• The decision to close both or either course will be made in the first instance by the Course Manager, in his absence the duty green keeper, or if neither is available the staff in professional shop.
• This will only occur when unusual weather conditions prevail which will either cause damage to the courses or may be a safety risk to golfers.
• During competitive play it may also be necessary to close the course or courses either temporarily or for the day should weather deteriorate to a sufficient extent.
• In such circumstances the decision to close the course or to suspend play will be made by the Course Manager, duty green keeper or staff in professional shop.
• The decision to re-open or recommence play will also be at the discretion of said person/persons.
• In conditions of either fog or lightning, it may be that play requires to be temporarily or permanently suspended.
• In such cases professional shop staff will sound a Klaxon and play will then be suspended.
• One long blast of the Klaxon indicates safe suspension of play where golfers may continue to play out the hole or mark the position of ball and either seek shelter or leave the course.
• Three blasts of the Klaxon indicates immediate suspension where players must immediately leave the course after marking the position of their ball.
• If in doubt, players should contact the professional shop or refer to the member app where course closures are notified.
• Play will be restarted at the discretion of said staff and will be indicated by 2 blasts of the Klaxon.
• In certain fog conditions the visibility may vary on certain parts of the course in comparison to near the clubhouse. The guiding principle in terms of start of play is that the 1^st green is visible from the tee (around 300 yards).  Until such time the professional shop staff will not allow play to commence.
• If a player feels visibility is poor elsewhere on the course and continuing play is not safe, they should contact the professional shop for them to assess whether play should be suspended.
• In the event of high winds. If there is a travel warning (only travel when deemed necessary) the course is likely to be closed unless conditions are favourable.
• Flooding- in the event of any green or greens being flooded i.e the hole or surrounding area are under water to such an extent that it is impossible to hole out or to take relief from floodwater, play will then be suspended util such time as conditions improve. (Players should endeavour to contact the pro shop before leaving course).
• If play is suspended before the start of the competition, the duty green keeper, deputy or pro shop staff will determine the extent of any delay.  In such cases the following criteria will generally apply:
  A delay of maximum 1 hour – competition will go ahead (subject to seasonal issues) and tee times pushed back accordingly. The V1 app will be updated.
  Should the delay extend beyond 1 hour, the competition will go ahead with original tee times remaining and players originally booked during the period of suspension may rebook if times are available on the V1 app or through the pro shop.
• The pro shop staff will have the discretion as to whether the competition will be cancelled or play is finally suspended for the day.
• Depending on the time of year and predicted delay in conditions such as frost the green keeper may choose to place several holes on winter greens to allow play to start.  In these circumstances, the competition will be cancelled.  If the full course is available later in day those players starting may choose to use the general play option.
• In all cases of delay, or suspension of play, the determining factors will be:
  time of year, length of suspension, length or number of temporary suspensions.
• In situations where scores have been returned or golfers have completed a minimum of 10 holes, scores will be treated as per Congu/ WHS guidelines.

All of the detailed procedures are in place to-

• Protect golfers,
• Protect the golf courses,
• Allow as much play on the day as possible, competitive or otherwise.

Murcar Links GC May 2023