Rules of Play

Eligibility

• All players must be amateur golfers aged 18 or over and resident in England, Scotland or Wales.
• Each player must be a member of an affiliated golf club and hold an official, active WHS Handicap Index.
• Each player must have submitted at least six acceptable competition scores during the 12 months immediately before the relevant qualifying event. The organiser may ask for handicap-record evidence.
• Society-only and OpenPlay handicaps are not accepted.
• The organiser may refuse or cancel an entry where eligibility cannot be verified.

Team handicaps

The team playing handicap is calculated using 20% of the lowest Handicap Index, 15% of the second-lowest, 10% of the third-lowest and 5% of the highest, subject to any required course-rating, par, tee or WHS adjustments.

• The maximum team handicap is 8.4.
• The maximum individual Handicap Index is 28.0 for men and 36.0 for women.
• All four Handicap Indexes must be current on the day of play.
• The organiser may verify or recalculate any handicap and correct a score or result where necessary.

Playing format

The competition is a four-player Texas Scramble. Teams may be any combination of eligible men and women.

• Each player must supply at least four tee shots during the round. At least one of those drives must be used on a par 3.
• If the course has fewer than four par 3s, the remaining compulsory par-3 drive requirement will transfer to a hole nominated by the organiser before play.
• After the team selects a ball, all players play the next stroke from within six inches of the selected ball, no nearer the hole, and from the same area of the course.
• On the putting green, the position of the selected ball must be marked. Each player putts from that position. Play continues in this way until the ball is holed.
• The hole is complete as soon as a ball is holed. Further strokes do not count.

Rules of Golf and countback

The Rules of Golf, the host club’s Local Rules and any event-specific instructions issued by the organiser apply. Team members may stand on an extension of a partner’s line of play or putt while the partner makes a stroke where permitted by the event’s scramble conditions.

Ties

Unless a specific event notice says otherwise, qualifying-event ties are decided by countback over the inward nine holes, then the last six, last three and last hole, followed by backward hole-by-hole countback from the 18th. A tie affecting the principal National Final prize may be decided by a closest-to-the-pin shootout under instructions issued on the day.

UK National Final

• The winning eligible team at each designated qualifier progresses to the UK National Final.
• The expectation is that the four qualifying players compete in the Final. One substitute may be permitted only with the organiser’s prior written approval and must independently satisfy every eligibility and handicap requirement.
• National Final places and all connected benefits are non-transferable except where the organiser expressly approves a substitution.
• The organiser may make an ineligible team, or a team that does not break gross par at its qualifier, ineligible for the following season.
• The winning eligible team at the UK National Final is crowned UK National Champion and qualifies for the USA Championship Stage described below.

Competitive USA Championship Stage

The UK National Final is a qualifying stage of the wider competition. The sporting competition connected with the principal prize continues in America and is not complete at the conclusion of the UK National Final.

• Both USA rounds are genuine competition rounds and form the subsequent stage of the same overall competition.
• The organiser will confirm the dates, golf courses, field, tees, handicap method, Local Rules and tie procedure in the USA-stage event notice.
• Players must remain eligible amateurs and meet all entry conditions at the time of the USA stage.
• If a player or team cannot take part, any replacement or invitation of another team is entirely at the organiser’s discretion.

What the organiser provides

For the four members of the qualifying UK National Championship team, the organiser will directly book and provide the following elements for the USA Championship Stage and connected trip:

• Return economy flights from an airport selected by the organiser.
• Accommodation selected and booked by the organiser.
• Car hire selected and booked by the organiser, with one vehicle provided for the team.
• Green fees and entry for the two 18-hole competitive USA Championship Stage rounds.
• Admission tickets for Masters week as specified by the organiser. The organiser’s approximate actual cost allocation for these tickets is US$500 per player for the week.

Direct provision only

All included arrangements are booked and paid directly by the organiser or its appointed travel and event suppliers. Players must not make their own bookings in expectation of payment. The package does not create any right to repayment, refund or reimbursement, and there is no cash alternative.

Competition expenses and the amateur prize limit

The travel, accommodation, car hire and golf arrangements are provided to enable the team to compete in the subsequent USA stage of the same competition. These directly paid competition expenses are treated separately from the non-cash prize limit under the current R&A Rules of Amateur Status.

The Masters admission ticket is a separate, non-cash prize element. Its value, together with any other non-cash prize awarded to an individual player in connection with the competition, will be kept within the applicable R&A prize limit for a handicap competition, currently £700 per player (or the equivalent in another currency).

What is not included

• Meals, drinks and personal spending unless expressly stated in the final itinerary.
• Travel insurance, passports, ESTA or visa costs, medical requirements or other entry documentation.
• Travel to and from the selected UK departure airport.
• Fuel, parking, road tolls, car-hire security deposits, additional drivers, insurance upgrades, fines or vehicle upgrades.
• Airline baggage, seat or cabin upgrades beyond the allowance specified by the organiser.
• Room upgrades, extra nights, alternative flights or changes requested by a player.
• Partners, guests, dependants or any person other than the four eligible team members.

Any optional extra or personal change is subject to availability, the organiser’s prior approval and direct payment by the player to the relevant supplier.

Player responsibilities

• Each traveller is responsible for holding a valid passport, securing any required ESTA or visa, satisfying entry and health requirements, and obtaining suitable travel insurance.
• Each player must supply accurate legal names and travel information by the stated deadline. Charges caused by incorrect or late information are the player’s responsibility.
• At least one team member must satisfy the car-hire company’s licence, age, payment-card and deposit requirements. Failure to do so does not create a right to alternative transport or payment.
• Players must be available for the dates chosen by the organiser and follow the issued itinerary. Dates, airports, flights, accommodation, golf courses, vehicle and ticket days are selected by the organiser.
• No element may be sold, transferred or exchanged. Misuse or attempted resale of any ticket or booking may result in cancellation of the relevant element and disqualification.

Organiser decisions and changes

The organiser’s decision on eligibility, handicaps, scoring, ties, substitutions, progression and interpretation of these rules is final, subject to the Rules of Golf and any applicable governing-body procedure.

If circumstances outside the organiser’s reasonable control affect travel, golf, tickets or the event schedule, the organiser may substitute an equivalent supplier, venue, date or element where reasonably necessary. No cash alternative arises from such a change.

The organiser may amend these rules where necessary to comply with the Rules of Golf, the R&A Rules of Amateur Status, WHS requirements, host-club conditions, supplier terms or applicable law. Any material change affecting an entered team will be communicated as soon as reasonably practicable.