Pace of play is very important at all Junior Tour of Northern California tournaments.
The same Pace of Play Policy that is used at NCGA tournaments is in effect for all JTNC tournaments. For every round, a pace of play is established by looking at the length of the course and the difficulties that might be encountered. In general the pace of play for a group of three will be about 4:30 while it will be around 4:50 for a group of four. This will vary, but it is felt that in general this is a sufficient amount of time for a group to play including time for difficulties and lost ball searches.
If we are using tee times for the round, your group will be expected to complete play of each nine holes with a given time. This time will be communicated to you at the first tee, be printed on the local rules sheet (look on the back of the hole location sheet) and be on your scorecard. The scorecard will show you the time you should complete each hole. We will put clocks on four tees, usually holes 5, 9, 14 and 18. You should compare your time to the time shown to make sure that you are doing OK.
As long as you stay within 14 minutes of the group in front of you or you are ahead of the time on your scorecard, you will never have a problem. Remember, the time on your card is MAXIMUM time to play, not the expected time. Try to get ahead of time if you can. This way, if you have a problem, you will have some time in reserve.
The best way to get ahead of time is to walk fast and be ready to play when it is your turn. Don’t wait until it is your turn to figure out your yardage, put on your golf glove or line up your putt. Try to do all those things while another player is playing as long as you are not disturbing him or her.
If someone in your group is slow, encourage them to speed up. Remember that you can ask to have your group monitored if you feel that there is a problem, but you are not the cause of it. Find any Rules Official on the course and ask them to monitor you.
If you happen to get a bad time, you will be told “You are liable for a penalty.” This is NOT a warning. It means that you will receive a penalty at the end of the round if you do not appeal or if your appeal is not granted. If you are told this after nine holes, getting caught back up after 18 holes is not sufficient to get your penalty for the front nine waived.
For complete information please see the NCGA Pace of Play Policy.