Golf Simulator League 2022-2023

Posted on November 20, 2022 by chesgolf in Golf News

Chesapeake Bay Golf Club’s
Winter Golf Simulator League

Play Famous Courses Every Week on our State-of-the-Art TrackMan Simulators!
November 28, 2022 – February 2, 2023 (Playoffs ends March 2, 2023)

Sign Up Call Pro Shop: 410-658-4343 x2

Simulator League Quick Facts:

Limited spots available!
Play anytime Monday – Thursday. Time slots are 4pm-6pm, 6pm-8pm, 8pm-10pm
Runs the week of November 28^th through week of February 27^th (10 week regular season + 4 week playoffs)
2-player team better ball – handicapped
Everyone plays against everyone
Gross and net skins, as well as long drive and closest-to-the-pin contests every week
Can’t make a week – no worries! Play ahead!
$100 per golfer entry fee, $35 weekly fee includes cash prizes and net skins + $5 optional double-dip gross skins pot.

Simulator League Details

FORMAT & HANDICAPPING:

The league format will be a net better ball of partners, two-person teams, 9 holes once a week. This league is open to both men and women of all ages and will be handicapped. The two-player teams will not be head-to-head until the playoffs – all teams will compete for the lowest total better ball score each week for points. The handicap system we will employee will work as follows. Your starting handicap index will be your outdoor USGA Index multiplied by 0.7. Each week your handicap will adjust based on your final score. For each shot you were net under par will reduce your simulator handicap index by 0.3, and each shot you exceed net par will increase your handicap index by 0.2. For example, if you shoot a net 33 on a par 36 and your starting index was 8, your index will go to 7.1 for the next week of play. If you shoot a net 40 on a par 36 and your starting index was 8, your index will raise to 8.8 for the following week. The committee overseeing handicaps will be monitoring the fluctuation of handicapping to combat “sandbagging”. If you do not have a USGA handicap, you must bring 3 attested cards and we will create a very conservative starting index for you.

COSTS:

Team Entry Fee: $200 per team – covers administrative costs and end of year prizes.

Daily Fee: $30 per player for 9H match.

Prizes & Skins: $5 per player for prizes & net skins (mandatory). The mandatory prize pot will cover weekly cash prizes – $1 goes to top 3 low net finishers, $1 goes to the weekly contest winners (long drive and closest-to-the-pin), and $3 goes to net skins. There will also be an optional $5 gross skins side pot!

SCHEDULING:

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 and Thursday for league play. Time slots available for league play on Mondays and Thursdays will be 2pm – 4pm, 4pm – 6pm, 6pm – 8pm, and 8pm – 10pm (if necessary). With 2 simulators, 4 teams (8 players) can occupy a time slot at once. Based on the times you selected, you will be scheduled to play during that time frame as close as possible. If you need to change your time slot for the week, or if you need to play on a day that is not Monday or Thursday you must notify Andrew Barbin Jr. or the pro shop and make your arrangements during normal hours of operation (9am – 7pm). League play can only be played Monday through Thursday – league play will not be permitted on Fridays-Sundays unless a VERY special exception is made. We will try to keep your time slot as consistent as possible! Please keep pace of play to avoid matches from going overtime! There is an option to pick up if needed!

SCORING:

We will have paper scorecards with your name and a printed list with all current handicap on it, ready to go. All teams will be responsible for putting down their gross scores on the scorecard, as well as marking the “pops” on the card as well (where you get strokes off based on your handicap). Trackman has a virtual scorecard that has all this information on it – all you must do is click the top right section where it has your team score displayed. The maximum score you can get on a hole is net double bogey – this is to eliminate sandbagging and to keep handicaps consistent. For example, if you get an 11 on a hole, but it’s a par 4 where you only get one handicap stroke you must write your score down as a 7 (double bogey is 6 + 1 stroke for handicap = 7). Also – new rule for the 2022-2023 season: the maximum score you can take on a hole is the lowest number or either NET DOUBLE BOGEY or YOUR PARTNER’S SCORE + NET 1. For example, if your partner gets a net 4 on the hole, the worst score you can legally take is a net 5. The only time this isn’t applicable is if it would theoretically cancel a gross skin (birdie or better).

POINTS SYSTEM & PLAYOFFS:

Each week, teams will compete for low net better ball of partners. Based on your placing and the number of teams playing, you will receive points. Points will be accumulated through the 10-week regular season. The top 16 teams in points will make the playoffs, in which they will have their matches scheduled in four consecutive weeks. Teams that do not make the playoffs may continue to play on designated league nights for prizes and skins! We have a consolation game where each team buys in for $40 ($20 per player) and is based on the total of points amassed through the four playoff weeks. The top three teams will split the cash pot. Teams eliminated from the playoff bracket will be allowed to join in and will get 50 points for each week they remained in the playoff bracket. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE POINTS SYSTEM AND NUMBER OF PLAYOFF TEAMS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE BASED ON HOW MANY TEAMS ARE IN LEAGUE (this is based on 32 teams).

Tiebreaks for seeding in the playoffs will be MVT ranking (most valuable team), as the best overall team statistically will get priority in the event of a tie in seeding.

We will also have a virtual silent Calcutta auction for the playoff bracket!

HOLIDAYS & VACATIONS:

We will be starting the week after Thanksgiving. If you cannot make Wednesday, you may reserve other times in the week. Christmas and New Years falls on the weekend this year and should not impact simulator league play.

