass Holders pay $15 + $10 each week.
Cash Prizes goes toward Canadian Skins & Weekly Stableford Pool.

SCHEDULING & TIME SLOTS:

When you sign up, you will inform the staff of the days and times you can typically play your weekly round.
The league will have times reserved every Monday – Thursday for league play.
Time slots will be in 2-hour blocks where 2 teams can play in one bay (for example):
- 2pm-4pm (or 3pm-5pm)
- 4pm-6pm (or 5pm-7pm)
- 6pm-8pm (or 7pm-9pm)
- 8pm-10pm (or 9pm-11pm)
With an expected field of nearly 100 golfers, we will do our best to accommodate everyone to the time slot you want or as close as possible.
The advantage of a simulator league is that golfers can play their round whenever – and can even play weeks ahead if needed.
If you need to change your time slot for the week or play a week in advance you must notify the commissioner or the pro shop and make your arrangements during normal hours of operation (9am – 6pm).
League can only be played Monday-Thursday – league play will not be permitted on Fridays-Sundays unless a VERY special exception is made by the commissioner.
Please keep pace of play to avoid rounds from going overtime!

SCORING:

This year we will be doing all scoring and standings on Golf Genius. All golfers will be required to enter their hole-by-hole scores on the Golf Genius mobile scoring app each week. Each week will be preloaded and accessible from the get-go so that you can play ahead if needed. All golfers who have participated in CBGC leagues and events will be able to use their existing Golf Genius accounts! All new golfers will have accounts created (unless they have an existing account, in which we will tie in with email). The utilization of Golf Genius will allow for instantaneous scoring results and season standings!

REGULAR SEASON POINTS SYSTEM:

Each week, teams will earn points based on their individual and team performances relative to the field each week.
The team points will be based on your team’s net better ball score, so if your team shoots 6-under on the week and that’s the 12^th best score of the week you will get X number of points.
The individual points will be based on your individual scoring – if you shoot a net 35 to come in 8^th place and your partner shoots a net 41 to come in 67^th place then you will get X number of points.
Better Ball points will award 500 points for the winner and go down 10 points per place (2^nd place will get 490 points etc). Individual points will start at 250 points for 1^st and 2^nd place and go down 5 points every two places (3^rd and 4^th will earn 245 points, 5^th and 6^th will earn 240 points etc).
All placement ties during the week will automatically be resolved based on the USGA Scorecard playoff method.

PLAYOFFS:

As opposed to the regular season, the playoffs will be head-to-head match play. The top 24 teams on the points list will make the playoffs, with the top 8 teams earning a first-round bye. The match format will be better ball of partners, with the second score being the tiebreaker. For example: Player A and B have a 3 and a 4, and Players C and D have a 3 and a 5. Team AB would win on the merit of Player B’s 4 being lower than Player D’s 5. If there is a tie at the end of the match, teams will go to a sudden death playoff until a victor is determined.

Tiebreaks for seeding will be the team’s combined net average – the best overall team statistically will get priority in the event of a tie in seeding. Teams that do not make the playoffs or get eliminated will still be eligible for postseason cash games and a playoff side wager!

We will have a Calcutta Auction for the playoff bracket on Saturday February 8, 2025 at 7pm.

HANDICAPPING:

Golfers with a USGA GHIN Handicap: Golfers with a USGA handicap will start with 70% of their current index. These golfers will only see a handicap adjustment if two parameters are met:

If their net average is outside 1 standard deviation of the league average at midseason, golfers will receive a 10% adjustment to their handicap (increase or decrease) per standard deviation. Golfers will be assessed again at the end of the season on their second half average for the final playoff adjustment.
Multiple exceptional rounds where their net scores are outside 1 standard deviation below the league average. Golfers will see a 10% reduction of their handicap in every instance starting with their second exceptional round.

