A. ELGIBILITY and GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

1. All Members must have a valid Handicap Index and must satisfy the eligibility conditions

for the competition and be conversant with the Rules of Golf and with the key points of the

World Handicapping System (WHS).

2. Only those members who have already paid their current subscription shall be eligible

to win prizes in Competitions played after the relevant date each year.

3. The Major Competitions are classified as being the Captain’s Prize; the President’s Prize;

the John A. Mulcahy Trophy and the John Quinlan Memorial. No member is permitted to win First

Prize in any of these Major Competitions, unless they have played in a minimum of 3 Club

Competitions in the same Calendar Year as the Major Competition.

4. Junior Members under the age of 18 years on the 1st January in the year of a Competition,

cannot play in the Captain’s Prize, the President’s Prize and the John Quinlan Memorial, unless

their Handicap Index on the day of these Major Competitions, is 12.0 or less.

5. Junior Members under the age of 18 years on the 1st January in the year of a Competition,

can play in the John A. Mulcahy Trophy, if their Handicap Index on the day of this Competition, is

18.0 or less.

B. ENTRY PROCEDURES

1. On the day of the competition, prior to play, members must enter the competition by using

the Computerised Online Competition System on their smartphone or on the competition

computer screen located in the competition room.

2. In the event of a computer malfunction, members must check-in to a competition by writing

their name(s) and Golf Ireland number(s) into the Competition book, which will be provided in

the competition room. In this event, members are responsible for clearly writing all essential

details onto their score card i.e., handicap, date, competition name, as per Model Local Rule L-

2 displayed in the Competition Room.

3. The entry fee for the Competition must be paid via the computerised online competition

system.

4. Entry into the 4 Major Competitions will be run through a time-sheet displayed in the Office or

via an Online time sheet.

C. Competition Formats and Handicap Allowances

1. All competitions will be bound by the R&A Rules of Golf, Rule 3 - The Competition. A

Notice specific to the rules and format will be published for each competition and displayed onthe Men’s Club noticeboard. Members should study this notice, which will contain specific

rules regarding format (stroke / stableford), number of holes, tees in play, etc.

2. Members should be aware that certain provisions or local rules, temporary or otherwise,

may apply to play on the golf course and are usually displayed on the club notice board.

Ignorance of these provisions or local rules does not absolve a member(s) from penalties for

breaching them.

3. The Committee, at their discretion, are permitted under Rule 7.2a of the World

Handicapping System (WHS) to set a maximum handicap index, or playing handicap, for

specific competitions and/or to adjust the playing handicap of a member(s) to a competition

where there is evidence that the players handicap index does not reflect his/their demonstrated

ability.

4. Notwithstanding rule C.1, any member aged over 75 years on the 1st of January in a

Competition year is allowed to play off the Green Markers in all Club Competitions, including

Major Competitions, provided their Handicap Index is 35.0 or higher.

5. No Junior or Student Member under the age of 25 years on the 1st January in the year of a

Competition, may compete in a Club Competition with a Handicap Index of 25.0 or greater. They

may participate in the Competition off a Playing Handicap of 27 and their actual score will be

recorded for Handicap purposes.

D. Order of Play & Qualifying Competitions

1. All Competitions will start from the 1st tee unless members are requested to begin from the

10th tee by the Starter, to assist with the smooth running of the golf course or granted permission

to move to the 10th tee, by the Captain of the Men’s Club.

2. The Captain and President shall have precedence over all other players on the 1st tee in all

Club Competitions.

3. There must be at least 15 competitors to ensure that a valid competition takes place, whether

that competition is run over 1 or 2 days. This will ensure that the winner of any valid competition

will qualify into the Winners Cup.

4. If less than 20 competitors play in a Sponsored competition, with the exception of the John

Quinlan Memorial and the Joe O’Mahony Memorial, the competition will revert to a Club

Sponsored event.

E. Scorecard Returns

1. All competitors must record their scores on their manual/digital scorecard. On

completion of the round the card must be signed by both the player and marker. The scores

recorded must then be entered onto the Competition Computer and the scorecard put into the

Scorecard box.

2. When entering the score on the computer or digital scorecard, a competitor should

record (NP) in the case of a hole not played (NP) and (PU) in the case of a hole played but no

score recorded on it i.e. the ball was picked up (PU).3. Should a competitor have a query over a score or ruling on a particular hole, they should

follow the procedures in Rule 20 of the R&A Rules of Golf.

4. A Junior Member under the age of 18 years on the 1st January in the year of a Competition

is permitted to sign the card of a Resident, Non-Resident, Honorary Member or a Preferred

Candidate, but is not permitted to sign the card of another Junior Member in a Club Competition

or in a General Play Round for Handicap purposes.

F. Resolution of Ties & Results Declared

1. In the event of a tie the usual count back system will apply i.e. Back 9, back 6, etc. The

back 9 holes of Waterville Golf Links will be used to determine same, regardless of whether the

competitor(s) started on the 1st or 10th hole.

2. Results will be declared after all the scorecards have been entered and checked by the

Men’s Committee. No scorecards will be accepted for checking after 10pm May to September

inclusive and after 7pm October to April inclusive.

3. A Competition result is deemed as final, when the results have been posted onto the

results section of MasterScoreboard and onto the noticeboard of the Competition Room.

G. Miscellaneous

1. The use of buggies are permitted in all Club competitions, by any competitor, no matter

how young and fit they are .

2. Members are requested to report all notable scores obtained when playing away from

Waterville Golf Club in any casual golf, society, team events, overseas trips and/or tournaments

to the Handicap Committee in a timely manner, by way of the Notable Score Sheet posted in the

Competition Room.

3. Members are expected to act with integrity by following the Rules of Handicapping and

to refrain from abusing or circumventing these rules for the purpose of gaining an unfair

advantage.

4. The decisions of the Waterville Men’s Committee on the application of these General

Rules shall be final and binding. The Committee specifically reserves the right to amend, vary,

or waive the application of same from time to time, as it deems necessary and reasonable.

Note: These general rules were reviewed & approved by the Committee at meetings of 18 March

and 23 April 2025