Ice-fishing golf rules in brief

1. A player has the right to participate in a tournament if the player has paid the participation fee (white fee) and possesses a green card or snow card. The snow card is granted after a half-hour golf club and swinging course, which can be completed at the playing area before the start of the tournament.
2. The referee has the highest authority in the tournament. The referee acts as the starter, gives permission to hit and supervises the tournament together with the other officials.
3. Golf etiquette and the rules of golf are applied where relevant. The referee decides about the interpretation of the rules and local rules. No handicap system is used in ice-fishing golf.
4. There are no age or gender restrictions, and all players compete in the same category. However, the organiser of the tournament or the person who has ordered the tournament has the right to divide the players into different categories or groups based on the number of participants or for any other reason.
5. The golf balls must be brightly coloured, for example orange or red. Before the game commences, the players must mark their own balls to avoid confusion.
6. The hitting order is determined according to local rules, for example according to a lottery, age, gender or other factor. After the first “hole” the hitting order is determined according to the catch from the previous “hole”.
7. The first player tries to hit the ball to the best possible fishing location on the ice. Once all the players have hit their balls onto the ice, the referee blows his whistle to commence the ice fishing. The players run to their balls and drill a hole in the ice where their balls have come to a rest. The time allowed for fishing, or “putting”, is 10 to 15 minutes.
8. The competitors must remain quiet while fishing. The penalty for creating a distraction is the forfeit of the player’s catch or the disqualification of the player.
9. The use of live bait is forbidden.
10. The fishing or “putting” time ends when the referee blow his whistle, at which time the players must lift their lines immediately and return to the tee. Any fish that have been caught are left beside the hole in the ice, which is marked with a flag identifying the player.
11. The hitting order is determined according to the catch from the previous “hole”. The player who caught the most fish hits first. Players who have not caught any fish hit in the original order.
12. The advantage of hitting first is the possibility to protect your own “good” hole by being the first to return there. The hole can be claimed by hitting your ball within one club’s length from the hole in the ice. Similarly, the next player to hit has the same chance to claim the hole if the preceding player fails to hit his or her ball close enough to the hole in the ice. Alternatively, the local rule may be applied according to which the hole belongs to the person who hits their ball closest to it (the “petanque rule”).
13. The fish that have been previously caught in a claimed hole belong to the person who has claimed that hole until the game has reached its end. For example, a 6-hole tournament ends once all six holes in the ice have been fished.
14. The person who possesses the most fish at the end of the game is the winner. Altenatively, the local rule may be applied according to which some fish, such as trout, rainbow trout and char, are considered more valuable than other fish, such as pike, whitefish and perch, and the player with the most points is the winner. The referee must inform before the start of the tournament if this local rule is to be applied.
15. All the fish that have been caught belong to Kerimaa’s kitchen, unless the fish are included in the list of prizes.