2026 Winter Golf League: The Bunker Cup

We’re excited to kick off Year 3 of The Bunker Cup, our 9-hole individual winter golf league! League play will take place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, with two tee times each night: 5:30pm and 8:30pm.

This league is all about enjoying winter golf in a relaxed, social, slightly-chaotic atmosphere. Show up early, hang out late, talk trash, and—if you’re feeling bold—jump into some friendly side bets after the late round. 😉

League Schedule

  • Season Start: First week of January

  • Regular Season Ends: April

  • Playoffs: Top 4 players (and any ties) advance to the Championship Round

Location

Most of you know the setup, but if not—we play in my heated garage simulator. Plenty of TVs, plenty of space, plenty of beverages.
Address: 838 South 37th Street, Lincoln
Garage is out back. Doors will be open unless it’s snowy or brutally cold—in that case, use the side door on the left.

Parking is limited.  If there is room in the drive, I’ll text the group and let them know.  Otherwise, plan on parking on the street.

  • Drinking: encouraged, not required

  • Cigars: totally fine

  • Vibe: warm, comfy, chaotic, fun

Fees

  • $50 league entry fee (goes to prize pool)

  • $5 weekly simulator fee (balls, tees, electricity, wear-and-tear)

  • Optional $5 weekly skins buy-in

  • Optional singles for side bets—always a good time

What to Bring

  • Weekly fee

  • Clubs

  • Beverage of choice

  • Optional snacks

The fridge always has birdie/eagle shots, plus beer, plus a respectable whiskey stash. Treat it like a penny tray—if you drink some, bring some.

A good number of people leave their clubs here in the Sim room, you are more than welcome to if you would like.

Handicap System

Each player will have a 9-hole handicap, set at 0.9 × your average score.
Handicaps require 3 completed rounds, so official scoring does not begin until all players have played three rounds.

Scoring

Events use a FedEx-style points system based on NET score (low to high):

Point Scale

Place Points
1 100
2 75
3 60
4 50
5 45
6 40
7 35
8 30
9 25
10 20
11 15
12 10
13 7

Majors

There will be two Majors during the season (dates TBD).
Points are doubled for these events.

Maximum Strokes

Once you reach triple bogey, the system automatically concedes the hole.

Penalties

The simulator is the boss. Each course has quirks. Penalties are automatically applied based on the software—sometimes not exactly by real-world golf rules, but hey… we’re inside. Deal with it.

Jungle Golf Rule

If your ball is stuck in the digital woods or some other unplayable hellscape with no shot out, you may take a “Sim Drop.”

  • Adds 1 stroke

  • Drop is no closer to the hole
    We’ll teach you how to do it if/when you need it.

Make-Ups

If you can’t make your tee time:

  • Let Jon know ASAP so we aren’t waiting

  • Make-ups can be played after the late tee time on league nights

  • Or schedule a makeup directly with Jon

If you know in advance you’ll miss a week, you can even pre-play your round.

Additional tee times may open depending on league size.

League Play Format

League nights run Monday/Wednesday/Thursday.
Please arrive ready to tee off at your time.

Default gameplay mode: Play Out the Hole

  • Player 1 tees off and finishes the entire hole

  • Then Player 2 plays their whole hole, and so on

  • Last to tee off on a hole = first to tee off on the next hole

Playoffs

Top 4 players after the regular season will compete in an 18-hole championship.
Last year we played it on Masters Sunday and it was incredible—we’ll likely do the same.

Tee Boxes

We’ll use three tee options this year:

  • Tips

  • Up 1

  • Up 2

You may choose your tee box at the start of the season, and you’ll stay on those tees all year. Play where you’re comfortable.

Skins Game (Optional)

Weekly $5 net skins game.

  • Only players who bought in are eligible
  • If no skins are won, the pot rolls to the next week