2026 IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND DATES
www.gotchaleague.com
Start of Season – April 2nd
Dues Deadline – June 1st
Playoffs Start – October 8th
Field Day – August 22rd Est. Start - 10 AM
Banquet – October 30th 6 PM Start


2026 GOTCHA LEAGUE RULES AND GUIDELINES

LEAGUE NAME
The league will be called 'The Gotcha League'. The Gotcha League is a social league designed to develop friendships and skills. Please respect your fellow members. This league has been in play for over 70 years. Please share your thoughts and suggestions for the league with any of the Officers.

WEBSITE
League information is posted on our website at' www.gotchaleaguegolf.com.'

PLAYING LOCATION
All matches will be played at St. Anne Country Club located at 781 Shoemaker Lane Feeding Hills, Ma. (413) 786-2088.

DUES
The league dues are $100/year payable to the league treasurer by the first Thursday in June. If any player is delinquent in paying the dues, that player will incur a $20 late fee and his team will forfeit all matches after that date, until the dues is paid in full. (Note: This is not an automatic forfeit, if a match is played, the opposing team can only get the points earned in the match) The member dues cover the cost of the field day meal after golf, and the end of year awards banquet. Spare players may pay the dues, and this will enable them to participate in both events. Guests of members are encouraged to attend the end of year banquet at an additional cost. The banquet payments shall be made to the president, prior to the banquet. All other attendees are requested to let the president know of their attendance to this affair. There are no dues refunds if you do not attend either event.

KICKERS
Prior to league play each player is encouraged to contribute $60 dollars (separate from dues) to the ‘kicker’ pool at the beginning of the year. If the player is going to participate. They must declare so at start of the season and must be paid in full by week 4 (or 2nd week of playing if they don’t’ start the 1st week of the season whichever is later). The players that finish that day’s match play with the highest point differential on each nine, will win the pool for that week.

SEASON and START TIMES
The season starts on the first Thursday in April (weather permitting) and plays every Thursday until the end of the scheduled season, except when a Thursday falls on July 4th. The league has the box from 3:00pm to 4:00pm on both front and back nines.
The matches will be played as per the league schedule, which will be posted on the website at the beginning of the year. Should you decide to tee off prior to 3:00pm time, you do so at your own risk as the league could cancel due to the weather. Also, if your group goes off early, be courteous to groups with a pre 3:00 tee time or those making the turn. They have the right of way until our assigned time.
When all team members have arrived and paid for the green fees they can proceed to the scheduled starting tee box (1st or 9th) and begin play in the order of 1st come, first play- all members of the match at the tee constitutes a valid starting position. Ex. 3 players in line waiting for the 4th player to arrive is not a valid starting position.

CANCELLATIONS
In the event of bad weather or any other reasons for cancellation, the president of the league will make the cancellation decision by 1:30pm on the day of play. This cancellation will be communicated to the clubhouse and sent in an email it is each player’s responsibility to contact the clubhouse to check on the play status for that day. The phone number for the front desk is 413-786-2088. If the conditions aren’t clear or change between the hours of 1:00 and 3:00, then the decision to cancel will be made by a board vote by 3:05pm (consisting of the league president, vice president, treasurer and secretary). Please let this process play out without injecting your team’s opinion on playing.

RULES OF PLAY
The league will conform to the USGA rules, with following GOTCHA exceptions.
1) All players may roll the ball over in his OWN fairway.
2) Player's over age 80 at the start of the season may roll the ball over in anywhere if farther than 50 yds from the green.
3) A player may be granted relief by an opponent due to the risk of injury or other unsafe condition i.e. roots.
4) A player may lift, rake area and replace ball at original spot in a sand trap.

