In accordance with Rule 33 of the Rules of Golf, the Ladies Committee “establish the conditions under which a competition is to be played”.
“The Committee has no power to waive a Rule of Golf”.

The Rules as set out for 2012 to 2016 are detailed below:-

1. ENTRY REGULATIONS

(a) To enter a competition a player must hold an up-to-date
CONGU handicap.
(b) Competition entry is by Timesheet, except where time is allotted
to draws.
(c) Timesheets are open on computer 10 days in advance of competition day. (Major and Open competitions open 3 weeks in advance).
(d) When timesheets are in operation, players should have their name on the timesheet prior to playing. Entries may be made or altered on the timesheet up to midnight on the day before the competition – fellow competitors should be notified of alterations made within 36 hours of play.
(e) Players may enter both the 18 hole and 9 hole competition on the day provided these are both non qualifying competitions. Players can enter either the 18 hole or the 9 hole qualifying competitions. In the winter months players can enter both the 12 and 9 hole competitions, if they so wish.

(f) Changes on the day of competition can ONLY be made through the Pro Shop. Fellow competitors should be notified of any alterations immediately.
(g) Changing times on a Timesheet due to adverse weather conditions is not permitted and will result in disqualification.
(h) Draws on a Tuesday morning are at 11.36 and 11.44. Play is in 3-balls throughout the day. When there are only two players for a draw, they must wait 8 minutes for the next draw. If no competitor arrives for that draw the two ball may proceed. If there is only one player in a draw or one is left from a previous draw, that person is first into the next draw whether a 2/3 ball.
(i) Competitors must be ready to play BEFORE entering a draw.

2. METHOD OF ENTRY

(a) Entry to a competition is by SWIPE CARD ONLY and must be done prior to playing. Exceptions will be rare and at the discretion of the Committee.
(b) Players are responsible for checking that the computer accepts their entry. In the event of the computer not working, a player is required to enter her name, handicap, competition format and date on her scorecard and when possible sign in on an Entry Sheet provided by the Club Professional.
(c) In the case of multiple competitions on one day (i.e. Lady Captain’s Prize), it is the player’s responsibility to ensure the correct competition is entered. (Please note that the Lady Captain’s competition is run over two days – you must swipe in for the two days separately (the money is deducted on the first day).

3. ELIGIBILITY TO PLAY

(a) All female members, including Junior/Juvenile girls holding a valid CONGU handicap are eligible to compete.
(b) All handicap categories are eligible to enter, unless otherwise advised by the Committee.
(c) Major competitions are deemed to be the Lady Captain’s Prize, Lady President’s Prize, Men’s Captain’s Prize to the Ladies, Men’s President Prize to the Ladies.
(d) Senior Competitions are open to ladies 50 years and over on 1 January of the current year.
(e) To be eligible to win the main prize in a Major Competition, three 18 hole scorecards must have been returned in advance of the competition.
(f) Five Day, Country and Overseas members are not eligible to play in Major Competitions. They may however, compete on the Tuesday of the Lady Captain’s Prize/Lady President’s for a special category prize. Junior/Juvenile girls with a handicap of 35 and under are eligible to compete in the Major Competitions but are not entitled to win the main prize but are eligible for the rest of the prizes. The maximum prize for Juniors should not exceed E75.00. The Lady Captain and Lady President may choose to invite those girls with handicap 35 plus to play in a separate Junior prize on their days.

4. SCORECARDS/MARKER

(a) Players must swipe into the competition of the day and affix the label providing their name, handicap and date on their scorecard.
(b) The competition scorecard must be marked and signed by a fellow competitor with a valid CONGU handicap. In circumstances where the player has no opposition a person holding a valid CONGU handicap may mark and sign the card, subject to prior approval of Competitions Secretary or a Committee Member.
(c) It is requested that players enter their scores in the computer.
(d) Scorecards MUST be placed in the competition box.
(e) All cards should be returned, including cards not completed. If a card is not completed, please enter in the computer as a “Non Return”, before putting in the competition box.
(f) The responsibility for the correct entry and return of scores lies entirely with the player.

5. HANDICAPS

5.1 TO OBTAIN A HANDICAP

(a) A member must submit any permutation of 9 or 18 holes but must total a minimum of 54 holes at her Home Club (preferably three 18 hole cards). Each card must be marked and signed by a person holding a CONGU handicap – Clause 16 CONGU UHS.
(b) A Declaration Form (available from the Admin Office) outlining any previous handicap held or playing history in any sport must be signed and submitted with the cards for handicap.

