Start date is Thursday, May 7 th and every Thursday for 14 weeks through Thursday, August 13 th . Please note that the Committee has built in a rain date to the regular season. If the rain date is not used, the Committee will conduct a tournament on August 13 th with the format of the tournament to be determined at a future time.
The best 12 weeks will count towards standings.
18-hole League: Top 8 teams with the most points from each division will advance to playoffs for the Championship using an elimination bracket as shown below.
9-hole League: Top 8 teams with the most points from each division will advance to playoffs for the Championship using an elimination bracket as shown below.
During the Playoffs, the teams that don’t make the playoffs, and the teams eliminated during the playoffs will compete in a team net best ball event with prizes going to the top 4 teams each week.
Playoffs will begin on August 20 th and consist of 4 rounds. The Final Match for the Championship is scheduled for September 10 th . Rain date for finals is September 17 th if required.
There will be a Champion in the 18-hole League AND in the 9-hole League.
LEAGUE TEAMS & STRUCTURE
Each league team will be composed of two players.
18-hole League will be broken into two divisions by tee times from 12:00pm to 1:20pm and from 1:40pm to 3:00pm
9-hole League will be broken into two divisions with a shotgun start at 5:30pm
All prizes listed below will be paid to both the 18-hole League and the 9-hole League.
Scoring is 1 point per hole 2-man best ball.
1 point for a win and 1/2 point for a tie per hole
Bonus point will be awarded for each player that shows up to play OR finds a sub who shows up to play. No bonus points will be given in the Playoffs.
Handicaps used will be 80% of your Club (GAO) handicap.
League scores for 9 holes or 18 holes must be posted each week.
Tee blocks for 18-hole divisions will be either Green or White tee. Players must declare prior to season which tee they will play for the season. Only players that had a handicap index of 16.0 at the end of the 2025 season will be eligible to play White tees. Handicaps will be adjusted based on RCGA Handicap rules for players playing matches from different tees.
All players in 9-hole division will play from green tees.
League will alternate starting nines each week to allow 9-hole League to play front nine and back nine every other week.
Tee times and starting holes will be posted on website and bulletin boards in advance.
SUBSTITUTES & TIE BREAKERS
Any member of the Men’s Club can be used as a sub – no sub fee required.
2 subs can be used per team each week during the regular season. 1 sub can be used in weeks 1, 2 and 3 of playoffs. NO subs will be permitted during the Championship Match.
It is expected that teams will make every effort to obtain a substitute if one or both players are unable to make a week. The committee expects at least one person (player or substitute) to play each week. At the end of the year, the committee will review the teams that did not show up during the regular season and this team may be ineligible to participate in the 2027 Thursday League.
Ties for making playoff spots will be decided as follows: 1st will be head-to-head competition (if match was played), if still tied then the team with most points in common opponents, if still tied then team that has most participation points, lastly flip of coin.
During the first 3 rounds of the playoffs, a tied match will go to the higher seed.
Championship Match – Team Aggregate Shootout on the 9 th hole from a distance between 60 and 120 yards. The lowest team score wins. Repeat until we have a winner. The Committee will determine the distance prior to match starting.
LEAGUE COST & PRIZE STRUCTURE
All league players must belong to Men’s Club – annual fee is $65.00 for Men’s Club
Thursday Night League fee for the 2026 season is $135.00 per player.
League fee includes – league dues ~ draw prizes ~ closest to pin competition ~ contests ~ 50/50 draw ~ weekly team best ball prizes.
There will be an optional team net skins game each week for $10 per team.
Champions - $500/team
2nd Place - $300/team
Eliminated in 3rd Round - $100/team.
Eliminated in 2nd Round - $60/team.
Eliminated in 1st Round - $30/team.
Most points Regular Season - $200/team. Second most points Regular Season - $100/team
Net Best Ball payouts during playoffs each week, per team:
1st - $50
2nd - $40
3rd - $30
4th - $20
All players that participate in all 4 final weeks will be put into a random draw for a Dinner for 4 at Bridgewater ($400 value).
MISCELLANEOUS
The 2026 Thursday League Committee consists of the Men’s Club Committee, Head Professional, General Manager and Superintendent.
Any cancelations of the league due to inclement weather will be determined by the Committee.
18-hole League: In the case of a match being canceled due to inclement weather during play, the number of holes counted will be the least number of holes played during a match.
Example: You tee off at noon and get 15 holes in. The 3pm tee time only finishes 4 holes before play is suspended. Only the first 4 holes of all matches will count towards the standings.
9-hole League: In the case of a match being canceled due to inclement weather during play, a match will count for the standings only if all teams play at least 5 holes.
During wet or unfavorable playing conditions, the Committee reserves the right to adjust the golf course to a suitable distance for all players.
