Rules and Regulations

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE SOCIETY
1. The Society shall be known as the A.N.G.S. in its shortened form. To encourage the game of golf within the A.N.G.S.
2. To arrange golf events, tours and competitions for the benefit and enjoyment of the membership. The Society membership shall not exceed 50 in total and 40 to attend any one event unless prior permission has been obtained from the intended venue.
OFFICIALS
1. The society requires that the following officials will hold office for a period of 12 months and will be elected at the a.g.m.: chairman, secretary, treasurer, handicaps secretary plus two further handicap committee members (since use of handicap master electronic system extra officers not a requirement), captain, captain elect, players representative fixtures secretary
2. The captain will nominate his captain elect at the a.g.m. and the retiring captain will hand over his role at the final event of the year.
3. The retiring captain, having served his term of office, will be required to step down from the committee and will not be eligible to hold office for a period of 12 months.
4. In the absence of the captain, the captain elect will perform the captain’s duties.
5. In the event of a committee member resigning mid-term, the committee shall be empowered to elect a temporary official for the remainder of that year.
6. Any person wishing to resign their position on the committee shall give 28 days notice in writing to the secretary.
7. Committee members who miss three consecutive committee meetings may be replaced at the committee’s discretion.
SUBSCRIPTIONS, PAYMENTS AND AGE LIMITS
1. The subscription year commences on the first of december each year.
2. The closing date for new memberships will be december 31st each year but this may be waived at the committee’s discretion.
3. The subscription rate payable will be decided by the committee for the ensuing year and communicated at the a.g.m.
4. Only fully paid up members will be allowed to attend and vote at the a.g.m.
5. Members who resign from the society will forfeit any monies they may have paid and may rejoin only at the discretion of the committee. medical grounds will be an exception.
6. Members resigning from the society with outstanding subscriptions will not be allowed to attend any ANGS events.
7. The minimum age for membership will be 16.
8. The captain’s day championships shall be open to all members and guests aged 18 or over at the date of the event.
9. All society day fees must be paid to the treasurer immediately on arrival at the venue.
MEETINGS
1. The a.g.m. will be held on the first convenient date in january of each year.
2. Members will be given 28 days notice of the date, venue and time of the a.g.m.
3. Nominees for any office or for election to the committee must be notified to the secretary in writing at least 14 days prior to the a.g.m. this also applies to agenda inclusions.
4. The treasurer shall have all accounts, balance sheets and receipts available for inspection at the a.g.m.
5. Regular committee meetings will be held at the discretion of the chairman and/or committee.
6. A special meeting will be called to arrange the annual captain’s day event, the date and times of which shall be communicated to all members by the organiser.
ALTERATIONS OR ADDITIONAL RULES
1. The society general rules may be added to, rescinded or amended only at the a.g.m. or at an e.g.m.
2. Any proposals for alterations to rules must be put in writing to the secretary at least 14 days prior.
3. The committee can implement supplementary rules at any time to cover special circumstances.
4. Interpretation of the rules shall be the sole responsibility of the committee and shall not be the subject of legal proceedings.
5. The ANGS, it’s committee and members shall not be liable for any injury or illness to any members or guests, or for any damage or loss to any person, equipment, vehicle, courses or property howsoever caused. members are strongly advised to arrange their own personal insurance.
COMPLAINTS
1. If a dispute arises amongst or between members, the players representative will be the first port of call and then the secretary if it cannot be resolved. the secretary must be informed in writing and a comprehensive description of the dispute provided to him. the committee’s decision on a dispute will be final and binding after due and impartial consideration of the dispute and its circumstances. if the committee cannot decide, an extraordinary general meeting will be called to obtain a decision.
2. The committee has the power to deal with all and any questions arising that are not covered by these rules.
HANDICAPS
1. Any member who is joining and is a member of a recognised golf club and who holds a recognised handicap must inform the handicaps secretary of the same.
2. Members will be subject to handicap revisions made by the handicaps committee.
3. All appeals against handicaps should be made to the handicaps secretary and committee whose decision shall be final.
SOCIETY DAYS AND COMPETITIONS
1. Competitions and society days come firstly under the rules of the r&a and secondly of the a.n.g.s. committee whose decisions will be final and binding.
2. Players must identify to their playing partners the golf ball they intend to use befor teeing off. any change in golf ball whilst on the course must be identified at the time of change and to all players in the group.