5.2 SUSPENSION AND LOSS OF HANDICAP

(a) If a player’s membership is suspended from her Home Club her handicap shall be suspended automatically until membership is reinstated e.g. Leave of Absence.
(b) If the handicap of the player is to be restored within six months of the date on which her handicap was suspended, it must be reinstated at the same handicap as the player held. In all other cases the player shall be allotted a new handicap after she has complied with the requirements of 5.1 (a) above. The Handicap Committee must give due and full consideration to the handicap the player last held.

5.3 HANDICAP ALLOWANCES FOR DIFFERENT FORMATS OF COMPETITION..

MATCH PLAY
Singles Full difference between the handicaps of the players
Foursomes 1/2 difference between aggregate handicaps of each side
Fourball 90 per cent of handicap
Stroke Play Singles Full handicap
Par/Bogey Foursomes 1/2 aggregate handicap of partners
Stableford Fourball Each partner receives 90per cent
of the full handicap
Note 1 Half Strokes
Half strokes or over to be counted as one, smaller fractions to be disregarded except in Foursomes Stroke Play when 1/2 strokes are counted as such.
Note 2 HANDICAP ALLOWANCES

In a handicap competition played in any of the above formats the allowances must be laid down by the Committee on the Conditions of the Competition (Rules of Golf 33-1) in accordance with the above direction.
Note 3 36 Holes
In handicap competitions over 36 holes, strokes should be given or taken on the basis of two 18 hole rounds in accordance with the 18 hole Handicap stroke index unless the committee introduces a special Stroke Index.
Note 4 Hole-by-Hole Play-Off (sudden death)
When extra holes are played in handicap competitions, strokes should be taken in accordance with the Handicap Stroke Index.

CROSSOVER FOURBALL

In a case where a fourball is missing a fourth person, the lowest handicap can play with the other two players and fill in two cards but may only win one prize and the ladies partnering can play to win.

5.4 OTHER FORMATS OF PLAY

CONGU RECOMMENDS THE FOLLOWING
GREENSOMES – Stroke Play x 0.6 plus higher handicap x 0.4

6. STARTING TIMES

(a) When Timesheets are in operation, players should be at the first tee box ten minutes prior to time slot. Tee times should be strictly observed and competitors should not proceed in advance of their allocated tee time. (See Appendix 1). In the case of rain, players may not defer their playing time to a later time.
(b) When draws are in operation, players must be ready to proceed.

7. TEEING GROUND

(a) Ladies play from Red Tees at all times unless otherwise stated by the Committee.
(b) Alternate starting places are not permitted.
(c) In all match play competitions, players must play from the red stone.
(d) If the Committee wishes to operate a two tee start/shotgun start, players will be informed accordingly.

8. NUMBER OF COMPETITORS TO CONSTITUTE A COMPETITION.

(a) 20 and over will constitute a competition.
(b) One person constitutes a competition for the ILGU Medal or for handicap purposes.

9. PRIZE STRUCTURE

(a) Prizes are awarded according to the number of entrants – see notice of Class Divisions on Notice Board in Locker Room.

(b) A player may only win one prize in a competition with the exception of the Longest Drive or Nearest the Pin.
(c) Major Competitions are Lady Captain’s Prize, Lady President’s Prize, Mens Captain’s Prize to the Ladies, Mens President’s Prize to the ladies. There will be a 9 hole competition (open to people not playing in the 18 hole competition of the day) and a competition for juniors on the Tuesday of the Lady Captain’s Prize. Juniors with a handicap of 35 and under are eligible to play in the main competition on Tuesday and Saturday, but are not eligible to win 1st prize but all others.

10. DECISIONS ON TIES

(a) In an 18 hole competition, ties shall be decided by matching cards. The winner is determined on the basis of the best score on the last 9 holes, last 6 holes, last 3, last 2 and last one. If still a tie, decide on the last three holes i.e. 7-9 and 9 of the first nine. If still a tie, decide by lot.
(b) In individual stroke play competitions, handicaps are deducted in proportion.
– Last 9 Half handicap
– Last 6 One third handicap
– Last 3 One sixth handicap, etc.

11. ILGU SILVER/BRONZE MEDALS

(a) The Irish Ladies Golf Union (ILGU) awards a Silver and a Bronze Medal to each affiliated Club on an annual basis.

(b) The Committee may run a minimum of four and a maximum of sixteen Stroke Play for the Silver (handicap up to and including 20) and Bronze (handicap 21-36). Any or all of these competitions may be played in conjunction with a Club Stroke Competition, as authorised by the Committee for the period commencing 1 January and ending on the 31 December in the same year. Generally the ILGU Medal Competitions are held in Skerries on a monthly basis from April to September on a Tuesday (except for Evening Players when in April and September they may play an alternate medal day on the previous Sunday.
(c) The ILGU Silver and Bronze Medal is awarded to the player who returns the lowest aggregate of the best four scores in that year’s Medal Competition.
(d) Winners go forward to represent the Club in the Gold and Silver Medal Finals organised by the ILGU each year.
(e) One entrant constitutes a competition.
(f) All playing members (including Junior/Juveniles) with a valid CONGU handicap are eligible to compete.
(g) Dates of Medal Competitions are listed in the Diary and on the Notice Board in the Ladies Locker Room.
(h) There is no fee for the ILGU Medal competition.