DISPUTES
If a dispute occurs during play, the teams will note the hole and issue. Then bring it to the President immediately upon the completion of the match. The President may rule on the issue or refer the issue to the Rules Committee for research and a resolution to the issue. Any affected participant must recuse from that decision. (If it’s the President the VP will stand in, if it’s a committee member, the President may appoint a temp.)
The league is played from the WHITE tees for everyone under age 65 prior to the start of the season.
For those aged 65 and over at the start of the season have the ability to play from the GOLD tees, if they so choose. This choice must be made prior to the start of the season. Once this choice is made you can’t change until the following year.
For those age 80 and older prior to the start of the season, they have the choice to hit from the RED tees, if they desire. This choice must be made prior to the start of the season. Once this choice is made you can’t change until the following year. Anyone hitting from the red tees may roll the ball over anywhere farther than 50 yds from the green.

Teams and Scoring
Each Team is made up of 2 players, the highest point player is designated as the ‘A’ player and the teammate will be the ‘B’ player.
If both players points are the same. The team must declare who is the ‘A’ player prior to the start of the match.
Match Scoring system is Bogey = 1pt, Par = 2pts, Birdie = 4pts, Eagle = 8pts, Double Eagle = 16pts, HIO = 32 pts
Each match is worth 4 points:
1) The highest points over average (combined individual scores) will win the match. Winner of the overall match = 2 points.
2) A vs A winner = 1 point
3) B vs B winner = 1 point
Ties = ½ point to each player

DIVISIONS
• There will be 2 divisions for tracking standing placement. All match scoring and standings are to be administered by the league secretary. Any scoring disputes shall be made to the secretary and if a resolution cannot be agreed to, then the matter shall be brought to the attention of the league president, who will make the final determination of the dispute. The president may choose to consult with the vice president or other members of the league committee group, to make a final determination.