Golfers without a USGA GHIN Handicap: Golfers without an official handicap can use a TrackMan handicap, a third-party handicap, their previous league handicap from last season, or five attested scorecards. These golfers will be given a very conservative starting handicap and will see more volatility in their handicap through the season. These golfers will see adjustments to their handicaps if these parameters are met:

Every 2 weeks, these golfers will see an adjustment if their net average is outside 1 standard deviation of the league average, golfers will receive a 10% adjustment to their handicap (increase or decrease) per standard deviation. Golfers will see a cap on increases if they are 30% higher than their starting handicap.
All exceptional rounds where their net scores are outside 1 standard deviation below the league average. Golfers will see a 10% reduction of their handicap in every instance starting with their first exceptional round.

CASH GAMES:

Each week we will be paying out cash prizes out of the $10 weekly prize pool.

Stableford: $6 will go to the weekly Stableford pool. 2 points will go to eagles or better, 1 point will go to birdies, 0 points for pars and bogeys, and -2 points for double bogeys (max scores). The stableford will be played at the same handicap as the league this year. If we have a field of 100 players, we will payout the top 10 players as such:

$80 – $80 – $80 – $60 – $60 – $60 – $50 – $50 – $40 – $40

Skins: $4 will go to the weekly skins pool. Skins will be Canadian Skins, which means net skins where gross scores win ties (for example – a 3 for 3 beats a 4 for 3). The skins game will be played at the same handicap as the league. Gross eagles and net albatrosses are guaranteed payouts – if there are 3 eagles on a hole then that skin will be split 3 different ways. The only way a gross eagle or net albatross doesn’t get paid out is if it’s beat by a better score. A net albatross trumps a gross eagle with no handicap as well.

TEES:

The league will be categorized into 5 groups – Tips (7000+ yds), Long (6500-7000 yds), Regular (6000-6500 yds), Short (5500-6000 yds), and Front (5500 > yds). Who is classified as what as well as what each tees each distance class will be playing from will be on one piece of paper that will be visible for the entire year. Please let me know if you should be in a different teeing classification – you can only change your tee once! Also, all ten weeks are available on Golf Genius NOW – so if you need to pre-play there is nothing stopping you. Each round is available as of now.

HOLIDAYS & VACATIONS:

We will be starting the week after Thanksgiving. Christmas and New Year’s (as well as their respective Eves) fall on weekdays this year – we will give a grace period for those groups to play their match on different days.

Because this is a simulator league, and because conditions will always be the same, there are no restrictions to pre-playing weeks in advance. For example, if you are going on a family vacation on weeks 3 through 5, you can pre-play those rounds on non-league times. When pre-playing, you can also be in contests and skins, and there will be no point reduction for pre-played rounds. You are permitted ONE MAKE UP WEEK if you missed a week for whatever reason, please note that you are not eligible for skins or prizes as cash payouts as those are paid out on the week. Please be proactive!

SUBSTITUTES:

If necessary, you are permitted to have a substitute play on non-playoff weeks. There will be no instances of double substitutions permitted – one player from your team must play! In the instance of a golfer being unable to finish the season due to a legitimate injury, a permanent replacement will be permitted at any time (including playoffs). The permanent replacement must have an official USGA handicap (or TrackMan / previous year simulator handicap) and will play to 70% of that handicap on their first week. The injured golfer forfeits all potential end of year earnings to the substitute.

PLAYERS GRILLE:

The bar will be open the entire duration of the night. We will have Monday and Thursday Night Football on the big screen TVs! Stay and hang out!

TWITCH STREAM:

We will be livestreaming matches from time to time, including all playoff bracket matches! My twitch profiles @abj_golf and @abj_golf_ALT – so make sure to subscribe to get notifications on when we go live! Commentary and video will be available as well – hang out with us on the stream!