Because this is a simulator league, and because conditions will always be the same, there are no restrictions to making up or 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 to make up a week if you missed it prior, but you are not eligible for skins or prizes as cash payouts as those are paid out on the week. Makeup weeks will not affect the points of other teams, and you will only get 50% of the possible points based on your position.

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 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 for the playoff matches will be provided by myself and others who care to join in. I will try to setup a camera as well this year. I will also try to find out how to save the videos of the matches so that everyone can go back and watch them.

FINAL PAYOUT DETAILS:

League Champion: 40% of prize pool derived from entry fee (in gift cards)
League Runner Up: 30% of prize pool derived from entry fee (in gift cards)
League Third Place: 20% of prize pool derived from entry fee (in gift cards)
League Fourth Place: 10% of prize pool derived from entry fee (in gift cards)

CHAMPIONSHIP BRACKET CALCUTTA PAYOUTS:

League Champion: 40% of Calcutta pool (cash)
League Runner Up: 30% of Calcutta pool (cash)
League Third Place: 20% of Calcutta pool (cash)
League Fourth Place: 10% of Calcutta pool (cash)

WEEKLY PAYOUTS:

1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd Low Net Individuals. Weekly Closest-To-The Pin & Longest Drive (new for this season!). Net Skins and Gross Skins.

OTHER PRIZES:

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

We are using the Beta version of TrackMan’s tournament software. This will make sure everything stays nice and organized, although please note that not all of the features have been officially released yet. For the time being, it will be listed as a single player tournament on the live scoring. We will still need to fill out paper scorecards for keeping track of the net better ball. Here’s the order of events when you play in a league event:

BEFORE YOU ARRIVE:

Sign up for a Trackman Account. You can do this on https://trackmanindoor.com/ or download the “TrackMan Golf” app if you have smartphone or tablet (its available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play store for Android). If you have the app you can quickly login when you arrive at the simulator by scanning the QR code on the top right corner of the monitor. It works great and quickly checks you in. You need to have a TrackMan account to play in the league – it’s easy and free and if you’re technologically illiterate I can save your login info for you. The TrackMan golf will let you keep track of your stats, tendencies, and let you monitor the live scoring. Once Trackman gets the better ball of partners and skins implemented, you’ll be able to see everything all in the app!
Make sure you are wearing CLEAN SPIKELESS SHOES and that your clubs are CLEAN! If you want to use your own golf balls there cannot be any markings – 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, prizes, and skins in advance and make sure you meet all of our cleanliness requirements.

GETTING STARTED:

Make sure you pick up a blank scorecard. Put your name on it, the course being played, and the date on it.
Log In with your TrackMan account. Either scan the QR code through the smartphone app for a quick login or enter your username and password manually.
Go to the “Tournaments” Tab and select “Chesapeake Bay GC Winter Simulator League”. Select the week you are playing. Note that you can play any of the weeks in advance (aside from playoffs as they are match play), but weeks that have passed will no longer show up.
Reference the handicap sheet by the monitor for your current handicap index. Make sure to put your exact handicap index in before you start (click the name and change your handicap).
Get started. As of today, tournaments on TrackMan don’t do the “First Tee Warm Up” – so if you need to hit a few practice shots to warm up do it on the virtual range before you start. I submitted a request to make it a toggleable option, so hopefully that will be addressed ASAP.
Click the leaderboard on the top right. Write in your handicap “pops” on the holes they appear on the paper scorecard, as well as your given course handicap for 9 holes on the “handicap” box.

PLAYING:

Enjoy the best simulator experience on the market!
I currently have the simulators set to the “player visual”, which is as if you were watching your ball fly in real life. If you like the classic “drone follow” view or the “TV broadcast” view you can go into settings and toggle it to your preference. If you need assistance ask a staff member.
In the event of the rare glitch where the ball clips through the course (not allowing the ball to return to play), select pick up and notify a staff member. After the round is over, you will be permitted to redo the hole. Write down the proper score on the paper scorecard and make a note of it so that I can manually change it on the website.

FINISHING:

Make sure you write all your gross scores on the paper scorecard, as well as your gross and net totals. If you can, write your team net scores in the specified location – but if you don’t do it, I or one of my staff members will do it for you. Please do not exit before you write it down!!!
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.
Please note that difficulty will be ramped up if the league averages 3 strokes better than their current indexes indicate. I have the league starting out on fairly easy settings – most courses are around 6000 yards with easy pins. If that proves to be too short I will start going to longer tees and medium pins.
Clarifications on skins – net skins tend to get kinda silly with the realism of the scores (net albatrosses and eagles are super commonplace) – so we’ll be playing net skins as simple as possible. Lowest net score wins hole, with one tie meaning the skin is canceled. Gross skins will be played a little different, and will be how I typically do skins in our leagues. You need to have at least a birdie to win a skin, and ties with birdies mean the skin is canceled. However, a gross skin can be split in our system in two scenarios. The first is if the only other person to tie your skin is your teammate. The second is with eagles and albatrosses – eagles and better always payout in gross skins in our system and will be split among those who made the eagle.

SCHEDULE (subject to change – pending course releases by TrackMan):

TrackMan now has nearly 200 courses on their roster available for us to play – I will announce the list soon!

SIMULATOR RULES:

Check-In & Preparation:

Please arrive 30 minutes prior to time slot to ensure that payment and setup allows play to start on time. Please make sure you are wearing clean shoes or sneakers (no spikes!), and that your clubs and grooves are clean.

Course Setup:

Courses will be set up with easy pins, calm wind, fast 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 16 feet. Aiming markers always on. We may increase or decrease difficulty throughout the season to improve fun and/or speed of play.