RawGolf

RawGolf is an alternative to the traditional game of golf, designed for speed of play (<30 minutes) and low cost (on max 10 acres of level land/water; with shared equipment). The standard RawGolf round comprises 50 strokes made up of 10 each of the 5 Basic skills of golf (ie. Drive, Blast, Pitch, Chip & Putt) to set targets and played in any order.
To provide the widest possible range of playing options, there are 4 variants of Rawgolf, as follows:

The Rawgolf scoring system is points based, awarded according to the simple principles:
- 1 point for a 'good' shot
- 2 points for an 'excellent' shot
- a bonus point for an 'exceptional' result (eg. hitting a target)
- a penalty point deduction for 'minor safety' violations
- disqualification for 'serious safety' violations
- 0 points for all other results
as defined for each RawGolf variant.
A unique 2 part handicap system (ie. Handicap = Division + Rating) permits competition on equal terms between all participants. Divisions range from Red for the big boys through Orange/Yellow/Green/Blue/Pink to Violet for young tigers; while Ratings provide a measure of the player's skill level against the 'scratch' standard of 75 points.

Definitions and Rules

The full set of RawGolf Rules and Definitions should be read before playing one's first round of RawGolf. The following Summary gives a flavour of the game.
RawGolf is played in a Park, which is partitioned into the ChipZone, PuttZone and Shoot - or multiples of each. The ChipZone and PuttZone May Be a shared or individual area(s) in which, obviously, all chips and putts are played - and are similar across all variants of RawGolf. Drives, blasts and pitches are all played to Targets set down the Shoot (usually 300 yards in length for Beach RawGolf) at distances from the Playpads appropriate to the players Division for each type of shot. A Playpad is an area, ideally >10 yd² and separated from other players and the public by barriers, from which shots are played. Other essential RawGolf terms are:
Alien - any object or person other than the player and his equipment
Council - the body responsible for managing the Park and activities conducted therein, especially safety & discipline
SafetyZone - areas on and around the Park where Aliens can observe, or GeneRally congregate, in relative safety
Spondulicks - a defined area of the Shoot which, when the player's ball ends there, requires him to play his chip from a more difficult lie and/or position.
Rules have been kept as simple as possible (<3 A4 pages) and cover the following essentials:
- Safety
- Player's responsibilities
- Council responsibilities
- Equipment
- Balls colliding
- Scoring
- Decisions and disputes.

Important Safety Information

Before taking part in any sport, it is wise to find out what the main dangers are. Golf is no different, having two basic 'high' risks:
1. swinging a golf club in the vicinity of others
2. striking a golf ball in the direction of others.
Although rare, serious injury and death have resulted from failure to avoid these risks. Please keep it that way, by:
1. NEVER swinging a club within 5 yards of the nearest bystander
2. NEVER hitting a ball when others are standing within 25 yards either side of your line of play.
Otherwise, you will likely be disciplined by the local RawGolf council OR, if playing casually, RawGolf could be prohibited or restricted at your favourite site. On many of these, you share the right of use with others and it is essential to respect their right to mutual use and enjoyment.

Playing Beach RawGolf

The above table is the Beach RawGofer's Bible for the shoot !
Although it may look complicated, it simply indicates to the player which targets he should aim his drive, blast and pitch shots at. Thus, for a player of the Green division, the appropriate targets are at approx 205 yards (for drives), 155 yards (for blasts) and 80 yards (for pitches). Usually, targets are also colour-coded by division - the highest colour for the drive, the middle colour(s) for the blast and the lowest colour(s) for the pitch. So, for the target at 100 yards, it serves as the target for the drive for the violet, the blast for the pink, and the pitch for the orange & yellow divisions.
The lines are your aid to scoring. Provided your shot is long enough, as indicated by the short limit (but not too long, as indicated by the long limit), then your stroke scores 1 point if your ball comes to rest within the outer laterals or 2 points within the inner laterals - with a bonus point, of course, for hitting the correct target. A free Beach RawGolf scorecard can be displayed and printed off from the RawGolf primary website.
The Beach RawGolf chip/puttzone(s) has the same design as for other variants (ie. natural or synthetic, but in the style of a traditional golf green and surrounds, usually with a sand bunker)

When starting your RawGolf career, DO try to join an establshed RawGolf Club - if only to make use of the communal equipment available and to spare you the time and effort of building a shoot and pitch/puttzone. In the company of experienced players, too, you are also likely to learn more quickly how to swing the clubs correctly.
. . . and, when next on holiday, try taking your clubs and a few targets down to a quiet beach. RawGolf on a real beach is terrific fun !

Playing Coarse RawGolf

This variant enables the traditional golfer to score his round according to RawGolf scoring principles, so that all of his golfing activities can count toward his Rawgolf handicap.

Many, but not all, shots on a traditional round will equate to RawGolf strokes. When they do, points are scored - 1 point for good shots (ie. those that produce a satisfactory result of the correct length) and 2 points for excellent shots (ie. those of superior quality that finish very close to where they were intended to) PLUS a bonus point for hitting a target.
Detailed guidelines on scoring a traditional round in this way are provided at the RawGolf primary website.

The RawGolf Foundation

The mission of the RawGolf Foundation is to take the game of golf to all corners of the planet.
As a not-for-profit organisation, the Foundation raises funds and runs projects to acquire redundant golf equipment (eg. clubs and balls) for deployment with other equipment and services under this mission.

External Links

• RawGolf, primary site of governing body