FINAL PAYOUT DETAILS:

League Champion: 30% of prize pool derived from entry fee (in gift cards)
League Runner Up: 25% of prize pool derived from entry fee (in gift cards)
League Third Place: 15% of prize pool derived from entry fee (in gift cards)
League Fourth Place: 10% of prize pool derived from entry fee (in gift cards)
Top Eight: 5% of prize pool each derived from entry fee (in gift cards)

CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET CALCUTTA PAYOUTS:

League Champion: 30% of Calcutta pool (cash)
League Runner Up: 25% of Calcutta pool (cash)
League Third Place: 15% of Calcutta pool (cash)
League Fourth Place: 10% of Calcutta pool (cash)
Top Eight: 5% of Calcutta pool each (cash)

OTHER PRIZES:

Most Valuable Player, Low Gross Average, Low Net Average, Most Valuable Team, Money List Leader, Playoff MVP.

BEFORE YOU ARRIVE:

Make sure one player on your team has the Golf Genius live scoring app and is signed in. As opposed to previous years, we will not be using the TrackMan scan in app or the TrackMan Tournament software this year although you are welcome to sign in anyway since the TrackMan app stores a lot of data! The course and settings will be on a sheet of paper – make sure you select the correct settings and tees each time!
Make sure you are wearing CLEAN SPIKELESS SHOES and that your clubs are CLEAN! We provide all golfers with special RCT Pro V1s and Pro V1xs, you cannot use any other ball – we can’t afford dirt and markers to get on our screens. If you need to clean your clubs, we now have a nice washing station outside the pro shop – it has a bucket, towel, and scrub brush.
Make sure you come 15 minutes early. You need to pay your league fee and prizes in advance and make sure you meet all of our cleanliness requirements.

GETTING STARTED:

Make sure you or your partner is signed into Golf Genius. Select the round you will be playing. Your handicap and default tees will be pre-loaded.
Optional – sign in with your TrackMan account. TrackMan app has a lot of data to improve your experience! Do not worry about your TrackMan Handicap not reflecting your Sim League handicap – all scoring is done on Golf Genius and we want all golfers to use our basic gross stroke play settings anyway.
Go to courses and select the course you are playing for the round. Go to settings and select the correct 9 you will be playing. Make sure the default settings are correct (12 foot gimmies, auto-aim manual putting, medium firm fairways and greens). All golfers will fall into 5 sets of teeing ranges – Front, Short, Mid, Long, and Tips. We will have an info sheet in the simulator room with each course’s tees for each subset of golfers to select – make sure you select the correct tees for your teeing preference!

PLAYING:

Enjoy the best simulator experience on the market!
Remember that the format is better ball of partners. If you are out of the hole, you don’t need to finish. The maximum score you can take on any hole is net double bogey. Please keep pace of play as there are likely groups behind you!
Make sure you are properly oriented with the interface. Feel free to ask a staff member to help you in case you have any questions.
If for whatever reason the TrackMan picks up a wrong reading (such as a practice swing), mulligans are turned on. In the very rare event that a game breaking glitch occurs such as the ball clipping through the course – pick up on the hole and replay the hole after the round.

FINISHING:

Make sure you entered all your gross scores into the Golf Genius app. Double check afterwards to make sure it was correct. A staff member or other team is required to verify all scores to make sure they are correct. If needed, cross reference the scorecard on TrackMan to make sure all scores are accurate.
Make sure you take all your stuff, throw out your trash, and pay your bar tabs!!!

OTHER STUFF:

Please note that your simulator league fee covers your scheduled round. It’s not “two hours on the simulator”, it covers the 30 minutes per player it takes to finish a round of virtual golf. Two golfers on one simulator are not entitled to two hours of play, as they are expected to complete their 9-hole round in one hour just as it should take four golfers two hours to play 9 holes. If you play more golf before or after your round, you do need to pay for any additional hours you play.
Any golfer found “sandbagging” or posting the wrong scores will be subject to handicap adjusting, suspension, or expulsion from the league.
League commissioner reserves the right to make any changes that would improve league quality or balance competitive parity.