Handicap and Competition Rules and Guidance

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Introduction

This document sets out the general arrangements and rules for the running of Men’s, Seniors Ladies and Junior competitions at Greenway Hall Golf Club (GHGC). It covers all competitions under the auspices of the Handicap and Competitions Committee (HCC). All competitions played at GHGC are open to all members.

Responsibilities

The HCC is responsible for the arrangement and running of Men’s, Ladies, Senior Men’s and Junior competitions. Any dispute regarding the running of a competition shall be referred to the HCC whose decision shall be final. Individual Members are responsible for familiarising themselves with competition arrangements and rules and for acting in accordance with them.

Eligibility

All single stroke play competitions (Medals, Stableford, and Bogey) will be run as qualifying competitions for handicap purposes unless the playing conditions for such competitions cannot be provided. In such instances the competition will be deemed as a non-qualifying competition and as such will be declared prior to the start of the competition. All Foursomes, Greensomes, Better ball, Bowmaker (AM AM), Scramble and all Match play competitions are Non-Qualifying Competitions.

All single stroke play competitions (Medals, Stableford and Bogey) are open to entry to all members without any age restriction. For Senior competitions the age restriction is 55 years of age or over. Only members with an official WHS Index of 54 or less can enter a competition. Members who do not have an official WHS Index can still enter a competition (to help either gain an official WHS Index) but are not eligible to win a prize (except for “two’s”).

Entrants into any Major Qualifier (MQ) single stroke play competition must have a WHS Index of 24 or less (Men) and 40 (Ladies), should anyone wish to enter off an higher handicap they must play off the maximum WHS Index , as above. In addition, members must have played in at least 5 qualifying competitions at GHGC or in competitions at another course (these away scores must be on your England Golf record and are at the discretion of the HCC) in the 12 months preceding the date of the competition itself.

Juniors may enter all competitions providing they hold a WHS Index of 30 or less. However junior members with an official handicap of 12 or more must play in a group which includes an adult competitor and/or at least 1 other junior with an official handicap of 11 or less. Juniors are not allowed to win a monetary prize and will be provided with a symbolic prize.

All Knock Out competitions are open to entry to all members without any age restriction. For senior competitions the age restriction is 55 years of age or over. Members with a WHS Index of 54 or less can enter a knock-out competition. In addition, members must have played in at least 5 qualifying competitions at GHGC or in competitions at another course (these away scores must be on your England Golf record and are at the discretion of the HCC) in the 12 months preceding the date of the competition itself.

Format Allowances

Tee booking

It is the responsibility of the player to ensure they have a tee booking before turning up to play. This can be completed online using BRS or by contacting the professional by phone or email. When booking a tee, it is imperative that you contact the professional if you no longer require the allocated tee time. Failure to do so will result in a warning and any subsequent breaches will result in your access to booking facility (online, email or phone) being suspended for a minimum of seven days.

At no time does GHGC permit a tee to be used by more than four players in the same group.

Competition Entry

For all competitions players must enter their chosen competition in the “competition booking section” on Club V1 in the professional’s shop or by declaring their intention to the professional or staff member on duty in the Professional Shop, who will then create the booking. Any player withdrawing before the competition must remove their entry on Club V1 and inform their playing partners to let them know.

Before commencing play in any competition, the relevant entry fee must be paid using Club V1 or by depositing the required amount into their account with the professional. If the entry fee is not paid before play commences the competition entry will be excluded from the results but will be included for handicap purposes. The entry fee for Major Qualifier competitions is £4.00 and £3.00 for weekend and midweek medal or stableford play. The entry fee for seniors’ competitions is £3.00.

Entry fees for knockout competitions will vary depending on the competition and the details will be available on the club website, Club V1 or in the professional’s shop.

Playing Arrangements including Starting Times, Playing Groups & Local Rules

All competitions are governed by the Rules of Golf as published by the R&A and USGA, including those on etiquette, and by any permanent or temporary local rules.

FOR A COPY OF THE PERMANENT LOCAL RULES SEE APPENDIX 3

Playing arrangements are governed by the tee time on the Club V1. Play is to commence from the fist tee unless otherwise advised. In some instances, such as Shotgun starts, tees will be allocated to all competitors. The first and eighteenth tee are allocated to the club officials (Captain and President). It is the Club Captain’s privilege to reserve a tee time in advance of the BRS booking system going live.