12. CLUB MEDAL COMPETITIONS

(a) A Club Medal competition is run in conjunction with the ILGU Medal, using the same categories.
(b) A Silver and Bronze Club medal will be presented at the Annual Prize- giving to the competitor with the lowest net score in each category in each Club Medal. In addition, a voucher will be awarded to each category winner, sponsored by a fellow member.

(c) The entry fee to the Club Medal competition will be set by the Committee.

13. ILGU SILVER SPOON

The ILGU Silver Spoon is awarded to the player who returns the lowest aggregate of the best three scores in any year’s ILGU Medal competition.

14. GOLFER OF THE YEAR (GOY)

(a) Points allocated in designated GOY (18 hole Strokes qualifying competition) throughout the year determine Golfer of the Year.
(b) Eight points are awarded to scores equaling the standard scratch of the day and points are increased for better scores and decreased for lower scores thereafter.
(c) The best 7 scores to count.
(d) In the event of a tie, the winner will be determined on the basis of a count-back.

15. WINTER LEAGUE

(a) The Winter League is played from November to the end of February in conjunction with the Ladies Saturday Competition.
(b) The format is 9 holes Singles Stableford.
(c) The best 8 scores to count.
(d) The winner is presented with the Winter League Cup and a voucher.

16. MATCHPLAY

(a) Match Play conditions will be displayed on the Draw Sheet in the Ladies Locker Room.
(b) The competition must be entered and THE APPROPRIATE FEE PAID PRIOR TO PLAYING.
(c) Matches MUST be played by the stated date unless the Committee authorises an extension due to course closure or other exceptional circumstances.
(d) If the course is closed, there will be an extension of one additional day for every day the course is closed.
(e) To ensure timely completion of match play rounds, the Committee will monitor progress and where matches are not completed on time, may decide the result of that round by the toss of a coin unless one player concedes the match to the other.
(f) Where matches are not completed on time and have not been conceded or tossed for, by the closing date for that round, both players will be disqualified from continuing in the competition and the player in the following round will be awarded a walk over.
(g) A match that ends all square should be played off hole by hole until one side wins a hole. The play-off should start where the match began. In a handicap match, handicap strokes should be allowed as in the stipulated round.
(h) In all match play competitions, players must play from the red stone.
(I) Player must play off current handicap.
(j) Full difference in handicap given.

17. DISQUALIFICATION

(a) Failure to swipe entry into computer.
(b) Handicap omitted from scorecard, disqualification from handicap competition but still eligible to win the gross.
(c) Higher than correct handicap on scorecard.
(d) Scorecard not signed by both player and eligible marker.
(e) In a three ball competition where there are two balls at the back of the field or at the end of a draw, they may not join up to play as 4 at any stage, as they would be in breach of the Conditions of Competition for the stipulated round. They can only join up if they have received the permission of the Competition Secretary/Committee Member prior to commencing play.
(f) Non-compliance with Rules of Golf.
(g) Non-compliance with Local Rules as per scorecard.
(h) Changing time on timesheet due to adverse weather conditions.

18. SUSPENSION OF PLAY/WEATHER CONDITIONS

(a) Competitions will be cancelled in advance only when the course is closed or otherwise in exceptional circumstances.
(b) Sheltering is not allowed, play may only stop during lightning. (See Appendix 11)
(c) Players are not permitted to change their tee times on the day due to adverse weather conditions (deemed to be sheltering) – this will lead to disqualification from the competition.

19. TRANSPORTATION

Use of buggies are permitted, except when course conditions are not suitable as decided by course staff and announced on daily course information.
Anyone with a medical problem may use a buggy with prior medical certification from a medical doctor.

For those players unable to play on the allocated Tuesday for Medal Days, there are two dates allocated to Alternate Medal Days and they are a Sunday prior to the Tuesday Medal Day in April and September.

For Hamper Day, Turkey Day and Flock Day these competitions will be played on the Sunday prior to the Tuesday competition during the winter months.

21. RINGER

The Ringer will be played from 01 March to 31 October in the current year. The ringer will be in classes, depending on numbers entering the competition. There will be an overall winner and a winner in each class. At the completion of the competition total scores will be displayed.