General Club Rules

The rules laid out in this document, dated Sunday January 11th 2009, shall remain in force until further notice. Amendments or additions to these rules may be issued at a later date by the committee. It is the responsibility of the individual member to familiarise himself with the rules contained herein.

The rules displayed on the website are intended to be a copy of the club rules. Where there is any conflict between rules displayed on the website and the official rules maintained by the Secretary, the official rules take precedence.

Membership

• The maximum number of full-members of this society shall be 20. In addition to this number there may be a number of honorary members with limited rights.
• New members may be admitted to the society at the AGM only.
• A person may be recommended to the committee for acceptance as a full member or as a honorary member. All new members will be required to pay 4 meetings subscriptions in arrears. A waiting list shall be compiled by the secretary.

Honorary Members

• Honorary members may be forwarded to the committee for approval, after all due consideration their decision is final.
• Honorary members are not required to pay subscriptions and will be required to fund all events they participate in.
• Honorary members are automatically entered into all trophy competitions.
• If period in excess of 12 months passes and any honorary members have not participated in any society golf event, then their status as honorary member will cease.

Committee

• The committee shall consist of the following officers: Captain, Vice-Captain, Secretary, Treasurer, Handicap Secretary, Competition Secretary, Chairman and an Elected member. Additionally the retiring captain shall be co-opted to the committee.
• Once elected, the "Elected Member", may not stand for re-election the following year. However he may stand for election after one year has elapsed.
• With the exception of the Captain, the committee shall be elected from the membership at the A.G.M. which will be held at the end of the year or at a time deemed convenient by the committee. The Vice-Captain will automatically become Captain for the following year.
• The property and affairs of the club shall be managed by the above committee.
• The committee shall have the sole right to interpret these rules and to provide direction for situations not covered by these rules.

Meetings

• Subscriptions shall be £8.00 per fortnight. Honorary members shall be exempted from subscriptions, though a deposit for the away-day may be required.
• A member who misses 4 consecutive meetings or payments of subscriptions will be required to provide a reason to the committee. This reason must be provided either in person or by letter. If the stated reason is deemed unsatisfactory ,the member will be dismissed from the society.
• A member who leaves the society, for whatever reason, shall lose any subscriptions and any competition monies paid or accrued up to that date. This is subject to review by the committee.
• A quorum shall consist 50% of the present membership of the society. No general business may be conducted unless a quorum is present.
• Meetings will have a general structure controlled by the Chairman. A knowledgeable member will select an obscure or interesting rule and explain it.
• A system is in place to allow a member with a temporary disability to pay reduced subscriptions for a period of six months, thereafter it will be reviewed by the committee

Handicap System

• The handicap system is computerised. Overall management is by the Handicap Secretary.
• The maximum handicap is 28. Any member with an official handicap, will play Red Lion Society matches using the lowest handicap awarded. The players Red Lion handicap will be adjusted to the lower figure.
• The standard scratch used in handicap calculations will be the SSS as specified on the card. If a SSS is not specified then Par will be used.
• A buffer zone of 2 shots above standard scratch will be used.
• In a stableford competition, a no return will be counted as double-bogey plus the allowance for that hole [i.e. net double bogey].
• For each stroke below standard scratch a player will be deducted a fraction of one shot. The band in which the players handicap falls determines this fraction.
• If the player returns a score more than 2 shots above standard scratch he will receive 0.1 of a shot back, irrespective of the handicap band.
• The handicap of a player returning a score equalling standard scratch, or falling within the 2 shot buffer zone above standard scratch, shall not change.
• The handicap bands or zones are as follows;

• For stableford competitions, full handicap will be used.
• For medal competitions, full handicap will be used.
• A members handicap may be adjusted either up or down by more than the amounts stated above [RULE 19] as detailed below; The handicap secretary will periodically review handicaps and report to the committee. The committee will then decide on any suggested adjustments.

Society Competitions

• Only Red Lion Golf Society competitions may run on a society day.
• Golfer of the year.
  • The best valid cards from all qualifying matches will count towards the final score.
  • Qualifying games shall be made up from 2/3 of all games played during the year.
  • Points for each match will be awarded to each member, starting at 22 points for first place and down to 1 point for 22nd place.
  • If the winner is 3 shots or more clear of the second place player, the winner shall be awarded an extra point in the golfer of the year totals.
  • A draw for first place, after the best cards have been taken into account (constituting 2/3 of all qualifying games), will be decided by a play-off on a date specified by the committee. The format will be medal.
• Eclectic.
  • All valid cards from all qualifying matches will count towards the final score.
  • Handicaps are not taken into account for this competition. Since all cards will be counted regardless of the course played, the cumulative par of the members “best card” will be taken into consideration.
  • The winner shall be the player with cumulative par minus gross score.
  • A draw will be decided by a play-off on a date decided by the committee. The format will be medal.
• Captains Putter
  • This will decided by a single match at a place and time specified by the committee.
  • The format will be stableford.
• Red Lion Trophy.
  • This will be decided by a single match at a place decided by the committee.
  • The format will be stableford.
• Most Improved Golfer.
  • The recipient of this trophy will be determined by the committee.
• Best Stableford.
  • This trophy will be awarded to the member with the best stableford score achieved throughout the year (adjusted for standard scratch).
• Best Medal.
  • This trophy will be awarded to the member with the best medal score achieved throughout the year (adjusted for standard scratch).
• Longest Drive/ Nearest Pin.
  • These will be incorporated into all society matches including the away-day fixtures.
• Tied games are to be decided in the following manner:
  • Stableford will be resolved as before, ie back 9,6,3,
  • Medal will be decided with half the handicap to be taken off the back 9.
• Honorary members
  • Shall be eliglible to win any society trophies. Barring the longest drive and nearest pin competitions.
  • May play on any society day, provided that no full-member is thereby unable to play.
• Away-day competitions shall have the following format
  • Morning round, 18 holes - Stableford
  • Afternoon round, 18 holes – Medal
  • The overall winner is determined by subtracting the stableford score from the medal score. The lowest score is the winner.

