1 OBJECTIVE OF THE LEAGUE

The objective of the league is to provide a competitive framework for good-spirited matches between golf clubs within the counties of Berks, Bucks, Oxon, Herts, Middlesex & Surrey.

2 ORGANISATION OF THE LEAGUE

2.01
The League will be run by a Committee made up of Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and one representative from each division in the league. The officers of the Committee are elected/re-elected at the AGM. The Committee will meet during the year, as required.

2.02
The Treasurer will take responsibility for the monies relating to the league through entry and sponsorship.

3 FORMAT OF PLAY

For 2022, teams will consist of 6 players. At the discretion of the home team, matches may be paired up and played as a fourball ie. 2 singles matches per fourball. This is intended to ease the problem which some clubs have scheduling 2-ball tee times during a busy weekend.

3.01
A club may only be represented in the league by one team.

3.02
A club wishing to join the league must make a formal request to the League Secretary, and the application will be discussed and voted upon at an AGM or special meeting or by email ballot. If accepted (75% majority), the joining club will start the next season in the lowest division. All decisions are final.

3.03
An entry fee of GBP100.00 is payable by all teams per season and the season ideally runs during the Summer (BST)ie.1st April to 31st October. Entry Fees MUST be paid no later than 31st January for the coming season.

3.04
During the season, a club must play each other club in its division on a home and away basis.

3.05
The format of play will be singles match play. The home club must notify (in writing) the away team of the date and time of the fixture at the beginning of the new season. If possible, the home teams should make sure the tee is reserved for at least 30 minutes before the first scheduled tee time. Team Captains will be notified of the date and start time of each match by SMS (text), 9 days before the match is scheduled. SMS messages will be logged by the ICSL website.

3.06
The first two matches MUST be played in exact handicap order (no exceptions) with the remaining four games at the discretion of each team captain. In total, there will be 12 points available, with 2 points awarded for an individual win, one point for a match finishing all square and nothing for a loss.

3.07
If a player is late on the tee then both teams should allow the other matches to continue until such
time normal play can resume. In the event that a player does not turn up, a team will have the opportunity to call upon a replacement player (as long as that player called, does not have a handicap lower than the first 3 players). The replacement player, must be available to start before the last official (6th) game has cleared the first green - otherwise that game will be awarded to the opposition.

3.08
The winning team on the day will be the team who has gained a majority of the 12 points available. The league will give 3 points for an away team win, 2pts for a home win, 1.5 points for an away draw, 1 for a home draw and 0 points for a loss.

3.09
It is the responsibility of the home team captain to collate the result, agree it with the away captain and update the League website accordingly. This should be done within 48 hours of completion of the match.

4 POSTPONEMENT AND RESCHEDULING OF MATCHES

4.01
Fixtures can only be postponed for the following reasons;

a) Course closure

b) Course deemed unfit for play, by agreement of both team captains

c) Suspension of play from dangerous weather

d) Unforeseen clash with domestic fixtures of a club.

If such a situation arises, then the non-defaulting team must be given at least 14 days notice and the League Secretary must be informed immediately. It is then the responsibility of the non-defaulting team to provide 3 available dates for the rescheduled fixture. If none of these dates is suitable, the match will be awarded to the non-defaulting team by 12-0.

4.02
All fixtures must be played out. In the event that a match has to be called off on the day due to exceptional circumstances (course closure/ weather etc), the League Secretary must be notified of the problem and the home team must reschedule the match. It is then the responsibility of the home captain to re-schedule the fixture in agreement with the away captain. If such a re-scheduled fixture cannot be agreed - for whatever reason - the matter will be referred to the Committee for resolution.

4.03
In the event that a team fails to fulfil a fixture, their opponents will be awarded a 12-0 win.

4.04
In the event that a team turns up at the wrong time on the said day of a fixture, discretion should be used - use your phone and contact the opposing captain/club and try to resolve the issue. If the issue cannot be resolved on the day, if possible, the match should be re-scheduled. If that is not possible, the non-defaulting team will be awarded the match 12-0.