Five-day members may play in weekend competitions on payment of the appropriate green fee.

In knockout competitions all matches are to be played from the white tees. Entry to these competitions shall be made directly with the Professional Shop and your details added to the competition on Club V1. After the closing date for entries, Club V1 will complete an automated draw. All players are responsible for agreeing the date, time and completion of their respective match by the end date for the appropriate round. It is your responsibility to inform the Professional Shop of the result.

Scorecards and the Returning of Scorecards

When starting a round of golf, either the competition organiser will already have filled in, or you will fill in the top section of a scorecard with the following details: -

• Name of competition
• Date
• Start time
• Player’s name (in player A box)

Upon completion of play the completed scorecard must be entered onto Club V1 and placed in the card box in the professional’s shop.

Marking of players’ scorecards in any competition can only be done by a fellow member (who doesn’t necessarily have to be playing in the competition). A Junior may mark another Junior’s scorecard providing the other Junior is a Division 1 (Categories 1&2) player. A member can only mark 1 scorecard in any competition.

Should you sign for a gross score on a hole lower than that actually taken you will be disqualified. Should you sign for a higher score on a hole than that taken, the higher score stands, but you will not be disqualified.

The scorecard must be signed by you and your marker (or markers if another person has had to take over) and returned as soon as possible on completion of the round.

Once it has been returned, no alterations can then be made to the scorecard.

After the round you then swap cards with one of your playing partners and they will “sign” your card and you will “sign” their scorecard. It is advisable to also keep a record of your own score – use the “Marker’s Score” column.

If the card is not signed by the player OR marker you will be disqualified under Rule 6-6b.

Any results entered on Club V1 without scorecards placed in the box will be disqualified but may still count for handicap purposes.

FOR AN EXAMPLE OF A CORRECTLY COMPLETED SCORECARD SEE APPENDIX 1

Please note that where a player is not able to score on a particular hole, they should place NR in that hole’s score box. The player should then continue to complete the score card and record their scores for all remaining holes.

On completion of a match in all knock out competitions the winner(s) must notify the professional with the result of the tie at the earliest opportunity (usually within 24hrs depending on the time of the tie). Failure to do so will result in all players being disqualified. Any extenuating circumstances should be referred to the HCC as soon as possible. The Professional Shop will enter this result into Club V1.

The card is then placed in the returned card box. Before and after using the Club V1 terminal you must sanitise using the facilities provided.

Abandonment of Competitions

If a competition is abandoned due to weather conditions the result will stand if 90% or more of all entrants have completed their rounds, otherwise the competition will be cancelled, and all entry fees refunded.

Should the result of a competition stand and there are any entrants who were unable to complete the competition due to weather conditions making the course unplayable then their individual entry will be cancelled, and fees refunded. The Professionals decision to deem the course unplayable is final. Any player that leaves the course, by their own volition, will forfeit their right to a fee refund under this section.

Decision of Ties

In the event of a tie in an 18-hole qualifying competition places will be decided on count back under the guidelines of the R&A, USGA and CONGU.

If the tying players have the same score the winner will be determined based on their score for the last nine holes, last six holes, last three holes and finally the 18th hole. If there is still a tie, then the last six holes, three holes and final hole of the first nine holes will be considered in turn. If this process does not result in a winner, the Committee will consider the competition a tie.

In a 36-hole event the tied competitors will play over a 3-hole loop (1st, 2nd and 18th), if still tied the 18th will be played until a winner is established.

In all knock out (match play) competitions if a match is all square after 18 holes then players will play off hole by hole until one side wins a hole. The play off should start on the hole where the match began (1st tee). In a handicap match, the handicap strokes will commence again as in the stipulated round.

Notification of Competition Results

As soon as possible after the competition, the HCC and Pro Shop will determine and publicise the result. This is usually done by email and HowDidIDo to all competitors.

Competition Prizes

A minimum of 10 or more players must play in a single stroke play competition for prizes to be paid. If less than 10 players enter a competition it will be cancelled, and all of the players entrance fees will be refunded, and the cards will be recorded as supplementary scores.

Weekend competitions will pay out prize money in 2 Divisions. Division 1 will be for players with a handicap of 12 or less, Division 2 will be for players with a handicap above 12. Prize money will be paid out in each Division depending on the number of entries in each Division. If numbers are low the HCC reserves the right to roll divisions into one. A player can only win 1 prize.

