Golf League Rain-Out Policy (With Sample Wording)
Updated
A rain-out policy should say who makes the call, by what time, and whether the round is made up, skipped or extended. A simple default: the round is off when the course closes, and the commissioner announces it by early afternoon.
Everything below is copy-and-paste: three sample policies, a game-day timeline, a worked example for a round stopped after 6 of 9 holes, and a dues scenario with real numbers. All golfers and teams in the examples are made up.
What a rain-out policy has to answer
Every rain-out argument comes back to six questions. If your rules answer them in writing, you will not have a debate in the parking lot.
- Who decides? One named person, plus a backup.
- When? A clock time, not "when it looks bad."
- Cancel or suspend? Calling it before the first tee is a different decision from stopping a group mid-round.
- How many holes make a round? The number after which scores count.
- What happens to the week? Make it up, skip it or extend the season.
- What happens to the money? Refund, credit or nothing.
The rest of this guide gives you a default for each. Put the final wording in your league rules and send them before week one. If you are still building the season, how to make a golf league schedule shows where make-up weeks fit.
Golf league rain out rules: when to cancel and when to stop play
There are two separate moments. Before the first tee time, the question is whether to play at all. Once groups are on the course, the question is when to stop.
Before the start. A league can tie cancellation to the course. As of October 2026, the City of Burnsville's adult leagues page says the golf course is responsible for canceling league play one hour before the first tee time in the event of inclement weather (Burnsville Adult Leagues). That is a clean rule if your course runs your league: no commissioner judgment, just the course's call.
Lightning. For lightning, the National Weather Service message is "When thunder roars, go indoors," and lightning can strike from storms up to 10 miles away (NWS lightning safety). Its sports guidance says to stop if you see lightning, hear thunder or the skies look threatening, and to wait at least 30 minutes after the last thunder before resuming (NWS lightning safety for sports). It also says small outdoor buildings such as rain shelters and sheds are not safe, while substantial buildings with wiring and plumbing provide the greatest protection (same page). A golf cart or the little shelter on the 6th tee is not a plan.
Who has the authority. Under Rule 5.7 of the Rules of Golf, the Committee can suspend play. When it declares an immediate suspension, a player must not make another stroke until the Committee resumes play. A player can also stop on their own if they reasonably believe there is danger from lightning, and must report to the Committee as soon as possible. Players who restart must resume at the time the Committee designates.
For your league, "the Committee" means whoever your rules say it is. Name the person.
Game-day decision timeline (sample for a 5:00 pm start)
Times are a sample. Slide them to your tee time. The point is that each step has an owner and a clock time.
| Time | Who | What |
|---|---|---|
| 8:00 am | Commissioner | Looks at the forecast for the evening |
| 12:00 pm | Commissioner | Calls the pro shop and asks about course conditions and cart status |
| 2:00 pm | Commissioner (backup: assistant) | Makes the call: play, delay or cancel |
| 2:15 pm | Commissioner | Sends the notice to every golfer |
| 4:00 pm | Course staff or commissioner | On-site check; may cancel if the course has closed |
| After first tee | Course staff or commissioner | Stops play for lightning and signals the horn or siren |
| 30 minutes after last thunder | Commissioner | Restarts, or calls the round |
If you use Gimme, the League night forecast tile on the This week tab shows the high, wind and chance of rain for league night, from Open-Meteo, for the next 16 days (rain-out help). It is a forecast, not a decision, so keep the clock-time rule.
Sample wording for three league types
Copy, then change the bracketed parts.
Sample wording: weekly men's night (commissioner-run)
Rain-outs. The commissioner decides by [2:00 pm] on league day whether play is on and notifies every golfer by [text and email] by [2:15 pm]. If the course closes or carts are restricted, the week is canceled. If lightning is seen or thunder is heard once play has started, play is stopped and resumes no earlier than 30 minutes after the last thunder. A round counts if every group has completed [5] holes; otherwise the week is canceled. Canceled weeks are not made up unless the commissioner adds a make-up week at the end of the season. Dues are not refunded for rained-out weeks.
Sample wording: couples league
Rain-outs. The league coordinator makes the call by [1:00 pm] on league day, because couples need time to arrange sitters and dinner. A rained-out week is replayed the following week and all later weeks move back one week, so each couple plays every other couple once. If a night is stopped after [6] of 9 holes, hole points are awarded for completed holes only. The season is extended by up to [2] weeks; after that, remaining rain-outs are canceled. Social dinner payments are not refunded.
Sample wording: course-run league
Rain-outs. The golf course decides whether league play is canceled, no later than [one hour] before the first tee time. If the course cancels before play starts, the league night is [credited as a rain check for the league fee portion of that night]. Rounds are made up only if the schedule has a make-up date. No refunds are given once the league has teed off. Questions go to the pro shop, not to captains.
Whatever you choose, apply it to everyone and put the version date at the top.
Decision table: skip, make up or extend the season
| If your league... | Then use... | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Plays round robin and every team must meet every other team once | Make up (push to the next week) | Skipping breaks the "play everyone once" balance |
| Has a fixed season end because of the course calendar | Skip (cancel), or add a make-up in a spare week | The course will not give you extra dates |
| Has playoffs or a banquet date locked in | Make up before the playoffs, or cancel and shrink the season | Dates after the banquet are hard to fill |
| Has a lot of byes and few weeks | Replay the week next week | A skipped week can leave a team with a different number of matches |
| Pays points by hole and total points decide the winner | Make up if you can; otherwise cancel for everyone | Different numbers of rounds make standings unfair |
Real-world policies run in both directions. The Burnsville leagues page says league play will not be extended beyond the regular season for rain-outs, and that passes are issued instead (Burnsville Adult Leagues). The other approach is to move the round to the following week, which pushes everything out one week and keeps the matches in order. Both are legitimate. Pick one and say it.
