Winston Trails Thursday League

Spark is a recreational golf league focused on having fun. Part of the fun is friendly competition. We aim to keep the competition fair and enjoyable for everyone, no matter their skill level.

2-person teams play a net best ball format. Each player plays their own ball into the hole. This is NOT a scramble. After each ball is holed, the team enters each player’s gross (actual) score into the Spark app which calculates the net score for each player based on current handicaps. The team score used for the hole is the better of the 2 net scores.

Net double bogey is the max score for each hole. If this is reached prior to the ball being holed, the player should pick up to increase pace of play.

The team with the lowest net score will win the round. Each team who plays in the round will receive points towards their team's season points total. The amount of points awarded per round is based on each team’s finish in that round with 1st place receiving the most points. The number of points each team receives is based on how many teams play in the round. The more teams that play, the more points each team will get. The team with the most cumulative points at the end of the season will be crowned league champs.

Skins will also be available each round. A skin is awarded to an individual who has the lowest non-tied, net score on a hole during a specific league round.

The number of Spark strokes a player receives is based on what the player selects for their typical 9-hole score. Spark then assigns a specific number of Spark strokes based on this table:

A “stroke” provides a player an advantage on a specific hole by reducing their actual or “gross” score to calculate their “net” score on that hole.

Example - If a player makes a gross 5 on a hole where they are receiving a stroke, their net score is 4.

Each player’s Spark strokes will be applied to their 9-hole round starting with the lowest handicap hole on the course’s scorecard.

Example - If a player is receiving 3 Spark stokes, they will get a stroke on the 3 lowest handicap holes of the nine.

The max number of Spark strokes for a round is 18. Players are awarded strokes on holes based on the lowest handicap holes. For example, a 12-stroke player receives 2 strokes on the 3 lowest handicap holes and 1 stroke on the remaining 6 holes.

The number of Spark strokes a player gets will be recalculated after each round. The number of strokes they receive fluctuates based on league scores. Spark calculates this by taking 65% of the average number of strokes over par for the player’s last 10 rounds.