THE RULES

COSTA BLANCA NEWS PREMIER LEAGUE  RULES

• Societies joining the league do so on the understanding that their Societies are committed to fielding a team of 10 players for each match between the months of October through to April. They are also committed to fielding a team for the      Inter-Society Competition held in May each year.

• Each Society will nominate a member to serve on the Committee for the league.

• Each Society will abide by the rules democratically agreed by the members of the Committee. In the event of a split decision the President will have the casting vote.

• Each team playing in the league will be required to pay an annual subscription of 50 euros to cover the administration costs of the league. The subscription is payable prior to the start of each season.

• There will be a maximum of 25 registered players per society, per season. A list of names with federation license numbers, if federated and lowest handicaps must be submitted prior to our first match (Teams do not have to complete all 25 names, they can be added as necessary). Once the list is complete 2 substitutions are allowed and advised in advance to the Secretary.

• The league competitions will be played under the rules for matchplay. Maximum handicaps for men will be limited to 24 inclusive of slope and ladies 28 inclusive of slope. Stroke allowance will be ¾ of the differential against the lower handicapped player.

• To be eligible to play for a Society, the player must be a bona fide member of that Society.

• As a point of etiquette and with respect to your opponents all matches should complete the full 18 holes even though the result has already been determined. There may be rare exceptions to this rule but full agreement must be reached with your opponents. The rules committee will if necessary deduct 1 point from any team proven to have ignored this rule.

• All players must play off their lowest handicap whether this is their Federation handicap, the current handicap of the Society they are representing or, the handicap from any other Societies of which they are a member or, their handicap from any other country (slope adjusted if from the UK). Approval may be given to relax this rule on application to the Secretary where a federation handicap is historically incorrect.

All Societies participating in the league must adopt in full the Real Federación Española de Golf EGA Handicap System.       

• The Secretary and other elected members (or nominated deputy) of the Committee will form the disciplinary body to which all complaints will be addressed. It is understood that the Rules of Golf as defined by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews will form the parameters under which the games are played.

• The use of mobile telephones on the golf course is strictly forbidden. The penalty for use of a mobile phone will result in loss of hole.

• At the latest, two days before the matches, each Secretary must submit their Society’s team sheet to the League Secretary. The list must be submitted in the order of play showing the up to date exact handicap. After submission the order of play must not be changed and if a substitute is required then he/she must play in the position of the substituted player.

• At the conclusion of each match each Team Captain must complete and sign the team sheet detailing the results of each game and this must be submitted to the League Secretary, ideally on the day but no later than two days after the match.

• A) Should a Society be unable to field an individual team they must make prior contact with the opposing team Secretary (no later than Thursday 6pm) to avoid any unnecessary travel for their opponents. The points are immediately awarded to their opponents.

     B) Should only one player of a team report to the start then he/she may play as if the team was fully represented. The absent partner may join the match between holes, but not during play of a hole.

     C) Should a team arrive at the starting point ready to play within 5 minutes after their tee time, subject to Rule 33 – 7 the penalty will be loss of first hole.

• Preferred lies will be permitted in all league events.

• A player may only play for one Society in any one season (he/she may elect to play for another Society the following season/s)

• 2 points will be awarded for each game won and one point for each draw (the maximum number of points for a match will be 10). At the end of the season should teams be equal on points, the final position will be adjudged on the number of games won throughout the season. If this results in a tie then the winning team will be determined by the least number of losses. If a tie still prevails then the outcome will be decided by identifying the winner of the league match that took place between the two Societies. If this was a halved match then the greater number of holes won during the league season will be used to determine the winner.

• The bottom 2 teams in Division 1 will be relegated to Division 2 and the top 2 teams in Division 2 will be promoted to Division 1 for the following season. This is subject to review for the 2008/9 season.

• The Sponsor has the right to change the format of the competition annually.