We are pleased to announce and extend an invitation for the 9th Annual Oilman’s Golf Tournament which will be hosted by the Rolling Hills Golf Club on November 17, 2023. There will be 2 shotgun starts: 7:00AM and 12:00PM.
This tournament has been organized to promote and bolster the business relationships between the many contracting entities who work with Saudi Aramco by bringing together individuals who enjoy the sport of golf. The Oilman’s Golf Tournament is an annual event which is hosted by Rolling Hills Golf Club in Dhahran, and the event will take place at Rolling Hills Golf Course located inside the Saudi Aramco Community in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
We would like to extend our appreciation for those that participated last year and look forward to having you participate again in this year’s event. It is our vision that the Oilman’s Golf Tournament will be a long lasting and prestigious event in which we will see returning teams as well as new teams in the years to come.
FORMAT
The format is a team “Texas” scramble, with each team comprised of four players. Consideration will be given to teams for the bolstering and nurturing of business relationships among the Aramco employees and those representatives from our Contracting entities. Each player must have an established golf handicap. The teams will be split into “flights” based on team handicap. There will be a minimum of 3 Flights.
HANDICAP ALLOWANCE
The team handicap allowance is calculated by taking 10% of the total team playing handicaps (i.e., if team players handicaps total 72, then the team handicap is 7.20). The maximum allowable player handicap will be 26 for men and 32 for women.
Decisions by the tournament organizing committee on handicaps will be made on or before November 15, 2023, and notices of any changes sent to the relevant team captain. Any disputes regarding the handicaps must be resolved before November 16, 2023.
GENERAL RULES
ENTRY FEES
The entry fees paid covers green fees, range balls, and all meals including the awards dinner which will be held at the Rolling Hills Golf Club for each player in the four-member team. The cost for additional awards dinner tickets (for guests or spouses) is SR 175
TEAM REGISTRATION
Team registration will commence on August 15, 2023, and the cutoff for registrations or changes to team participants will be November 10, 2023. You can sign-up your 4-person team for this event at the Oilman’s Event Registration Portal. The registration process will require the names, handicaps and the email addresses of each of the players on the Team.
Team spots are limited, so Contractor/Company representatives are urged to submit their registration early to avoid confusion or complications. Based on the demand in previous years, we anticipate that there will be many players wishing to participate. We will do our best to ensure that there are no teams without 4 players in order to allow maximum participation.
We ask that the registration form be completed in its entirety. Each team should indicate their preference on the team registration form for a morning or afternoon tee time. The morning and afternoon times will be filled based on first-come, first-served basis. We will endeavor to give everyone their preferred time, but The Tournament Committee reserves the right to shift the schedule, in order to balance the tournament.
Payment for teams MUST be received at the Rolling Hills Golf Club Pro Shop prior to Sunday, November 12, 2023. If you have not made payment or provisions for payment by that date, your team may be replaced with a team from the waiting list. Payment can be made in cash at the Rolling Hills Pro Shop or by wire transfer to Saudi Aramco. (Banking instructions will be provided on request.) Unfortunately, we cannot accept or process any credit card payments.
RULES
Men will play from the white tees, and ladies from the red tees. Hole assignments will be confirmed on the tournament day by the organizers.
The format is a Texas Scramble (Best Ball Scramble). All players tee off, and the best shot is selected. All players will then hit their next shot from that spot. The shot must be played from within one club length but no nearer to the hole. If the chosen ball comes to rest in the rough, then all team shots must be played from the rough as well. Players can place their ball under this rule in all areas of the course EXCEPT hazards. Shots in the sand hazard must be dropped from knee height and no greater than one club length from the original spot. This format is repeated until the balled is holed. Each team must use 3 drives from each player. The player’s drive used should be indicated by placing the player’s initials on the score card next to each hole the player’s tee shot was used.
In the event of an incomplete team on the day of the tournament, the organizers reserve the right to replace any “no-show” with a player of their choice. The Team Handicap will only be adjusted in the resultant Team Handicap is lower than the original. The Team will remain in the same flight regardless.
3 PLAYER TEAM RULES
If your team has only three players for some reason, the following rules will be followed:
- Each player will rotate in order being the 4th player on each hole. Every player including your “fourth” is still required to obtain at least 3 drives
- The designated 4th player for that hole plays as the 4th player for the entire hole. For instance, if Player 1 is the designated “4th” players for that hole, and the team selects Player 2’s drive, then Player 1, Player 2, Player 3 and Player 4 will hit the next shot where Player 4 is represented by Player 1 (i.e., Player 1 will hit twice.)
- The handicap for the missing player will calculated by taking the average of the three players, and the team handicap will be adjusted accordingly.
No player from the morning flight can play as a substitute for an afternoon team or vice versa.
MULLIGAN (FREE SHOT)
One Mulligan per player may be purchased for 50 SAR each (Corporate sponsored teams have their mulligans included in the entry fee). This entitles each player to play one additional shot anywhere during the round (i.e. drive, fairway, or putt). The mulligan shot must be indicated on the scorecard with an “M” and the player’s initials next to the hole it was used.
