Last updated [date] · Operated by [entity name], an Illinois limited liability company.
Agreement to these terms
By entering the Ace Nation contest at a participating course, you agree to these terms and to the posted rules at that course. If you do not agree, do not enter. The hole plays normally whether or not you enter.
These terms vary by state
Ace Nation operates under the laws of each state where a participating course is located. Prize contest law is not uniform across the United States. Entry fees, prize caps, age minimums, registration or bonding requirements, and the treatment of skill contests all differ from one state to the next.
Where a supplement for a specific state is posted at the course or on this page, that supplement controls over anything inconsistent in this document. Where a provision of these terms is not permitted in your state, that provision does not apply to you and the rest of these terms still stand.
Ace Nation does not operate in states where this contest cannot lawfully be offered. [Attorney to identify which states those are before expansion.]
Who can enter
You must be at least 18 years old, or the minimum age required in the state where the course is located if that age is higher. You must be physically present at the course and playing the designated hole.
Employees, owners, and contractors of Ace Nation and of the host course, and members of their immediate households, may play the hole but are not eligible for cash prizes.
This is a contest of skill
Whether you win is determined entirely by the golf shot you hit. There is no draw, no random selection, and no element of chance in how a winner is decided. Ace Nation is not a lottery, a raffle, or a wager, and is not offered as one.
Free entry, no purchase necessary
You do not have to pay to take part. A free method of entry is available at every participating course and is described on the tee signage and on the entry screen. Free entries earn points rather than cash prizes.
[This clause carries more legal weight than any other on this page. Have counsel draft the operative language — including whether free entrants must be eligible for the same prizes as paid entrants in each state where you operate.]
Entering
- Scan the code at the tee of the designated hole and select an entry tier.
- One entry covers one shot, played from the designated tee.
- Your entry applies to the next shot you play from that tee after entering.
- You may enter as many times as you play the hole. Each play requires a separate entry.
- Entries are non-transferable and are not refundable once the shot has been played, except as described below.
What counts as a winning shot
- Within the flagstick. Lay the flagstick flat on the green with its base at the edge of the cup. If your ball is at rest inside that length, it counts.
- Within two feet. Measured from the edge of the cup to the nearest edge of your ball, with the ball at rest.
- Hole-in-one. Your tee shot comes to rest in the cup.
- The ball must come to rest before it is measured. Mark it, lay the pin down beside it, and signal the camera.
- The shot must be your own, played from the designated tee, during posted contest hours.
Verification
Every claim is checked against the recorded footage of your shot. Ace Nation's review of that footage decides the outcome, and that decision is final. We are not able to honor a claim we cannot see on camera.
If the footage covering your entry is missing or unusable for any reason on our end, we refund that entry. We will not ask you to prove a shot our equipment failed to record.
Claiming and getting paid
Submit your claim before you leave the course on the day you played, by scanning the code on the camera housing. Claims submitted after that may not be honored.
Verified prizes are paid electronically within [X] business days. To receive payment you will need to provide the information we need to send it and, for prizes at or above the applicable reporting threshold, the tax information required by law.
Taxes
Prize money may be taxable income to you. You are responsible for your own taxes. Ace Nation will issue tax forms where required and may withhold where required. Nothing here is tax advice — ask your own preparer.
Being recorded
The designated hole is under continuous recording during contest hours, and signage at the tee says so. By playing the hole you accept that you may be recorded.
If you win, we may publish the clip of your shot on our website and social channels and identify you by name. Tell us at the time of your claim if you would rather we didn't, and we won't. [Attorney to confirm recording, consent, and signage requirements in each operating state — these differ meaningfully.]
Your privacy
We collect what we need to run the contest and pay you: your contact information, your entry and claim history, and footage of the designated hole. We do not sell your information. Footage is retained for [retention period] and then deleted, except for clips connected to a paid claim.
[Pair this with a standalone privacy policy. If you ever operate in California or collect data from residents there, additional disclosures apply.]
Playing safely and following course rules
You play at your own risk. The host course's rules, pace of play, and staff instructions govern while you are on the property. Ace Nation is not responsible for injury, property damage, or anything else arising from your play of the hole, to the extent the law allows us to say so.
When we suspend or cancel
We may suspend or end the contest at a course for weather, darkness, equipment failure, maintenance, course closure, or any reason that makes fair verification impossible. Entries bought but not played when a suspension begins are refunded.
Cheating and disqualification
Moving or placing a ball by hand, obstructing or tampering with the camera, playing from other than the designated tee, entering on someone else's behalf, or submitting a claim you know to be false voids the entry, forfeits any prize, and may get you permanently banned. We may also report it to the course.
Limits on our liability
[Attorney to draft. This clause protects the business and needs to be written by a lawyer, not adapted from a template.]
Changes to these terms
We may update these terms. The version posted here and at the course when you enter is the one that applies to that entry.
Governing law and disputes
These terms are governed by Illinois law, except where the law of the state in which you played requires otherwise. [Attorney to advise on venue, and on whether to include an arbitration or class-waiver clause — some states treat these differently.]
Reaching us
[email address] · [mailing address] · [entity name]
