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CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS

STANDING RULES AND PROCEDURES

Approved: June 21, 1962
Amended: 1967, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975
Complete revision: 1976
Amended: 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981
Complete revision: 1982
Amended: intermittently
Complete revision: 1990
Amended 1995
Amended 2003

Erie District Women�s Golf Association

Standing Rules and Procedures

Revised May 2006

The Board of Directors shall, from time to time, establish and amend Standing Rules and Procedures for the conduct of all business of the association not specifically provided for in the by-laws, and may prescribe and enforce such measures as it may deem necessary or advisable for the observance of such Standing Rules and Procedures.
The Standing Rules may be amended by a majority vote of the Board of Directors, a majority being present and voting, providing there has been no vote or mandate by the general membership on the rule.
No vote or mandate by the general membership shall be rescinded by the Executive Board, the Board of Directors or the Committee Chairmen.
Standing Rules and Procedures are binding on this association and have the same authority as the By-laws.

RULES AND PROCEDURES I - GENERAL

  1. All new members shall have an established U.S.G.A. maximum index that converts to a 25 handicap at the member course with the highest slope rating, based on twenty 18-hole scores, to be eligible for membership.

  2. The annual dues shall be $35.00.

  3. All tournaments shall be governed by U.S.G.A. Rules of Golf.

  4. All tournaments shall be played under the �posted lie� rule of the host course. If the �preferred lie� or �winter rules� are in effect, it shall be defined as �Lift, clean, and place through the green: Procedure-Mark your ball, lift and clean it. Place it within 12� of the original spot, NOT NEARER THE HOLE. Once placed, the ball is in play and may not be moved.

  5. Stones in bunkers are movable obstructions (Rule 24-1 applies)

  6. A player may use a distance-measuring device. However, the use of devices that gauge or measure other conditions that might affect a player�s play (e.g. wind or gradient) is not permitted. Decision 14-3/0.5

  7. Proper golf attire must be worn on the golf course at all times. Shirts and shorts or skirts of proper length are acceptable. No halter or bra tops, tennis or jogging shorts, or blue jeans will be permitted.

  8. In every contest held under the auspices of the E.D.W.G.A., the caddies shall be assigned to the players in accordance with the rules of the club where the competition takes place. All caddies shall be approved by this association.

RULES AND PROCEDURES II - PRIZES

  1. The value of each prize shall be determined by the Executive Board and announced to the membership at the first meeting of the season or whenever a change is made.

  2. Prizes shall be given in each class at regular tournaments for low gross, second low gross; first, second and third low net; special and putts; based on number of entrants.

  3. Prizes in each class shall be of equal value.

  4. Prizes shall be made in the form of gift certificates made out to the Host Pro Shop.

  5. A member is eligible for only one prize at each tournament.

  6. No player is eligible for a prize until her dues are paid.

  7. There shall be a mandatory check-in at the starter�s table. If not done, the offender will be disqualified for prizes.

  8. Any individual change in pairings shall disqualify that person from the day�s tournament and prizes.

RULES AND PROCEDURE III - REGULAR TOURNAMENTS

  1. A minimum of five (5) flights shall be scheduled; the exact number shall be determined, based on the number of reservations, by the Host Club Representative and the Prize Committee.  This minimum may be waived in event of inclement weather.

  2. A shotgun start is preferred by this association. If not feasible for the Host Club, we shall abide by that club�s procedures.

  3. In case of inclement weather, if five players in any one class complete their game, it shall be considered a bona fide tournament.

  4. A Rules Chairperson shall be appointed and that person shall recruit as many qualified people as needed to be on a Rules Committee.

  5. It is each player�s responsibility check in before each tournament.

  6. Slow players shall be reported to the Rules Committee.

  7. The use of riding carts shall be permitted.

  8. Each player, if unable to play, must assume the responsibility of notifying the Host Club Representative and/or the Pro Shop.

  9. Disqualification shall result if a player changes her own pairing.

RULES AND PROCEDURES IV - CITY TOURNAMENT

  1. There shall be a $40.00 entry fee for members and $50 for non-members.
  2. There is no handicap restriction for entry.

  3. Qualifying for the City Tournament shall be determined by the Board of Directors. Participants must be members in good standing of an E.D.W.G.A. course or Erie County residents six months prior to the date of the tournament.

  4. Only women golfers of amateur status are eligible for City Tournament play.

  5. Tournament play shall be on or about the first week in August.

  6. The President is responsible for reserving a host course. She shall consider suitability and availability when making her decision.