4.05
To maintain the spirit of this league, ALL MATCHES must be played by 31st October.

5 LEAGUE STANDINGS

5.01
At the end of each season the team with the most points in their respective division will be announced the winners of their division together with the runners-up. Teams will be promoted and relegated according to the league procedures in place at that time.

5.02
In the event of teams being tied on points, then match results between the two (or more) teams will have to be considered (the team obtaining the most match points comes out top). If a tie still exists with promotion or relegation affected, league positions will be determined by the total game points difference between the teams involved, with the highest positive games points difference coming out on top. If there is still a tie, places will be decided by the cumulative games scores, with the highest points total coming out on top. To clarify this, a 3&2 win counts as +3, a 3&1 win counts as +3, a 4&2 loss counts as -4, etc. If there is still a tie, it will be resolved by the toss of a coin. This will be verified by the Chairman and Hon Secretary.

6.00 PLAYERS

6.01
All players competing in the league must be an Amateur member, or employee of the club they are representing and comply with the Rules of Amateur Status of the R&A. If a club fields an ineligible player, that club will forfeit the match in which that ineligible player was involved.

6.02
A player may represent more than one club in the league as long as those clubs are in different divisions.

6.03
If a player resigns his membership at a club and joins another in the same league, he may play for that new team - as long as he has resigned his membership in full.

6.04
If a golf club has an Artisan section, they can call upon them to represent their club (max 2 per game - as long as their home club are OK with this).

6.05
If a club feel they have any lady members capable of competing in the league, then they can call upon their services, but they MUST play off the same tees/card and do not receive any courtesy shots. Their handicap MUST be calculated off the mens card. (E.g. If the mens SSS is 70 and the lady off 1 on the LGU card of SSS 73, she must play off a handicap of 4 (3 difference)

7 RESULTS

7.01
All results will be posted on the league website http://www.intercountygolfleague.com/ within 48 hours of the match being played. League tables and player records are updated automatically by the website.

8 RULES OF GOLF

8.01
All games must comply with the current R&A Rules of Golf and any relevant local rules on the card

8.02
The use of electronic yardage finders or similar are allowed during the course of play but consideration must be given to your playing opponent and others behind you in the event that they delay your round.

8.03
If a club wishes to resign from the league, they may do so as long as they notify the league Secretary in writing before the close of the season

8.04
Clubs may join this league by invitation only, any club wishing to join, will be put to a vote by the other clubs within the league - in the event of a stalemate, the decision will be made by the Committee of that time. Applicant clubs must lie within a 25-mile radius of Slough to constrain journey times to Away matches to a maximum of 1 hour.

9 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

9.01
At the beginning or end of each season an AGM will be held to allow trophies and prizes to be presented with any announcements also being made. The AGM quorum will be one-third of the total number of clubs in the league, rounded down.

10 CONDUCT

10.01
It is hoped that all matches will be played in good spirit and etiquette and that no reference need to be made to this constitution. If situations arise that are not covered by this document, then it is hoped that good sense and friendly relations will provide a solution.

10.02
It is the responsibility of each captain to ensure that his team comply with dress code of the host club .

11. DISCIPLINARY

11.1
If a club defaults on a fixture - for whatever reason - the captain of that club may be required to appear before a sub-Committee consisting of divisional representatives, not including the division of the club involved. If a club defaults on a fixture for a second time during any given season, that club will be automatically relegated at the end of that season and its results within that Division of the League negated.
If a club defaults on a fixture for a third time during any given season, that club MAY be expelled from the league. Any such proposed expulsion will need to be ratified by AGM.
Clubs have the right of appeal to the Committee of divisional representatives against any sanction. Any such appeal must be lodged with the League Secretary within 14 days of the sanction being imposed. The decision of the Committee of divisional representatives on any appeal is final.

12. TERMINATION OF THE LEAGUE

The Inter Counties Scratch League may be terminated by a motion put at an AGM or EGM and approved by 75% of the clubs attending that meeting.
Any residual assets of the League, after any creditors and liabilities have been paid, will be distributed equally among the clubs registered as members of the League at the date of termination.

Last updated: 13.12.21