In Gimme, the rain-out action offers these same three choices: replay next week and shift the rest back, add a make-up week at the end (before any position rounds, with later weeks keeping their dates), or cancel the week with nothing else moving (rain-outs help, schedules). You can only rain out a week that has not started, and if the new last week lands after your season end date, Gimme warns you.
Worked example: round stopped after 6 of 9 holes
This is the argument that costs commissioners the most sleep. The sample league: 9-hole match play, two-person teams, 1 point per hole won, half a point for a halved hole, and 1 bonus point to the winner of the match, so a full night is worth 10 points. Rule in the sample policy: a round counts once 5 holes are complete. On Tuesday, Team 4 plays Team 7 and lightning stops play after 6 holes.
| Hole | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Team 4 | Team 7 | Team 4 | Halved | Team 4 | Team 7 |
Match points
- Team 4: 3 holes won + 0.5 for the halve = 3.5
- Team 7: 2 holes won + 0.5 for the halve = 2.5
- Team 4 leads after 6, so it takes the bonus point: 3.5 + 1 = 4.5
- Total awarded: 4.5 + 2.5 = 7.0 of a possible 10, because holes 7 to 9 were never played
No points are awarded for unplayed holes. For how points systems work, see golf league points system and match play points.
League handicap. Dave of Team 4 gets 6 strokes on the front nine in the sample. His gross scores through 6 holes were 5, 4, 5, 6, 5 and 4 for 29, against a par of 23 for those six holes (4, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3), so he is 29 - 23 = 6 over par. His strokes land on holes 1, 3, 4 and 5 in the first six holes, so net 29 - 4 = 25 and net 2 over par. A 6-hole card is not a 9-hole score, so the simple default for the sample league is: a stopped round counts for match points but does not feed anyone's league handicap. For how the league builds the number, see 9-hole league handicaps.
Official handicap. That is a separate question and it belongs to each golfer and their club. Under the Rules of Handicapping, Rule 3.2, fading light or weather preventing the continuation of play is a valid reason for not playing all holes, and the round must still cover at least the minimum number of holes for an acceptable score. If the Handicap Committee accepts the reason, it creates the score differential using the golfer's expected score for the holes not played. Golf Canada explains that since 2024 an expected score is used for holes not played, rather than net par, and that scores for 10 to 17 holes now produce an 18-hole differential (Golf Canada). Check your association for the 9-hole minimum before you tell anyone to post a stopped round.
Gimme's partial-round rule. If a round is stopped mid-play, only submitted cards count. Choose Lock week to make the submitted scorecards final, then Post results. Cards still in progress do not count (rain-outs help). So if your policy counts a 6-hole round, get the cards submitted before anyone leaves.
Do you refund dues after a rain-out?
Many leagues do not refund dues for rain-outs and make up the week instead. Whether you can refund depends on what the course gives you.
Course practice varies. Golf.com reports that some courses give a pro-rated rain check or refund based on the holes played, while at many others you are committed once you tee off; it adds that third-party booking services often refund only when conditions are dangerous or the course has closed (Golf.com). Burnsville's leagues issue passes for canceled rounds and note that there are no make-up rounds (Burnsville Adult Leagues).
Scenario: dues and green fees with numbers
Sample league: 16 golfers, 10 weeks. Dues are $200 per golfer: $14 a week in green fees (10 x $14 = $140) plus $60 for prizes and a banquet (140 + 60 = $200). Total collected: 16 x $200 = $3,200. Week 7 is rained out before anyone tees off.
| Option | What happens | Cost to the league |
|---|---|---|
| Make-up week, no refund | Week 7 is replayed at the end | $0 extra, if the course honors the booking |
| Course credit | Course gives 16 x $14 = $224 in credits toward the make-up round | $0 extra |
| Refund the week | Each golfer gets $14 back, 16 x $14 = $224 | $224 out of the pot |
| Nothing, no make-up | League keeps $224 of green fees that bought no golf | Trouble at the banquet |
If the round is stopped after 6 of 9 holes and the course offers a pro-rated rain check on the unplayed 3 holes, the value is $14 x 3/9 = about $4.67 per golfer, or about $74.67 for all 16. A course that offers nothing once you tee off means the league has paid for that night. This is why the sample wording says "no refunds once play has started."
The simple default for a commissioner: do not refund, add a make-up week, and write that in the rules. If you do refund, take it from the line it came from, which here is the $140 in green fees, not the $60 prize and banquet budget. For how to set and collect dues in the first place, see how to collect golf league dues.
How to write and enforce your rain-out policy
- Pick one decision maker and a backup, and give both a clock time.
- Choose your weather trigger: course closed, lightning, or carts off.
- State the number of holes that make a round count.
- Choose skip, make up or extend, using the decision table above.
- Say what happens to handicaps and to the money.
- Put the wording in your rules and send them before week one.
- On the day, use one channel for the call, and send it once.
Gimme can run the whole thing from the commissioner's phone. It announces a rain-out by email, push and in-app notice, plus text for golfers who have opted in (texting is a League Pro and Course feature), and rain-out notices go out even during quiet hours (rain-outs help). A canceled week posts nothing, so standings and handicaps do not move. Everything in this guide works with a group text and a spreadsheet too. For the bigger picture, see how to run a golf league, or try the schedule generator to plan a spare week.