HOW TO PLAY.

Naval Academy Golf Course

HOW TO PLAY.

Be the first team to make a gross birdie or better on all 18 holes of Naval Academy Golf Course.

Players per team
4
Holes to birdie
18
Minimum per player
1

Draft rulebook Some details are still to be confirmed.

What’s pending

The objective

  • Team progress carries across declared rounds throughout the season.
  • Teammates may play on different days and in different groups.
  • Each hole counts once per team.
  • Every player must contribute at least one unique hole.
  • All round, contribution, witness, and reporting requirements must be met to win.

Teams & contributions

A contribution is credit for completing a previously uncompleted hole for your team.

PlayerMinimum contributionsMaximum contributions
Captain16
Each other player17
  • Contribution limits apply across the entire season.
  • A player may contribute more than one hole in a round.
  • A birdie on an already-completed hole does not count toward a player's minimum.
  • A team cannot win with a player at zero contributions or with any player above their maximum.
Teams and captains
  • Each team has four players: one captain and three other players.
  • Captains are selected based on handicap, game experience, and team leadership.
  • Teams are selected by snake draft. The picking order reverses each round of the draft.
  • Trades are allowed until the roster lock.
  • No substitutes are allowed. A team with an inactive player plays short-handed.
  • The captain decides which birdies the team will claim.

Before you tee off

  • Declare your round in the official group chat before teeing off.
  • A teammate may post the declaration on your behalf. The declaration must identify you.
  • Each player may declare up to six rounds per calendar month.
  • Each player may declare no more than one round per day.
  • The monthly allowance resets on the first of each month.
  • A declared round uses an allowance even if no birdies are claimed.
  • Birdies from an undeclared round do not count.

On the course

  • Play at Naval Academy Golf Course.
  • Start on hole 1, 5, or 10 and play the course in order.
  • Play with a partner who can witness your birdies.
  • Use White standard tees. Players 58 and older may use the designated forward tees; the forward tee name remains to be confirmed. The Gold reference scorecard does not establish that designation.
  • Use gross scores. Handicap strokes do not count.
  • Play the ball as it lies unless a local rule permits relief.
  • Putt everything out. No gimmes.
  • One breakfast ball—a replay of your opening tee shot—is allowed on your starting tee only.
  • Lift, clean, and place is allowed when in effect.
  • Standard USGA rules otherwise apply, subject to these house rules.
  • A nine-hole round does not count.
  • Voluntarily stopping before completing 18 holes voids every birdie from that round, including birdies already reported.
  • Making the team's final needed birdie does not let you stop early.
  • Exception: if the Golf Shop suspends play, birdies already made still count if you stop.

Claims & witnesses

  • A gross birdie or better qualifies. Eagles and albatrosses count as one hole each.
  • The captain decides whether to claim the birdie for the team.
  • Post the claim in the official group chat by the end of the day it was made.
  • The golfer, a playing partner, or the captain may post the claim.
  • Identify the golfer, the hole, and the witness.
  • Once accepted, the claim completes that hole for the team.
  • Additional birdies on a completed hole give no extra team credit.
  • Reporting a birdie does not waive the requirement to finish the round.

Witnesses

Every claimed birdie must have an eligible witness.

Team completionRequired witness
First 12 holesA playing partner, including a club member or guest
Final 6 holesAnother player enrolled in the Birdie Game
  • The final six are the six holes the team still needs, regardless of their hole numbers.
  • Completion order follows the order claims are accepted, regardless of playing date. Grouped claims are accepted one at a time.
  • Club membership alone does not satisfy the final-six requirement. The witness must be enrolled in the game.
  • You cannot witness your own birdie.

Winning & prizes

The first team to complete all 18 holes and satisfy every rule wins.

  • Every player must meet the contribution minimum.
  • No player may exceed their contribution maximum.
  • Every credited birdie must satisfy the round, witness, and reporting rules.
  • The winning birdie must be recorded on video and posted to the official group chat.
  • The winning birdie can occur on any numbered hole.
  • The golfer must finish the full 18-hole round, unless the Golf Shop suspension exception applies.
  • The commissioner confirms the final result.
Entry fees and prizes
  • Every player pays the season's entry fee into the main pot.
  • Players may pay an additional entry fee to join the optional side pot.
  • The winning team receives the main pot.
  • The side pot is split equally among side-pot participants on the winning team.
  • If no player on the winning team entered the side pot, each side-pot contributor receives their additional entry fee back.
  • The commissioner collects entry fees and distributes prizes.

The official record

  • The official group chat is the record of declarations and claims.
  • A declaration or claim that is not posted in that chat does not count.
  • An administrator maintains the standings from the official record.
  • The commissioner rules on disputes and corrections.
  • The commissioner may call a captains' vote on a disputed interpretation. Majority rules; the commissioner breaks ties.

Season & open decisions

Draft · Season settings and remaining rule decisions are listed at the end.

Season settings

Field
Player count, captains, and number of teams
Draft
Draft date, picking order, and roster-lock deadline
Season
Start date and any end date
Entry
Main-pot and optional side-pot entry amounts; payment deadline
Administration
Commissioner and official group chat

Rules to finalize

  • Forward tees: confirm the tee name for players 58 and older. This is a fixed game rule maintained with the rulebook and scorecard in source.
  • Finish: which timestamp determines a close result, how ties are broken, and what happens if nobody completes all 18 by any season deadline.
  • Winning video: required footage and posting deadline.
  • Claims: whether accepted credits can be reassigned or replaced, whether a captain can hold a claim for later, and deadlines for captain selection and witness confirmation.
  • Final-six witnesses: whether a teammate may witness, and whether the witness must declare a round.
  • Declarations: required details, permitted amendments, local time boundaries, and treatment of late reports.
  • Interrupted rounds: allowance refunds for cancellations, resuming suspended rounds, and treatment of injury or emergency withdrawals.
  • Playing conditions: tournament-round eligibility, whether a breakfast ball must replace the original ball, and the date used to determine age-based tee eligibility.
  • Inactive players: treatment of a team whose inactive player has no contribution.
  • Prizes: individual shares of the main pot, the side-pot election deadline, withdrawals, nonpayment, and refunds.

See where the teams stand.

View the leaderboard