3. Any member who has a query and cannot resolve the problem during play must bring it to the attention of the committee on the day of the event. the decision of the committee in resolving the dispute will be final and binding and not subject to appeal.
4. Score cards must not be signed unless players are in agreement.
5. Scorecards must be completed in pencil only.
6. Members or guests who fail to notify the secretary of their intention to play in an event at least 7 days prior to the event will not be eligible to play in the event unless mitigating circumstances dictate otherwise and the secretary is satisfied of those circumstances.
7. When playing stableford rules, if a player reaches a position where he can no longer score points, he must pick up his ball and not use the tournament for practice.
8. The captain elect will choose the courses to play during his year of office and prior to the a.g.m. and his year of office.
9. The event sponsor will be afforded the privelege of teeing off first at all events.
GENERAL RULES
1. The draw for partners and groups will take place prior to events by the handicaps secretary and handicaps committee. members guests will be taken into consideration at the draw.
2. The captain will endeavour to play with as many members as possible during the course of the season.
3. Guests will be limited to three events in any one season. this is to prevent people from taking advantage of the reduced costs of playing a course without paying membership of the ANGS.
4. Caddies are allowed at any time but their expenses are the sole responsibility of the member being caddied for. they are however subject to the same rules of the society as members.
5. Only full members can compete for prizes on the day. other peripheral events may be included in an event at the committee’s discretion where prizes may be available to non-members.
6. All trophies apart from personal momentoes are the property of the society and must be returned to the secretary at the latest one month after presentation.
7. Annual trophies remain the property of the society and any damage caused to them will result in the recipient being charged for any repair or replacement costs.
8. The society and its rules of play are governed by the rules of the royal and ancient golf club of st andrews, with exceptions defined by local course rules and any deemed necessary by the committee in their efforts to avoid slow play.
9. Any disputes regarding playing rules should be addressed to the secretary who will always have an up to date r & a rule book as reference.
DRESS CODE
1. The society requires all members, guests and caddies to dress in accordance with the code of golf and those of the host course. all players and caddies should abide by clubhouse rules regarding headgear, footwear and mobile telephones.
2. All members are expected to purchase the official ANGS polo and new members will have the cost of this automatically added to their first annual subscription.
3. All members are expected to wear the official polo both on and off the course at all society events. no jeans, military style trousers, trainers, collarless shirts or football type shirts are allowed at any time.
4. Members are allowed to change for presentation ceremonies/dinners etc., but are reminded that it is appropriate for winners of awards to be presented in their official polos.
ETIQUETTE
1. Having played from a bunker, all holes, footmarks and indentations should be smoothed out and the bunker left in a tidy condition.
2. All divots must be replaced and heeled in.
3. All pitch marks on the putting surfaces must be repaired on arrival on the green and the flagstick replaced on completion of the hole.
4. All bags, trolleys, carts and buggies should be left near to the exit to the next tee and not in front of the green.
5. All cards must be marked on the next tee and not on the green being played.
6. If a match loses one clear hole to the match in front they should immediately speed up play. in the event of this not happening, the following match should be allowed to pass. time wasting causes slow play and should be avoided at all times.
7. A maximum of 5 minutes is allowed when searching for a lost ball. do not exceed this under penalty and try to reduce this time whenever possible.
8. On competitions, society days and official events, and particularly captains and presidents days, the captain should always be addressed as “mr captain”. similar respect should be shown to the life president and chairman of the society.
9. Unruly, loutish, drunken and general misbehaviour, including foul and abusive language both on and off the course, will not be tolerated. if the committee rules that any member is guilty of such conduct they will be immediately expelled from the society without appeal. any incidents that may cause embarrassment to members, the society or others should be reported to the secretary or the players representative immediately when corrective action will be taken.

Please remember that this society belongs to you – its members and each member has an obligation to uphold the good name of the ANGS.

THE ABOVE RULINGS APPLY TO ALL MEMBERS, GUESTS AND CADDIES.

MEMBERS WHO JOIN THE ANGS AGREE TO ABIDE BY THESE RULES AT ALL TIMES – THIS BEING A CONDITION OF ACCEPTANCE OF MEMBERSHIP.