All competitions will pay out prizes at the discretion of the HCC, some money is held back to pay for competition running costs, insurances, league fees and presentations.

The number of places paid out will depend on the number of players and will be at the discretion of the HCC.

Knock out competitions will pay out as follows:

Pearson’s Trophy

The Pearson Pairs is a doubles competition and is £4 per player to enter. The runners up receive a £25 voucher per player and the winners receive a £50 voucher per player.

Tucker Trophy

The Tucker Trophy is a singles competition and is £4 per player to enter with the final played over 36 holes. The winner receives a £50 voucher and the runner-up a £25 voucher.

Wright Birkett

The Wright Birkett is a knockout competition for which you have to qualify by being placed in the top16 of the qualifier and is £4 to enter. £10 is allocated to the winner of the qualifying round. The overall competition winner receives a £50 voucher and the runner-up a £25 voucher.

Breaches of Competition Rules

Failure by a member to follow any of the GHGC competition rules, especially regular occurrence of carding no returns, non-entering of the competition and of completed scorecards into the Club V1 will be subject to discipline which may result in the temporary suspension of eligibility to take part in future club competitions.

Pace of Play

Over the past few years there have been changes made to R&A Rules regarding Etiquette on the Golf Course. The 2019 changes have involved some significant changes with the intent on reducing slow play on the course. Some of these are already having a positive impact on the speed of play, including

• Play Ready Golf
• Putting with the Flagstick in
• Time allowed searching for a lost ball is 3 minutes

However, as we will all be aware, from time to time, we still find ourselves in a situation where groups lose their position on the course. This may be due to any number of factors from a single individual in the group being slow or from time taken to find balls that are proving difficult to find.

How long should a round take – there is no simple answer to this as it depends on factors such as: -

• Size of group - a 1/2/3 ball will play quicker than a 4 ball etc
• Ability in the groups – higher handicappers will generally take longer than lower handicappers
• Weather conditions. Wind / Rain can slow down the pace of play

Experience around GHGC suggests that a 4 Ball should complete their round in about 3 hours 50 minutes, but 3 balls may only take 3 hours 30 minutes and 1 or 2 balls quicker still. It is inevitable in these situations that the smaller size groups will have to wait at times on the course.

How can we therefore either avoid slow play, or if we find ourselves in a situation where we are slow how can we mitigate the impact on other groups following behind us?

Ready Golf

Ready Golf has been incorporated into the R&A Rules book and can take many forms including

• Hitting a shot when safe to do so if a player farther away faces a challenging shot and is taking time to assess their options
• Shorter hitters playing first from the tee or fairway if longer hitters have to wait
• Hitting a tee shot if the person with the honour is delayed in being ready to play
• Hitting a shot before helping someone to look for a lost ball
• Hitting a shot if a person who has just played from a greenside bunker is still farthest from the hole but is delayed due to raking the bunker
• When a player’s ball has gone over the back of a green, any player closer to the hole but chipping from the front of the green should play while the other player is having to walk to their ball and assess their shot
• Leave your bag or trolley where you intend to leave the green rather than where you get on to it. You may need to mark your ball to allow others to play whilst you do this.
• Study your next shot while others are preparing for theirs, both on and off the green
• Consider putting out a short putt even if it means standing close to someone else’s line
• If you can’t score, quit putting and pick up
• Marking scores upon immediate arrival at the next tee, except that the first player to tee off marks their card immediately after teeing off

Provisional Ball

If a player considers there may be a chance that their ball is either lost or out of bounds, play a provisional ball at all times. This is especially true following the change that allows only 3 minutes of searching time. Playing the provisional ball reduces the time it would take to walk back to the tee, play another ball and then walk on to catch up your playing partners.

Allow the group behind to play through

Be aware of your position on the course and how you are potentially impacting on other groups following you.

The basic advice in this regard is that if a group keeps up with the group in front, you will rarely be accused of slow play. Players should always be looking forward to ensure that they are maintaining a good position in relation to the group in front, for example, making sure that they do not have an empty par 4 hole in between them. If ground has been lost on the group in front, then all of the players in the group should take responsibility for making up that ground as quickly as possible. It is inevitable that there will be holes that take longer to play than would normally be the case, either due to bad play or some other delay, but the key is for the all the players in that group to ensure that the group gets back into position promptly

If a group cannot keep its position on the course for whatever reason, and is delaying the group behind, then it should invite the group behind to play through so that group can play at the pace it is capable of. Inviting a group behind to play through means that it will take longer for the group doing the calling through to complete the round.