Other Established Procedures:

  1. Posted lie rule shall apply at the discretion of Tournament Chair and Host Pro.

  2. The Tournament Committee determines, and posts the time and order of starting for all play.

  3. This tournament shall be played on a match-play basis.

  4. Players having similar handicaps shall be paired for play in the qualifying round.

  5. Players shall be paired in groups of three when acceptable to the host club.

  6. In Qualifying round, players with lower handicaps will be assigned earlier tee times.

  7. The number of flights, with 16 players in each, shall be determined by the Tournament Committee.

  8. In Match Play rounds, Championship Flight will follow all other flights.

  9. The general numerical draw of the U.S.G.A. shall be used for pairings in the match.

  10. Ties for the 16th spot shall be broken by a hole by hole play-off for ALL flights. Ties in the qualifying round other than those for the last qualifying place, shall be decided by the order in which scores are returned, with the first score to be returned receiving the lowest available number, etc. Any player tied not on the grounds at the time of the call for the play-off, shall forfeit her right to the top spot.

  11. When the Defending Champion elects to be spotted #1, and there is a tie for the second spot, there shall be an immediate hole by hole play-off for position.

  12. If two or more players tie for low gross (medalist) in the qualifying round, each shall be awarded a prize.

  13. The winner of the Championship Flight shall be entrusted with the City Tournament traveling trophy. She shall have her name engraved on the trophy and hold it until the next City Tournament. The winner of each flight shall be awarded a plaque.

  14. Any player who has defaulted in the finals is not eligible for receiving a prize at the discretion of the Board of Directors.

  15. The Championship final shall be an eighteen hole match.

  16. Riding carts are permitted.

  17. A member of a player�s immediate family is permitted to caddie at the discretion of the Tournament Committee. A tournament participant may caddie for another participant on the same day of the tournament or on future days.

  18. Rules for the City Tournament are to be provided to each contestant at the time of sign in for the qualifying round.

RULES AND PROCEDURES V - SENIOR TOURNAMENT

  1. Qualifying for the Senior championship shall be determined by the Board of Directors. Participants must be members of an E.D.W.G.A. course or Erie county residents six months prior to the date of the tournament, be at least fifty years of age.

  2. There shall also be a Super Senior division for players over sixty (60) years of age and a Super Plus Division for players over seventy (70) years of age.

  3. There shall be a $30.00 entry fee for E.D.W.G.A. members and non-members.

  4. The date and location of play shall be determined by the Board of Directors.

  5. Only women golfers of amateur status are eligible for this tournament.

  6. The posted lie rule shall apply at the discretion of the Tournament Chair and the Host Pro.

  7. This tournament shall be played on the stroke play basis.

  8. Gross score shall determine the Champion, regardless of flight. Flight prizes shall be based on the number of entries in each flight.

  9. If the lowest score for 18 holes is made by two or more players, the tie or ties shall be decided by a hole-by-hole play-off. All other prizes for ties shall be determined by splitting the value of the related places.

  10. Riding carts are permitted.

RULES AND PROCEDURES VI - TEAM PLAY

  1. Teams compete for the circulating McBrier Cup, which is presented to the winning club at the annual meeting in the fall.

  2. 20 points will be awarded at each interclub date.

  3. All members will participate in the point system.

    1. Low Gross and Low Net to 4 places with 10 points to be allotted to each division.
      2. 4 ptsFirst Low GrossFirst Low Net
      3 ptsSecond Low GrossSecond Low Net
      2 ptsThird Low GrossThird Low Net
      1 ptsFourth Low GrossFourth Low Net
    2. A member can only receive one set of points within the day�s tournament.

    3. Each Club Representative or an appointed member will be in charge of collecting the results from each member who plays in that day�s tournament. They will then hand in the results to the Vice President. The results will be given at that day�s tournament or at the next scheduled interclub tournament but at the final tournament of the year the points will be awarded that day and as will the Team Trophy.

  4. Pairings for the field shall be done by handicap.

  5. The Erie and Downing Golf Clubs may field one team. This option must be declared prior to the first match each year and remain in effect throughout that season.

  6. The Riverside and Culbertson Hills Golf Clubs may field one team. This option must be declared prior to the first match each year and remain in effect throughout that season.

RULES AND PROCEDURES VII - MIXED COUPLES TOURNAMENT

  1. Each team shall be comprised of one woman and one man. Both participants must be either a member in good standing of an EDWGA course or Erie County residents six months prior to the date of the tournament. If the field is oversubscribed, participants shall be determined by the date their entry was received.

