MILFORD GOLF CLUB - RULES OF COMPETITION

    ENTRIES

Members wishing to participate in any competition must enter their names in Intelligent Golf (IG).

Competitions are only open to members who have an active handicap index.

The closing date for entry to any competition will be shown in IG. Late entries may be accepted (subject to the eligibility rules) at the discretion of the competition organiser.

Members may withdraw from a competition in IG providing withdrawals have been enabled but, once the IG start sheet has been communicated, they can only cancel by either:-
(i) Contacting the Competition Organiser prior to the day of the competition. IG messaging or personal contact is the preferred means of doing this.

(ii) Phoning the club and leaving a message on the day of the competition prior to the commencement. This should be a last resort.
 
 
Failure to give the required notice or to turn up and participate will cause the member, subject to the discretion of the committee, to have the following consequences:-
Men’s Weekend and Weekday events: £5 donation to the Captain’s charity;

    TIMES OF STARTING

2.1     When the IG start sheet for Men’s competitions shows blocks of tee times (zones), the committee will
           endeavour to comply with the expressed choice of the member. However, the
           committee reserves the right to decide on the order of play and the groupings.
2.2      Unless specified elsewhere the order of play will be drawn.
2.3      Where the start sheet does not show tee times, the order of play will be made by lot.
           The committee will decide whether the draw should be random or by handicap
           division.
2.4     When the start sheet/order of play is published, no alterations will be allowed without
           the approval of the committee or competition organiser.
2.5     Unless clearly indicated on the start sheet, all competitions will commence at the first
           hole.

2.6     Each competition entrant must have sufficient funds in their account or have paid the competition fee prior to teeing off. After the end of the round, the card must be signed by both the marker and the player. Failure to comply will result in            disqualification.
2.7    Competitors will start at the tee time laid down by the Committee.

2.8    Players must be at the tee at least 5 minutes before their tee time. Failure to observe
          this will result in a two stroke penalty or, in match play, loss of first hole.
2.9    On the day of the competition, the starter/organiser may adjust individual starting
          times to account for no shows and similar matters.
2.10   It is unacceptable to leave your playing partners before completion of a round except
           for illness or injury. In the event of illness or injury, for handicap purposes, competition scores for completed holes must still be entered into IG and an NS recorded for all holes that were not started. Failure to do so will result in a Disqualification being recorded for the competition.
2.11   Buggies may be allowed in competitions for members who have prior written dispensation, unless the competition rules state
           otherwise. Ladies may use a buggy without the need for a doctor’s certificate for all
            internal competitions at Milford (for external competitions, the organiser will advise
            accordingly). Buggies may not be used in the Endurance competition. Buggies may
            be used for the mixed knock-out competitions.

   ELIGIBILITY             

3.1     Full members are eligible to enter all the club competitions provided they have an active
           handicap index.
3.2     Five-day members are eligible to enter all weekday competitions, including Bank Holiday competitions, and may enter weekend competitions on payment of a green fee, provided they have an active handicap index.
3.3     Junior members who have a recognised handicap may play in any competition provided they play off the designated tee of the day and adhere to the eligibility rules of the competitions (which include a maximum handicap of 54 for all players).
3.4      In order to qualify for entry into the Men’s Honours Board competitions , entrants must have an active handicap index and have submitted six medal or stableford rounds in the 12 months prior to the competition.
3.5     In order to qualify for entry into the Senior Men’s Competitions listed below, entrants must have reached the age of 55 (unless otherwise stated) and have an active handicap index:-
            Seniors’ Club Championship (Wright Quaiche)
            Super Seniors’ Club Trophy (Aged 70 and over)
            George Wright Trophy (Aged 75 and over)
            Seniors’ Singles matchplay (Skibbereen Eagle + Rossa Plate)
            Seniors’ Winter Pairs matchplay (Chilvers Cup)
            Seniors’ Pairs matchplay (Aged 70 and over) (Celtic Cup)
            Captain’s Trophy (Spring meeting)
            Seniors’ Autumn Memorial Trophy
            The full and detailed rules are held in the Seniors Reference Manual at the Club.

3.6        In order to qualify for entry into the Ladies’ Competitions listed below, entrants must have played and returned a scorecard in a minimum of four qualifying,  rounds, one of which must be a medal, in the twelve months immediately preceding the closure date of the competition, over the measured course at Milford.
             Ladies Club Championship (Foster Trophy)
             Silver Goblet
             Palmer Cup 
             Endurance Trophy
             The Millennium Cup
             The Rose Bowl and Plate              
             The Dooley/Noble Trophy
              Qualification for entry into the following Ladies’ competitions requires entrants to have played and returned a scorecard in competitions in the twelve months immediately preceding the date of the competition as follows:-
              Grandmothers (Tom Adam) Trophy – lady members must be a grandmother or a  step-grandmother on the date of the competition.
              Berry Bronze – open to all players outside Division 1, no pre-qualifying medal/stableford requirements, but must have an active handicap.
  3.7     There will not be a minimum qualification requirement for the junior club championship.

