M4 Seniors Winter League Constitution

The M4 Seniors Winter League Constitution 2012

Aim: To provide a Seniors winter tournament for clubs with an 18-hole course, and would like to continue a competitive aspect to winter play for their members, with a minimum age 55.

 

There should be no more than 6 teams in any division giving a maximum of 10 matches per club in a division of 6 clubs, played on a home and away basis. There will be a maximum of 48 clubs/8 divisions. If more clubs wish to join, a waiting list will be established by the application date.

 

Management:

Management will be by a committee of 5 individuals elected/re-elected annually at the Annual General Meeting. A secretary will be elected from the representatives. One of the club representatives will be elected as Chairman, for a calendar year. The committee will meet at least 3 times a year as follows: on completion of all divisional fixtures, before the Annual General Meeting, and before the commencement of fixtures. 

 

Member clubs will be responsible for arranging their respective fixtures and reporting results.

 

There will be an annual £40 subscription fee payable by 1st June each year. Failure to pay any overdue subscriptions can be grounds for suspension until the problem is resolved. An additional registration fee of £10 will be required from any new club joining the league. New entrants will be placed in any DIVISION initially, but this will be reviewed in the bi-annual division allocation.

 

The committee have the power to either cancel, suspend or remove a club immediately if necessary, should any club’s actions threaten the integrity of the league. Any action taken by the committee can be instigated by member clubs who have to provide the basis of their concerns. The Committee will arbitrate on all issues raised, liaising with the game’s governing bodies – The R&A and England Golf – where deemed appropriate/necessary.

  1. Matches:

    To be played off a measured course using yellow, although it was agreed at the AGM 2 years ago that captains could agree to play off any Tee (or club equivalent) tees. The first tee time should be agreed upon by the Captains of each club when organising the season’s fixtures. It is hoped teams will normally meet at/from 08:30 am for coffee before play commences. Match fixtures should, as far as practically possible, be reversed for the second year to enable clubs to experience the conditions at different times of the year, continuing in the same vein year on year.

    Format of Play:

    Each game will be Match Play, 4 pairs on each side, four-ball, better ball.

     A handicap allowance of 90% of the difference against the player with the lowest handicap in each four-ball match will be used to determine where shots are given/received. No player can have a handicap index of 25 maximum. This could result in more than 25 shots. On the day of the match: home club rules to apply along with the rules of golf to be as defined by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews. All players must have an active handicap and be able to produce a WHS handicap index that can be verified through an EGU connection.

    Scoring:

    Match points will be awarded as follows: 2 points for an overall home win, 3 points for an away win, 1 point for a home-halved match and 1.5 points for the away team. If matches cannot be played or completed due to say, inclement weather, clubs should attempt to re-schedule the match during the season, advising the Match Secretary of the revised date. If that is not possible both clubs will be awarded 1 point.


    Deciding Winning Club of each Mini Division:

    In the case of clubs in the same mini division finishing equal points at the end of the season, in deciding the winning club, the following criteria will be used.

    1. The winning side will be the club winning the most matches in the season.

    If still equal, then the following will be applied in order:

    1. The side winning the most away matches.
    2. The side with the most aggregate points in the matches between the tied clubs.
    3. The total aggregate winning margin in all individual matches will decide.

 

Match Results:

Results must be reported to the Results Secretary by the home club copying in the away club. The Results Secretary will circulate the latest league tables to club representatives on a regular basis, typically monthly but this may be more frequently towards the end of the season when teams could be vying for play-off positions.

Determining the Finalists:

Assuming 8 divisions each division winner and runner-up will provide the 16 clubs to play in the knockout tournament to arrive at the finalists. The division winners will get a home fixture in an open draw. For the quarter-finals and semi-finals an open draw will take place and neutral venues will be used as agreed at the 2023 AGM. This will make matches fair as the final will be on a neutral course. Captains will be informed of neutral courses when each knockout round is drawn, There will be a playoff for 3rd place on the final day between the losing 2 semi-finalists.

 Trophy:

The winners of the final will be presented with the trophy. The trophy cannot be won outright but will be held by the winning club for one year. Each yearly winner will cover the cost of engraving the trophy plaque, which will be arranged by the Secretary to ensure that the engraving is kept the same.

Presentation:

The Chairman will enquire of the member clubs who would be prepared to host golf followed by a presentation , the overall winning league club will be presented with the championship trophy. There will be a prize for the winning team on the presentation day.

INTERIM LEAGUE APPEALS PROCEDURE.

If an appeal is made it should be notified by the claimant to the opponent either after the shot is made, or before teeing off at the next tee, or during the match or at the conclusion before leaving the final green.

The team captains should endeavour to reach an agreement on an appeal before the match result is given. If this cannot be made, then the appeal should be passed to the committee. The Match Secretary should be advised that the match result is subject to an appeal and the result will be held in abeyance pending resolution as described below.

 The details of the appeal must be notified in conjunction with the team Captains over to the League Secretary who will arrange for members of the league Management Committee to adjudicate. The Secretary will inform the club/s of the committee’s decision. If the appeal influences the result of the match, then the awarding of match points will not be made until the outcome of the appeal has been resolved. Should the offending club not accept the committee’s decision, then the appeal will be passed over to the R & A Rules Committee to consider and make a final ruling.

This procedure will be overseen by the General  Secretary.

 Complaints procedure.

It is hoped that by following all the guidance and regulations there would not be any complaints made however, if a member club wishes to complain then the following procedure applies.

  1. All complaints must be submitted in writing to the Secretary.
  2. Any complaint must have all supporting evidence submitted at the time.
  3. The Secretary will consult with the committee and if needed arrange a specific committee meeting.
  4. A full investigation will be undertaken and may lead to seeking advice from the R & A Golf.
  5. The committee may seek a meeting with all concerned.  
  6. Once a decision is made the result is final.

 

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Foundation Clubs

Below is a list of the foundation clubs who set up the league on this date the 14th day in the month of November in the year 2012.

Badgemore Park Golf Club. Henley

Calcot Park Golf Club Reading    Resigned 2019

Harleyford Golf Club Marlow

Laleham Golf Club   Staines    Resigned   2015

Richings Park Golf Club Slough

Royal Ascot Golf Club Ascot

Temple Golf Club Maidenhead  – resigned 2019

Weybrook Park Golf Club. Basingstoke

Associate Clubs

West Herts. Watford

West Berks. Newbury

The above information forms the constitution of the M4 Seniors Winter League, which came into being on the 14th November 2012.

Updated following the 2022 AGM.

 

 

Henry Gardner.

(Elected Chairman)                            28 September 2023.

 

M4 Seniors WINTER LEAGUE

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