  2. The team handicap is computed by taking 85% of one-half of the combined individual handicaps (add both handicaps, divide by 2, and multiply by 0.85). The maximum combined team handicap shall be no greater than 50. Participants without a current USGA index shall play with a zero handicap.

  3. The tournament is played by the Chapman Format. This is a modified alternating shot where the partners both tee off and then hit each other�s ball for the second shot. After two strokes have been taken with each ball, one by each partner, the play ball is chosen.  The hole is completed by alternating strokes with the play ball (one ball) until the ball is holed. The first stroke with the play ball is played by the opposite partner (for the third stroke, the player should be hitting the same ball he/she hit from the teeing ground). Exception for Par 3 holes: the play ball is chosen after both partners tee off. The first stroke with the play ball is played by the opposite partner whose tee ball is selected.

  4. Entry fee shall be determined by the tournament chairman.

  5. Prizes will be awarded to, but not limited to, winners and runners-up in both a gross and net division. The number and amount of prizes is contingent upon the number of entries. The chairperson may elect to conduct an optional skins game, funded by those choosing to participate.

  6. Prizes for ties shall be determined by splitting the value of the related places.

  7. Tournament rules shall be provided to each team at the time of registration.

  8. The tournament shall be scheduled for the Sunday following Labor Day whenever possible.

Club Representative

  1. The Club Representative, appointed by her club, shall serve for one year.

  2. She shall notify all members of her club of all E.D.W.G.A. meetings.

  3. She shall collect dues which shall be turned over to the Treasurer with a complete list of names, addresses, and telephone numbers of members from her club prior to the first event of the season.

  4. She shall procure members from her club for membership, and submit reservations, including team members, to the host representative not later than Tuesday of the week preceding the tournament. No woman shall be eligible to compete for prizes or shall be paired until her dues are paid. Late entries will be allowed at the discretion of the host rep.

  5. She shall submit with each reservation the converted handicap to the host representative for each tournament.

  6. Cancellations may be replaced only by the host rep on tournament day. Pairing changes to be made only by the host rep on tournament day. Exception: In the event of cancellation by a team player, the club representative or team captain may move the next lowest index up to team position.

  7. The cost of food for each event is limited to $15.00

  8. $1.00 should be added to the entry fee to cover bag-boy tipping when that service is provided by the host club.

Sign-up Sheets:

  1. Place on your bulletin board for all EDWGA events at least a month before the first tourney.

  2. State date and day of event.

  3. Site, Starting Time � special information i.e. lunch, carts, index, name, deadline for sign-up and cancellation.

Pairings:

  1. Pairings shall be done by handicap. It is advisable for the rep to review the pairings from previous tournaments to avoid having members playing with the same competitors at multiple events. Since the pairings are deleted from the web site when the next tournament is posted, each rep should print and save the schedule for each event as it is posted at www.edwga.org/teetimes.htm.

  2. No handicap to be over 28. All over 28 unearned handicap to be in one flight. Pair this group according to index, but place 28 handicap on tourney sheet.

Pairings Sheet Format:

  1. Location, Date, and Time in Header

  2. A �Table format� is preferred. Tee assignment plus names of players in the group with home club initials in parentheses, all in one row. Double-spaced lines will facilitate making changes.

  3. E-mail pairings to each club rep and to the Webmaster by Thursday of the week prior to the tournament. Thursday is deadline for Sunday�s paper. Fax, Mail, or hand-deliver.

Flighted Tournament Sheets:

  1. List participants according to handicap on the tourney sheets with approximately 17-22 in each flight. Naturally, all flights will not have the same number of players. i.e. you have 25 with handicaps of 25 and 26, all can be in the same flight. All unearned 28 handicappers are in the same flight playing to a 28 maximum.

  2. It is recommended that each rep assure that adjusted scores are posted for handicap purposes by submitting the scores to her club professional for posting. In the case where there is no professional, she should check that her members have accurately posted their tournament scores and firmly remind them to do so within three (3) days of the event. If necessary, learn how to post for her members.

New Members:

  1. Shall have an established U.S.G.A. maximum index based on 20 eighteen-hole rounds to be eligible for membership. One may join any time of the season. For the first year, a new member�s index must be maintained at or below the entry index. After the first year, membership continues upon payment of the yearly dues regardless of index. In the event membership is cancelled, the current index requirement stands for re-entry.