This is due to having to wait for the “playing through” group to get out of range before continuing play. However, while the round time may be slightly increased, it is likely that the “inviting group” will enjoy its game more without being constantly pressurised by the group behind, and the group that has been allowed to play through will have had their enjoyment enhanced.

It is possible to mitigate this to an extent by playing the remainder of the hole being “played through” at the same time as the group being played through, then to let the group played through to putt out first and progress to the next tee whilst you putt out. This will also minimise the impact on any other groups following behind if you have waited on the fairway to play to the green.

NOTE – there is evidence that some groups have not been letting single players through as they believe they “have no standing on the course”. This situation was eliminated from the Rules of Golf several years ago and single golfers have the same rights on the course as any other size group.

Dress code

GHGC has a strict dress code which all Society members, visitors and club members are requested to comply with. You will see below the acceptable dress standards for GHGC - please take note and abide by these rules to avoid any difficulties.

• Football and rugby shirts, tracksuits, denim jeans, shell suits, hot pants and leggings are not permitted on the course at any time
• Collarless and sleeveless shirts or vests, other than those designed specifically for golf are not allowed.
• Tailored shorts are acceptable but must be accompanied with appropriate socks
• Men's calf length combat trousers, football or cargo style shorts are not permitted.
• Men's shirts shall not be worn outside trousers or shorts.
• Baseball caps or hats of any description must not be worn the wrong way around.
• Ladies fashion wear designed for golf are permissible both on the golf course and in the clubhouse.
• Changing of clothes in the car park is strictly forbidden.

APPENDIX

1: Example of a correctly completed scorecard

2: Local Rules

1. A ball is out of bounds when it lies:

1. Beyond all fences, hedges, walls and streams which form the perimeter of the Golf Course.
2. Beyond ALL white posts designated on the Golf Course.
3. On the 2^nd hole a ball lying to the left of the white posts is deemed as Out of Bounds. On the 17^th hole a ball lying to the right of the white posts is deemed as Out of Bounds.
4. Beyond the white posts at the back of the 16^th green, and the white posts that run to the righthand side of the 16^th green towards and across the 2^nd fairway to the extended white post.
5. Beyond the wooden sleepers behind and to the left of the 16^th green indicated by the white steel supports.
6. The Out of Bounds behind the 18^th green is now defined by the line of lights (white cones at the base).
7. When playing the 18^th hole, the clubhouse and patio area are Out of Bounds, clearly defined by the white posts and the line of fixed white discs. See definitions and Rule 18.

2. Relief without Penalty From:

1. All marks made by tractor tyres.
2. All trees clearly marked with a stake.
3. All recent drainage ditches on the course (less than 12 months old).
4. All man-made tracks and paths used by tractors or machinery.
5. All contractor’s workings on the course are deemed to be GUR.
6. The Garden Area on holes 14/15, above the pond. Relief MUST be taken when landing here whilst playing these holes to the designated Relief Area/Drop Zone.
7. The Mesh Netting behind the 11^th green. You MUST use the designated Relief Area/Drop Zone.
8. Relief MUST be taken under Rule 16 when a ball comes to rest on any Winter Green.

3. Any ball landing on any wrong green, players should obtain relief under Rule 13.1f. with exception to the 15^th green, relief MUST be taken to the designated Relief Area/Drop Zone when playing either the 4^th or 14^th holes.
4. Loose Impediments. Please proceed under Rule 15.
5. Irrigation Covers. Relief to be taken under Rule 16.

GREENKEEPERS HAVE PRIORITY AT ALL TIMES. PLEASE WAIT FOR THE GREENKEEPER TO WAVE YOU ON BEFORE YOU MAKE A STROKE AT YOUR BALL

GENERAL INFORMATION

1.The yardage markers located in the fairways are to the centre of each green

(white is 200yds, yellow is 150yds and red is 100yds).

2. Players are reminded to be aware when playing holes 1, 2, 4, 10, 11, 14, 16, 17 & 18

For fellow golfers.

Golfers, please respect the Golf Course by repairing pitch marks, divots & by raking bunkers at all times.