Rules Applying To Society Matches

Unless otherwise stated in this document, all rules of golf are as laid down by the “Royal and Ancient” will apply.

Lost Ball

• If a ball is obviously lost, [e.g. out of bounds], another ball must be played from the place where the original ball was last played. This incurs the penalty of stroke and distance i.e. 2 shots
• If a ball is obviously in danger of being lost, (in dense trees/long rough/out of bounds) a provisional ball should be played. The player should state clearly that the ball being played is a provisional ball. If the first ball cannot be found then the provisional comes into play and a 2 stroke penalty is incurred.
• If a provisional ball has been played beyond where the original ball is eventually found, (i.e. the player strikes the ball from a position closer to the hole than the original) then the provisional ball is in play and the 2 stroke penalty applies.
• If a ball cannot be found and no provisional ball has been played, a new ball may be dropped in approximately the position of the lost ball. The previous shot counts and a 2 stroke penalty is incurred. This is a club rule designed to speed-up play. In any match outside the society, the ball must return to the place where the lost ball was struck and played again, incurring a 2 stroke penalty.
• If a ball is lost in a bunker then the player must drop another ball (in the bunker) and continue to play. This incurs a 1 stroke penalty.
• If the ball is lost in a water hazard [ marked with yellow stakes] the ball may be dropped behind the hazard, keeping the point of entry between the ball and the hole Alternatively, the player may drop a ball at the point the original ball was last struck and play again. Both options incur a 1 stroke penalty.
• If the ball is lost in a lateral water hazard [ marked by red stakes ] the ball may be dropped within 2 club lengths of the point where the ball entered the hazard. Alternatively the ball may be dropped on the opposite side of the hazard, at a point equidistant from the hole with the point of entry. Both options incur a 1 stroke penalty.
• Lost ball search time is to be determined by the team, with a maximum time of five minutes to be allowed.

Summary: A 2 stroke penalty is incurred at all times unless the ball is lost in a hazard.

Score Cards

• All cards must be signed and returned. If a card is not signed, it will be void.
• If a card is incorrectly totalled, then the Handicap Secretary will correctly total the card when calculating the final results. This shall no longer result in a void card. The correct total shall stand, whether higher or lower than the value on the day.
• In a medal competition, a no-return will void a card.
• A void card will not count towards any competitions, which includes longest drive, nearest pins and two’s. No handicap adjustment will be made with the card (subject to review by the committee).

Dress Code

• Generally smart dress. Shirts should have collars, trousers or tailored shorts must be worn. Golf shoes are mandatory. Jeans, tee-shirts and trainers are not acceptable in any circumstances. Certain clubs may specify their own dress code, these will apply in addition to our own codes. Members will be notified in advance of any additional restrictions.
• Members who, in the opinion of the committee, do not meet the requirements of the dress codes will not be allowed to play.

Captains Privilege

• During any society match the captain may choose to play first.
• The captain may choose his own team. This is intended as a privilege for the members so chosen rather than the captain. A member, once chosen, may not be re-chosen until all members have received the same offer.

Buggies

• Golf buggies can be used at any time by any member.
• Certain restrictions are in place as outlined below.
  • All players who want a buggy will be entered into a separate draw (unless only two people require one) with buggies only.
  • All buggy users will tee off after non buggy using players.

Inter-Society Matches

• This relates to the annual event with the Northgate Golf Society
• Where members in the Red Lion Golf Society exceed those within the N.G.S. Not all members can participate therefore it will be the responsibility of the committee to decide upon participating members.

Miscellaneous

• Members achieving a hole-in-one, provided that 2 other members are present, will have their name inscribed on a new trophy, purchased for this purpose. This achievement need not be at a society match provided that 2 other society members witness the event.
• A hole-in-one takes priority over the two's (e.g. a hole-in-one takes all the monies accumulated in the two's competition).
• Mobile phones must be switched off and not used on any golf course where the society is holding an event. Anybody contravening this rule shall result in a void card. Any points or monies shall be deemed lost. If a second occurrence takes place then all points / monies / trophies won will be deemed lost for the whole of that season. A third occurrence will result in the committee deciding upon dismissal of the member.
• The draw on the day of play will not be seeded.