SOUTH WESTERN COUNTIES GOLF ASSOCIATION

(The South West Group of the English Golf Union Limited trading as England Golf)

GENERAL RULES & CONDITIONS FOR CHAMPIONSHIPS & TOURNAMENTS

1 All Championships and Tournaments shall be played in accordance with the Rules of Golf of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews together with such Local Rules as may be approved by the Executive/Championship Committee and the prevailing Unified Handicapping of the Council of National Golf Unions. 

2 All players must be of Amateur Status as defined by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.

3 The Executive Committee are empowered to delegate any of its powers to an elected Sub Committee (Championship Committee) for any of its Championships or Tournaments.

4 Entry Fees

a) Entrance Fees for all events shall be decided from time to time by the Executive Committee and shall be paid at the time of entry. The absence of contemporaneous payment shall invalidate the entry until made good.

b) No entry fee will be refunded unless intimation of scratching is received before the closing date for entries except from any entrant who may be balloted out and who does not subsequently compete.

5 a) All entries shall be subject to the approval of the Executive/Championship Committee which reserves the right to accept or refuse an entry without giving reason for its decision which shall be final.

b)  In stroke play events, which are subject to a playing handicap restriction, entries will not be accepted by the Secretary of the Association (“the Secretary”) until the first day which is 9 clear weeks prior to the date of the event.

c) In all Team Events in which players under 18 years, on the first date of the event, are entered, the Team Captain or other County Representative shall be required to be in possession during the entire event of copies of the Current Parental Consent Forms in relation to all such players. This also applies to Teams nominated by a Captain to participate in a Stroke Play Event.   

6 The Executive/Championship Committee reserve the right to fix and/or alter starting times. 

7 If in any Championship or Tournament it becomes impossible to complete the Championship or Tournament in accordance with the Conditions thereof because of adverse weather conditions or other circumstances which in the opinion of the Executive/Championship Committee make it impossible or impractical to do so, the Executive/Championship Committee shall be empowered to vary such Conditions to the extent necessary to achieve a result within the time available. 

8 In accordance with England Golf’s transportation policy Players or Caddies will not be permitted to ride on motorised buggy carts unless authorised by the Executive/Championship Committee in the case of a player or caddie claiming exemption under the provisions of the Equality Acts 2010 upon the production of a valid current Medical Certificate signed by a Registered Medical Practitioner but subject to any Health and Safety restrictions. Such medical certificates must be provided to the Honorary Secretary of the SWCGA by the closing date of any competition or event administered by the SWCGA in which they seek to enter or caddie. The Association shall not be responsible for providing any vehicle nor insurance cover for use by a player or caddie in the context of this exemption.

PENALTY for breach of condition: Disqualification

9  All disputes shall be settled as expeditiously as possible by the Executive/Championship Committee (3 to form a quorum) whose decision shall be final.

10 Any player who:

a) withdraws from an event after the Draw has been published, or

b) for whatever reason fails to appear on the tee at his appointed starting time, or

c) having qualified to continue, fails to do so must, within 5 clear days from the date of the incident, furnish a written explanation, to the Secretary for consideration by the Executive/Championship Committee. If the competitor fails to do so, he will immediately be de-barred from entering or taking part in any SWCGA event for such period as the Executive Committee may decide.

11 Any player who during the course of an event, including practice days, misbehaves by, for example throwing clubs or vandalising the golf course or acts in a manner which could bring the Association, its member Counties or himself into disrepute may be liable to disqualification (under Rule of Golf 33–7) and/or debarred from entering or taking part in any SWCGA event for such period as the Executive Committee may decide

12 Players in any SWCGA event shall always be required to adhere to the Dress Codes and/or Guidelines prevailing at any Club at which a SWCGA event is being played, unless notice is given of any particular relaxation of a normal requirement. Similarly, it shall be incumbent, in any Team Event, for a County Captain and/or Team Manager, as the role may be, to ensure that all members of his/their Team fully comply with such Dress Codes/Guidelines. The Dress Codes/Guidelines of each Club which hosts a SWCGA event shall be supplied by the Secretary prior to each event to each County.

13 For all Match play events:

a) On the competition day, players shall be prohibited from playing any holes on the competition course prior to their official starting time. Although such practice is allowed under the Rules of Golf, this condition is made out of courtesy to the greenkeeping staff preparing the course for the day’s play.

b) In accordance with the Note to Rule 8 of the Rules of Golf each team may appoint one person (in addition to the persons from whom advice may be asked for under the Rule) who may give advice to members of that team, but such person shall not go onto the putting green to give advice. Such person shall be identified to the Committee and the opposing Captain before giving advice. (see Note ii to Rule 16 below).

14 All matters relating to Discipline shall be dealt with by the Executive Committee in accordance with the Disciplinary Procedures laid down by the English Golf Union.

15 The Executive/Championship Committee reserve the right to make any alterations to the Conditions of any SWCGA event when it is considered expedient or necessary, in the interests of playing such an event or obtaining a result, for whatever reason.

16 Distance-Measuring Devices (Rule 14–3 and Appendix iv) In all SWCGA Competitions, a player may obtain distance information by using a device that measures distance only.  If, during a stipulated round, a player uses a distance-measuring device that is designed to gauge or measure other conditions that might affect his play (e.g. gradient, windspeed, temperature, etc), the player is in breach of Rule 14–3, for which the penalty is disqualification, regardless of whether any such additional function is actually used.

Note i: a. Trolleys with a distance-measuring capability:  May be used provided any other features, which are non-conforming, are disabled (e.g. ‘taped up’ or switched off).                                          b.    Multi-functional devices such as mobile phones with a distance- measuring application may not be used, unless the application is restricted to “distance only” and the device does not have any other “non-conforming” features or applications.**                                  PENALTY FOR BREACH OF 16 a or b: Disqualification

Note ii:    This Local Rule applies to team captains in both stroke play and match play championships. If a team captain uses a device in breach of this Local Rule, any distance information sought and received by a player from that team captain or given by that team captain and willingly received by a player, will result in the player’s disqualification.

** SWCGA’s advice on the use of mobile phones as a distance-measuring device:  Because of problems over whether a particular phone conforms to the Local Rule and, therefore, to protect players from the risk of disqualification, the SWCGA strongly recommends that mobile phones are not used as distance-measuring devices.                     

17 Any player who is found guilty of possessing, administrating or using any substance or method on the WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) Prohibited List, will be subjected to Disciplinary Procedures in line with the EG Anti Doping Policy. The full list of prohibited drugs is available from UK Sports (http://www.uksport.gov.uk/)

These General Rules and Conditions are to be read along with SWCGA “Hard Card” (Standard Local Rules, Conditions of Competitions, Regulations & Safety Advice” which will be issued to every player.

17/02/12