Teams taking extra mulligans will be disqualified. Mulligans MUST be taken immediately after the 1st shot. Once the cart moves forward, the mulligan is out of play. Driving BACK to the location of the previous shot will be played under the rules of golf (lost ball, out-of-bounds, etc.) and penalty assessed.
EVENT CHECK IN
Event registration for both tee times will be at Rolling Hills Golf Club - Club House. Registration/check-in times will be notified by organizers to teams prior to the tournament day. Please make sure to have your team arrive and sign in AT LEAST 60 minutes prior to scheduled start of round. There will be practice balls available on the range for warm-up.
NO HARD SPIKES & DRESS CODE
Rolling Hills Golf Club has a no “hard spikes” rule. Please note that we now have showers and lockers available for guests inside of our Club House. You will, however, need to bring your own towels. All shirts must have collars. No tee shirts, sleeveless shirts, or cutoff shorts are allowed. Players will not be allowed to wear jeans on the course.
SCORE CARDS
The lowest handicap golfer on each team is responsible to keep the score card, sign it, and turn it in to the Rolling Hills Golf Club Tournament Director immediately after play. Failure to turn in a scorecard within 30 minutes after completion of play will result in team disqualification.
PACE OF PLAY
We want everyone to enjoy themselves but also to maintain the pace of play. Remember to keep up with the team in front of you not simply ahead of the team behind you! The lowest handicap golfer on each team is responsible to keep up speed of play for the team; do not spend more than a minute looking for lost balls. Rolling Hills is expecting all groups to complete the round in 4 hours. This is challenging in a tournament, but teams must take no more than 4½ hours to complete play. If this playing time is not maintained by the morning group, it will be extremely difficult for the afternoon group to complete their round before dark. Rolling Hills Golf Club marshals will be on the course to monitor pace of play.
If your team falls behind the team in front of you by more than one full hole, the marshals will ask you to pick up the pace. If your team fails to comply with the marshal’s instructions and does not speed up play, the marshals (at their sole discretion) may penalize the slow-playing team by causing them to miss the next hole and record a score of 3 over par.
COURTESY AND PACE OF PLAY IS IMPORTANT!!!
NOTE: Teams taking longer than 4½ hours in the morning may be asked to leave the course after that time and take par as their score for any uncompleted holes. If there are a large number of teams unable to finish their round due to slow play, the organizers will either assign par to those teams for unfinished holes OR (at the organizers sole discretion) take the average score of other teams in their flight who did complete a hole & assign that score to the teams who did not complete the hole(s).
PRIZES
Trophies – Each player on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place teams in each flight will be awarded trophies at the awards dinner. The overall winning team will have their team name engraved and placed on the Oilman’s Golf Tournament Trophy which will be displayed and updated each year with the current year’s winning team.
Skill Prizes – We will have skill prizes on designated holes including closest to the pin, long drive and Chairperson’s Drive flag, along with a chipping skills contest near the clubhouse, but these are entirely dependent upon Sponsor donations.
HANDOUTS (SWAG)
In addition to the golf & dinner, each player will receive a “goody bag” with golf-related giveaway items.
FOOD & REFRESHMENTS
Breakfast and Lunch will be provided for all competitors. Refreshments will be available throughout the day at the clubhouse and designated stations on the course.
AWARDS DINNER
The tournament organizers will try to minimize the “talk time” to allow everyone time to enjoy their dinner. However, flight and individual (skills prize) winners will be recognized, our sponsors will be acknowledged, and prizes will be given.
The awards ceremony will be conducted at the dinner after the tournament on the evening of November 17. The dinner theme is casual, and the location will be announced at registration.
The cost of dinner is included in the tournament entry fee for each golfer. Additional dinner tickets for guests may be purchased in advance by contacting the Tournament Chairperson. The cost per guest is SR 175.
SPONSORSHIP
A big THANK YOU to all our Corporate Sponsors - without you, we could not host this event.
HOW TO GET TO THE COURSE
If you’re uncertain as to directions, ask at the time of team entry. Otherwise, you can try Google Maps or inquire with the Tournament Chairperson for a map to Rolling Hills Golf Club. A link to Google Maps is provided under the Event Location page.
COMMUNITY ACCESS
Visitor access to the Aramco Community must be arranged in advance by one of the Aramco playing partners for each team, so please coordinate with the respective Aramco players to assure that they gain the necessary information for our internal Visitor Management System request and approval process.
RHGC will sponsor the entry to the community for teams with no Aramco players. We will need the following information no later than November 15 in order to have sufficient time to process the visitor request for access to the golf course and the awards dinner:
- Full Name (as appears on Iqama/Passport)
- Date of Birth
- Mobile Number (must be a Saudi number)
- Nationality
- Iqama or Passport Number
- Vehicle Type
- Vehicle Color
- Vehicle Plate Number
COMMUNICATION
Points of Contact:
- Tournament Chairperson: RHGCvicepresident@gmail.com +966 53-126-9348
- Rolling Hills Golf Club Proshop +966 13-872-0692
The Oilman’s Golf Tournament continues to be an annual event that you will not want to miss. We look forward to your response and participation in the 2023 Oilman’s Golf Tournament hosted by the Rolling Hills Golf Club
Regards,
David Bedford
RHGC Oilman’s Golf Tournament Chairperson