National Association of Public Golf Courses

NAPGC UK PUBLIC COURSES CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017 Competition Rules and Conditions These Rules and Conditions are additional to the Rules on for Association Competitions

Format 1. The competition is open to amateur golfers who are who are bona-fide members of a golf club affiliated to a County Golf Union (or County in the case of ladies) in the UK and which plays over a Public or Proprietary Course with no restrictions as to public access. All competitors MUST have a CONGU competition handicap.

2. Play is individual stableford. Players initially compete in a club qualifier over 18 holes and if successful an 18 hole regional final and then an 18 hole national final.

3. Play will be in five Divisions:- Men’s Division One 10 and below, Ladies Division One 18 and below, Men’s Division Two 11 to 16, Ladies Division Two 19 to 36 and Men’s Division Three 17 to 28

4. Players shall be entitled to their full handicap allowance.

Entry and Draw Club qualifying round 5. Clubs wishing to enter shall before the end of May each year, stage a Club Level Qualifying Round which may be in conjunction with another club competition. Clubs may organize more than one qualifying competition (e.g. for seniors or mid-week members). A club member may if eligible play in more than one qualifying competition but must pay the entry fee for each qualifying competition in which he/she plays.

6. The results of the club qualifier must be submitted to the Competition Organiser on the official competition entry sheet. All players who played must be listed on the return or on an attached competition result sheet from a CONGU approved software system (e.g. Club 2000, DJB, Club Minder, GC Gold, Handicap Master etc.). The closing date for the receipt of club qualifying results shall be 7 June.

7. When submitting details of the club qualifying round, this must be accompanied by a payment of £3.00 for each player who entered the qualifying round (this can be by bank transfer or cheque payable to NAPGC).

8. As players may choose which regional final they wish to attend the return should provisionally indicate the venue or venues at which their members wish to play.

Regional final 9. From the return the Competition Organiser will confirm the players who have qualified for the regional final. The minimum number of qualifiers from each club will be as follows: a. Men (5) Best Nett & Best Gross Overall, Winners of Divisions 1, 2 & 3 b. Ladies (4) Best Nett & Best Gross Overall, Winners of Divisions 1 & 2 c. Further qualifiers for the Regional Finals will be allocated according to the level of entries at the club qualifying event as follows: i. Additional men’s club qualifying places if more than 15 entries;  16 - 30 players in qualifying - 3 more nett places overall  31 - 45 players in qualifying - 6 more nett places overall  46 - 55 players in qualifying - 9 more nett places overall  56 or more players in qualifying - 12 more nett places overall ii. Additional ladies club qualifying places if more than 8 entries;  9 - 20 players in qualifying - 2 more nett places overall  21 - 30 players in qualifying - 4 more nett places overall  31 or more players in qualifying – 6 more nett places overall Where clubs do not have qualifiers in a particular division the qualifying place shall be awarded to the next best nett overall. Nb. If entries are fewer than 10 men or 8 ladies, 50% of entrants shall qualify based on nett only.

10. The Competition Organiser will confirm to club contacts those players who have qualified for the regional finals. Club contacts will be responsible for notifying their players and confirming their availability. They may replace ‘unavailable players’ with the next best players from their qualifying list. Version Control update: 28/12/2016 11. The club contacts will also be responsible for confirming their entries and CDH numbers to the Competition Organiser and submitting the green fees due by the date specified, which shall be at least 14 days prior to the competition date. If returns and green fees are not received by the due date players may forfeit their place in the competition and may not be included in the draw.

12. Regional finals shall take place by early August each year, once the start sheet for the regional final has been compiled this shall be sent to club contacts who shall be responsible for notifying their players. Club contacts will be permitted to make further substitutions for unavailable players, but these must be confirmed in advance of play to the Competition Organiser along with CDH numbers. Other reserves may be allowed to play if spaces exist on the day (terms and order of preference will be set out by the NAPGC).

National Final 13. The number of qualifiers from regional finals to the national final will be decided in relation to the number playing in the regional finals (larger regional events will have more qualifiers). The details of qualifiers from each regional final will be determined and published after regional entries have been confirmed. They will also be displayed at the registration desk of each regional final {up to 90 players will be invited to the final}.

14. All players qualifying for the national final will be contacted directly by the Competition Organiser. Players will be responsible for confirming their attendance at the final. Players who do not confirm attendance by the due date will not be included in the draw. Reserves will be invited where spaces are available. Players who fail to turn up at the national final without informing the organiser beforehand will be liable to pay the green fee.

Expenses at the National Final 15. The competition has received approval from the R & A for the payment of expenses at the national final as follows: “Approved by the R & A for the payment of expenses – Rule 4-2g RA/11/2014”. While competitors will be expected to pay their own travel and accommodation costs, in previous years as a result of grants from the R&A players have been eligible to receive a contribution towards their costs. A grant application for 2017 has been successful, and an expenses claim form will be distributed to players after the presentation ceremony.

Conditions of Play 16. A player who is a member at more than one affiliated club may choose to play in qualifying events at one or both clubs. Players qualifying for regional final may choose which regional final to play in. Where venues are oversubscribed the Competition Organiser will undertake a ballot and where necessary offer players places at alternative regional finals.

17. Throughout the tournament players will compete in the handicap division appropriate to their handicap on the day of play.

18. Players who submit a ‘no return’ in club or regional events may not progress to the next round as a qualifier or substituted player from the reserve list.

19. A player may not play in a regional final without having played in a club qualifying round and other than the previous year’s national gross and nett winners, a player may not play in the national final if they have not played in a regional qualifier.

Trophies and Prizes 20. At the regional and national final there will be gross competitions for Men & Ladies. At the national final the trophies will be awarded with the following precedence: Overall National Champion Nett, Overall National Champion Gross, Divisional Winners, Runner Up Gross (men) and Divisional placings nett

21. All trophies and prizes will be presented at the national final at St Andrews. All players are asked to remain for the presentations. This is courteous to sponsors, guests, organisers and fellow players. Winners of trophies and/or prizes who do not remain for the presentation will remain entitled to receive any trophy awarded but will forfeit their right to any prize. All players who do not remain for the presentations may have their entitlement to claim for a contribution towards their travel and accommodation costs reviewed by the competition committee.

22. The current United Kingdom Public Course Champions (nett and gross) will be granted direct entry to the following year’s national final in order to defend their titles, subject to them still being playing members of clubs eligible to enter the championship.

Version Control update: 28/12/2016