League Rules

1. LEAGUE MISSION STATEMENT

1. The primary aim of the league is to foster friendship & camaraderie within the healthy confines of competitive golf.
2. To uphold fair play at all times.
3. To recognise that modern players face the challenge of incorporating golf into increasingly hectic lives. Therefore matches are played at times to suit the many, rather than the few and that catering demands are not based on late afternoons and evenings. Breakfast catering prior to matches is especially encouraged as this aids earlier conclusions to matches.
4. The Rules of Golf apply at all times

2. TERMINOLOGY

1. club refers to those golf clubs who are affiliated members of the league.
2. team refers to the body of male players fielded by a competing club.
3. match refers to the overall competition of 5 ties being played between the two teams.
4. pair refers to the players competing each tie. Please note that this can be one player if the team is unable to field two players in a tie.
5. tie refers to each individual 18 holes played between two pairs.
6. player refers to a single golfer.
7. Official date is the date agreed for a match by both teams at the start of the season.

3. TEAMS

1. Teams are made of 10 male players per club.
2. Format 4BBB – Point per Hole Match play.
3. Maximum ‘playing’ handicap for players 24.
4. Players must be a minimum of 18 years old as of the day of the match.  2022 AGM agreed that juniors (under 18 years) may be considered in exceptional circumstances where a club cannot raise a full men’s team.  This must be agreed in advance by two team Captains beforehand, and it is encouraged this should not be a regular occurrence.
5. Handicap allowance to be playing handicap off appropriate tee of home club, then 90% difference from lowest of playing handicaps. [Updated May 2024] Jan 2023: Teams visiting Woldingham will use the playing handicap from their home club – not calculated using Woldingham’s slope.
6. Regardless of playing handicap on the day (which is limited to a maximum of 24 as per rules) no player shall receive more than 18 shots
   against an opponent.
7. All players must have an ‘active’ handicap.
8. Team order and pairings must be decided by the team captain prior to the 1^st tee off and should be entered onto the official league team sheet and exchanged with opposing captain before the first tee-off.
9. Players can only play for one one club per season. In the event of a player being a member of more than one affiliated club then they must nominate a home club team for that season and will only be eligible to play for that club during that season.

4. MATCHES & SCORING

1. Scoring is based upon Points per Hole Match play. Whereby 1 Point is played for on each hole. The winning pair of the hole is awarded 1 point, the losing pair 0 points. In the event of a halved hole both pairs are awarded half a point.
2. All ties must be played to a conclusion to ensure all 18 points are played for. The result of the tie must therefore add up to 18. i.e. 9-9; 10-8; 11-7 etc…
3. The team score for the entire match is the sum of points per hole gained across the 5 ties. Therefore a total of 90 points are available and the sum of the two teams scores must add up to 90. Example results are therefore: 65-25; 47-43 etc….
4. In the event of any tie being abandoned due to poor weather or any other cause beyond the control (not including retirement – see 4.5) of any of the pairs then any remaining holes not completed will be halved.
5. In the event that a pair has to retire from the tie and is unable to complete the tie then they concede the remainder of the holes not completed and all points for these holes are awarded to the opposing pair.
6. If any team is unable to field a pair for a tie then they concede the tie at a default score of 7 – 11. (Remember that a pair can be a single player!)
7. If a match is cancelled with less than one months notice then the team causing the cancellation concedes that match at a score of 35 – 55 in favour of their opposition.
8. If a match needs to be re-scheduled with more than one months notice then teams are allowed to try and re-schedule the match. However if for ANY reason the match cannot be re-scheduled and played by the last day of the season then the match will be deemed to be cancelled and rule 4.7 will apply.
9. In the event that a match is cancelled prior to the start due to weather conditions then the match should be re-arranged for another date. In the unlikely event that it is not possible to re-arrange then the result will be halved at 45 – 45.
10. The visiting/away team tees off first on the first tee in all ties.
11. In the event that an overall losing team wins more individual matches than the winning team using the points scoring system above, the losing team will receive a bonus 5points. [January, 2020]

5. MATCH DAY FORMATS & FEES

1. All matches are to be played at weekends.
2. The last tee time of a match to be no later than midday.
3. Where possible breakfast should be arranged for 10.00am and 1^st tee time to be 11.00am.
4. Catering is to be provided by the home team. This is to be cooked English breakfast. Due to time constraints for many modern golfers, formal sit down dinners are not encouraged. Tea/coffee on arrival would also be expected to be supplied by home clubs.
5. From 2018, all clubs pay an entry league fee of £700 (previously £625).
   • Match/Catering fees. The setting of match fees is the responsibility of each club. Each club is responsible for collecting their own fees (which they retain) from their players at each match whether home or away.
   • Home match fees are put towards towards the cost of breakfasts, away match fees collected to by the away Captains to be passed back to their own club. These ‘away’ fees, together with the fee charged for the 15 players on finals day should effectively ‘pay back’ each club’s £700 league entry fee drawn from their Committee’s funds.
   • Recovering the finals day fees from their members is the responsibility of each club. if a club is not able to field a team of 15 players no refund will be provided from the host club.
6. League fees include website costs to carry scores & fixtures, trophies and subsidising an end of season ‘league day’.
7. No green fee is to be levied on visiting players representing their team on away matches.
8. Each side should enter their team onto a Match Day Sheet and exchange prior to the first tee-off. The HOME side is responsible for filling out their MATCH SHEET  in full, with both teams entered and the scores entered accurately. At the end of the match the scores should be added up to get an overall score for each team. The captains of both sides should sign this form. Signing this sheet indicates acceptance of the score. Old match sheet available here
9. In the event that the match score is subsequently found to be incorrect or does not add up to 90 then no amendments can be made to the signed scores. However if the total adds up to more than 90 then each teams score will be reduced by half the extra amount (i.e. if both scores add up to 93, then 1.5 points will be taken off each sides total).
10. The HOME side is responsible for emailing/sharing the result to the league Chairman by midnight of the following Wednesday. There are currently two WhatsApp groups setup – a Results group and a Captains group (for Captains and their Vice Captains)
11. The HOME side must retain a copy of their Match Day Sheets until the end of the season and the final league table has been confirmed and approved.