League Rules

1. Teams joining the league do so on the understanding that their Societies are committed to fielding a team of 8 players for each match as published at the start of each season.

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

3. Each team 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.

4. 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.

5. There will be a maximum of 25 registered players per team, per season. A list of names with federation license numbers, if federated and lowest handicaps should be submitted (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.

6. The league competitions will be played under the rules for fourball matchplay. Maximum Playing Handicap for men and women will be 28 after slope allowance and stroke allowance have been applied. Strokes received will be the differential against the lower handicapped player but this will be restricted to 18 (max one stroke per hole).

The formula for calculating the Playing Handicap is:

Playing Handicap = {Handicap Index x (Course Slope/113) + (Course Rating-Par)} x 90%. The result is then rounded up/down to the nearest whole number.The Stroke Allowance for a 

player will be the differential from the Lower Handicapper when the Lower Handicapper plays off Scratch.

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

8. 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.

9. 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. Any handicap not used for the preceding 6 months may be considered historic and no longer current.

10. 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.

11. Mobile telephones must be set to silent and their use restricted to urgent/emergency situations. Should a telephone ring after an opponent has addressed the ball or during the stroke this may result in the loss of the hole being played.

12. At the latest, two clear days before the matches, each Captain must submit their Society’s team sheet. This should be done via the website www.clgolf.es. If the website is unavailable the Captain may submit the team via email to competitions@clgolf.es and include order of play, up to date handicap index for players, whether the player is a member of the course being played and any buggy requirements. If a substitution is necessary after the match-sheet has been published, the substitute player will directly replace the substituted player.

13. 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 one day after the match.

14a. Should a team be unable to field an individual pairing they must make prior contact with the opposing team Secretary (no later than 6pm on the day prior to the fixture) to avoid any unnecessary travel for their opponents. The points are immediately awarded to their opponents.

14b. 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.

14c. 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.

14d. On a match day if a team arrives with only three of the submitted four teams the opposing captain may choose which of his teams does not play and may swap the positions of two of his teams solely to facilitate this change.

The points for the unplayed game go automatically to the full team.

The two players now without a game may (on payment of the days green fees) play the course taking the final tee time allocated to the match.

15. Preferred lies will be permitted in all league events.

16. A player may only play for one society in any one season (he/she may elect to play for another team the following season/s)

17. If a course is closed on a designated match day with no play possible all matches will be re-played on a date suitable to both teams. If during the play of matches the course is closed normal points are awarded for completed games and all uncompleted games will be re-played on a date suitable to both teams. If no agreement can be made between the teams on a suitable day then the committee will set a date and have the final say on the matter.

18. Distance Measuring Devices (DMD’s) which measure distance only are allowed to be used in all league matches and competitions. Those devices measuring gradient or temperature or those linked to mobile phones are not permitted.

19. 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 8). 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 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 positions will be decided by the best result against the team finishing third, fourth, et al. For relegation decider the team with the best result against the team finishing first, second, et al. will remain in that division.

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