SPARES

If your partner is not able to play you should attempt to get a spare player to fill in by either making arrangements beforehand, or by signing up on the check in sheet at the cashier desk under the heading that you need a spare. Spare players shall sign in under the spares available heading. Members without a match are encouraged to spare and should follow the same procedure. The top player in each list shall play together. If you are in need of a spare, as just described, please do not start play until 3:30 to allow for a ‘whole’ match and to allow time for spare players to arrive and to be able to play in a match. If teams that are not whole (4 players), that start play prior to 3:30pm, defeats the concept of having spares, discourages spares from attending/playing and reduces our player pool to find new members in the future. So please observe this guideline. Spares without a set quota must request a temporary quota by the Secretary or President or another officer prior to play. Until this spare establishes a set quota (usually about 2 weeks) they shall not be credited for more than 2 pts over their temporary quota. If no spares are available up to 3:30pm, then the team can start playing. If the missing player is the ‘B’ player, then the ‘A’ player will play the opposing ‘A’ player and the ‘B’ player gets 1 point (forfeit). If the ‘A’ player is missing than the ‘A’ player gets the 1 forfeit point. The team missing a player will assume an additional (-2) towards the overall match.
SCORE CARDS
Score cards are to be filled out completely by each team including names, team number and points scored by each golfer. When completed teams should check with the team they played to make sure they have the same results, then turn in to the Secretary.
PLAYOFFS
- The end of season division winners earn a bye of the 1st round of playoffs and the next 6 teams in each division will compete in the 1st round of playoffs. All 14 teams qualifying for playoffs MUST commit to play the entirety of the playoffs and the Championship in order to be officially qualified for the playoffs. Teams must win their 1st round match in order to advance to the second round. - 1st round Matches seeding will be based upon final standing (2 v 7, 3 v 6, 4 v 5) - 2nd round Matches will also be based upon seeding with the Division winner playing the lowest remaining seed and so on. - The first 2 rounds will be 9 holes, week 1 starting on the front nine and week 2 off the back (unless conditions are deemed unfit by the officers) - The final round will be 18 holes, starting on the 1st tee - The team with the most points over their team point aggregate points will win the championship, i.e.: A=12 points, B=9 points, team total=21 points/nine or 42 points /18, actual score 45 points results in a +3 for the round. - In the case that a player cannot play in the playoffs due to illness, injury or other valid reasons, a substitute player may be used. No substitutes are allowed in the Championship round. The substitute may be a spare that has played at least 13 weeks throughout the year or a member of a team that did not make the playoffs. The stipulation is that the substitute player shall have the same point handicap as the missing player and the selection of this substitute will be made by a consensus of the league oversight committee. If an exact point match is not available, then the closest point handicap shall prevail.
FIELD DAY(Individual Championships)
Foursomes for the field day shall be separated by division or as close as possible. Divisions shall be determined by your set quota and the Secretary shall determine where division lines are drawn. The AA goes off 1st, A 2nd, B 3rd, C last. In case of a tie there shall be a 3 hole playoff to determine the winner.
Officers of the League
Officers shall be elected at the Field Day to fill the next year’s positions Officers of the Gotcha League are elected to serve a one-year term. The term begins after the last official league activity (usually the Banquet) of the year. They consist of the President (dues exempt), Vice President, Treasurer (dues exempt), and Secretary (dues exempt). There shall also be a rules committee established consisting of an odd number of members appointed by the president. This is a supplement to the officers of the league. The committee may assist the officers in rules disputes if called upon by the President. They can also act as council to propose improvements or enhancements to the league.
TIEBREAKERS:
REGULAR SEASON – NONE
FIELD DAY – first: 3 HOLE PLAYOFF (if more than 3 points difference in handicap prorate), IF NO WINNER – SUDDEN DEATH PLAYOFF ENTRY – • 2 TEAMS TIE: (H2H), DIVISION RECORD, WINNING PERCENTAGE VS ALL OTHER PLAYOFF TEAMS, COIN FLIP • 3 OR MORE TEAMS TIE: DIVISION RECORD, WINNING PERCENTAGE VS ALL OTHER PLAYOFF TEAMS, COIN FLIP 1ST & 2nd ROUND OF PLAYOFFS – first: 3 HOLE PLAYOFF WITH PRO RATED POINTS BELOW (POINTS QUOTA/3, rounded up or down to whole number), IF NO WINNER, CONTINUE CARRYING ALL POINTS AS A SUDDEN DEATH PLAYOFF (if unable to complete or no winner use the prorating table to prorate points)
CHAMPIONSHIP – 3 HOLE PLAYOFF WITH PRO RATED POINTS BELOW, if no winner REPEAT HOLES PLAYED 3 4 5 6 7 8 5 2 2 3 3 4 4 6 2 3 3 4 5 5 7 2 3 4 5 5 6 8 3 4 4 5 6 7 9 3 4 5 6 7 8 10 3 4 6 7 8 9 T 11 4 5 6 7 9 10 E 12 4 5 7 8 9 11 A 13 4 6 7 9 10 12 M 14 5 6 8 9 11 12 15 5 7 8 10 12 13 16 5 7 9 11 12 14 17 6 8 9 11 13 15 18 6 8 10 12 14 16 Q 19 6 8 11 13 15 17 U 20 7 9 11 13 16 18 O 21 7 9 12 14 16 19 T 22 7 10 12 15 17 20 A 23 8 10 13 15 18 20 24 8 11 13 16 19 21 F 25 8 11 14 17 19 22 O 26 9 12 14 17 20 23 R 27 9 12 15 18 21 24 28 9 12 16 19 22 25 9 29 10 13 16 19 23 26 30 10 13 17 20 23 27 CHANGES
Any changes to this document shall be proposed and passed by a majority at the pre-season meeting.
Teams and Scoring • Each Team is made up of 2 players, the highest point player is designated as the ‘A’ player and the teammate will be the ‘B’ player. • If both players points are the same. The team must declare who is the ‘A’ player prior to the start of the match. • Match Scoring system is Bogey = 1pt, Par = 2pts, Birdie = 4pts, Eagle = 8pts, Double Eagle = 16pts, HIO = 32 pts • Each match is worth 4 points: winner of the overall match (combined team scores) = 2 points