  3.8      Overseas members may apply to the committee for a decision on their eligibility to enter medal and stableford competitions.

  3.9      Mixed Competitions – In order to qualify for the Mixed competitions listed below each entrant, Gentleman or Lady, must be a member of Milford Golf Club and have played in and returned a scorecard in a minimum of four qualifying competitions, of which one must be medal round, in the twelve months immediately preceding the closure date of the competition sign-up sheet, over the measured course at Milford.
               Philps Figures (Mixed)
               The Prior Trophy (Mixed)
               The Sullivan Cup (Mixed)

4.            NUMBER OF ROUNDS TO BE PLAYED
4.1          Other than the club championship(s) and the Ladies’ Endurance Trophy, all stroke play competitions will be played over one round. The club championship(s) will be played over two rounds on consecutive days.
               The Ladies’ Endurance Trophy will be over 36 holes played on one day.

4.2          All match play competitions will be decided over one round, including, for knockout competitions, extra holes. This also covers the round robin stage of Philp Figures.

4.3          These matches will be played off the course of the day unless specified otherwise in the competition rules.

4.4           The onus is on both players to arrange a mutually agreeable date to play. Matches must be played by the date specified for each round. Extensions will only be given at the discretion of the competition organiser. Holidays are not exceptional circumstances.

4.5          The Mixed Greensomes competitions will be played off the men’s card.

5.             TEEING GROUND

5.1           All club competitions will be played from the white tees for men and red tees for ladies unless the committee decides otherwise, in which case the teeing ground will be clearly displayed on the entry sheet. Men who are aged 75 or over, have the choice of playing from a blue tee on the 18th hole, under a two stroke penalty.

6.             HANDICAPS
6.1           In medal and stableford competitions the competitor should ensure that his/her handicap is correctly recorded on his/her scorecard before it is returned duly signed.
6.2           Members whose home club is not Milford must submit their result to their home club for handicap adjustments. Failure to comply could lead to the suspension of the player’s handicap.

6.3            Men’s Monthly medal and stableford competitions (except for the Spring and Summer Scratch Medal competitions and the mid-week and seniors medal and stableford competitions) will have two divisions as follows:-
                                                             Division 1 : Handicap     0 - 15
                                                             Division 2 : Handicap   16 – 54

The handicap thresholds will be periodically reviewed and adjusted as necessary by the Men’s committee.                  In the event of low entrant numbers, and at the discretion of the Men’s Committee, a competition may revert to a single division competition.

6.4           Ladies’ medal and stableford competitions will be played in divisions as decided by the Ladies’ committee. These divisions will be published prior to the competitions.

7.             HALVED MATCHES AND TIES
7.1           In match play, a match which ends ‘all square’ in a knockout competition will be played off hole by hole until one side wins a hole. The play-off will start at the hole where the match began and strokes should be given and received as in the stipulated round.
7.2           Play must be continuous and players are to proceed directly from the last hole of the match to the next hole and the play-off is an extension of the stipulated round.

7.3           The committee will decide ties in a stroke play competition on the best card over the last 9, 6, 3 or 1 holes.
7.4           If play starts on the first and tenth tee, the last nine holes will be numbers 10 – 18 irrespective of order of play.
7.5            If for any reason a match cannot be finished, play should recommence on the same hole and at the same score as when play stopped.

8.              FROST GREENS
                  If Competitions commence when frost greens are still operational then removal of frost greens will commence at the 18th Tee and work backwards until the greenkeeper meets the first of the competitors, thus keeping the competition the same for all participants.

9.              WINTER RULES
                  The Local Winter Rules will, subject to the discretion of the Management committee, apply with effect from 1 October until 31 March. These Rules, which will be posted in the Club House and pro-shop and are:-

Rule   8E. E3

When a player’s ball lies in a part of the general area, cut to fairway height or less, the player may take free relief once by placing the original or another ball in and playing it from within six inches of the original spot, but must not be nearer the hole, and must be in the general area.

Rule 14.2e

If the player tries to replace the ball but it does not stay on its original spot, the player must try a second time. If the ball again does not stay on that spot, the player must replace the ball by placing it on the nearest spot where the ball will stay at rest, but the spot must not be nearer the hole, and must be in the general area.

                                   PENALTY FOR BREACH OF LOCAL RULE

                    Match Play – Loss of Hole           Stroke Play – Two Strokes

Embedded Ball
A ball embedded in its own pitch mark through the green, but not in a hazard, may be lifted without penalty and be dropped as near as possible to its original position but not nearer the hole (this particular point applies not just during Winter Rules but at any time of the year).

A ball lifted from a closely mown area may be cleaned before being dropped, and may then be placed within six inches of the position at which it comes to rest, but not nearer the hole. A ball lifted from other than a closely mown area must not be cleaned, it must not be dropped, nor come to rest, on a closely mown area and must not be placed after it is dropped. A ball once correctly dropped and, where permitted under this Local Rule, placed is in play.

                                    PENALTY FOR BREACH OF LOCAL RULE

                      Match Play – Loss of Hole          Stroke Play – Two Strokes

The Committee    2021