Rules for the Home Nations Finals 2021-22
1. AGE
The R&A definition of “junior” applies, ie a junior golfer is an amateur golfer who had not reached his/her 18th birthday prior to the 1st January 2020.
2. HANDICAPS
The maximum playing handicap in the competition is 18 for boys and 24 for girls. Of course, those with higher handicaps may still play but their handicap will be reduced to 18 or 24, as appropriate, in competition.
Up to date handicap certificates, must be submitted to the Championship Director on arrival at Forest Pines prior to the practice round. All players must have submitted at least four qualifying Medal round cards since 1st July 2020.
Boys will play off the WHITE tees and girls will play off the RED tees.
3. TEAM SELECTION
Teams will consist of squads of eight players from which six will be selected to play in handicap order in a match with the other two playing in handicap order in the “tie break” rubbers. In the event of the first six rubbers being tied three each. The result of rubber 7 will determine the result of the match and if that rubber finishes all square then the result of rubber 8 will determine the result of the match, if this last rubber also finishes all square the match will be declared to be a tie.
If more than eight players are brought to the Finals, then the final squad of eight, together with the selected team of six plus the tie break two for the first day of competition must be submitted to the Championship Director immediately after the practice rounds or prior to 16.00, (whichever is the earlier), on Monday 15th February.
Thereafter, teams for each day’s play (6 plus 2) must be nominated prior to 16:00, the day before each round of matches. Team playing order will be in accordance with exact handicap.
4. COMPETITION FORMAT (‘Rubber’ is any two ball between two players: ‘Match’ refers to all eight rubbers between two teams)
The eight competing teams will be divided into two four team pools, Forest and Pine, consisting of one team from each of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in each pool. The teams in each pool play a round robin series of inter team matches.
Players will all go out in fourballs each one consisting of two individual rubbers. Players in the same fourball may talk to and encourage each other. However, they are not permitted, in accordance with the rules of golf, to give playing advice to one another. This overrides the “no advice by third parties” see rule §11.
A draw will be made at the Draw Dinner, to be held after the practice round on Monday 15th February, to determine who play in which pool and the four matches, two in each pool, to be played in the first round on Tuesday 16th February.
For the second round on Wednesday 17th February, the four teams which win their matches in the first round of pool matches, will play against the team in their pool on the first day that lost and which they did not play.
In the event of a 3:3 tied result in the first round, in order to identify the winner for the purposes of determining the second round draw, the official 7th rubber will determine the winner. If this is halved, the official eighth rubber will determine the winner (see §3 above).
If both these rubbers are also halved, the result of the first individual rubber (between the No1 strings) will count. If this is halved, the second individual rubber will count and so on. If all eight matches are tied, the winner will be identified by a simple draw.
On the final day of competition, Friday 19th February, the winner of Forest will play the winner of Pine (see
§6 below) in the Grand Final.
The Runner up in Forest will play the runner up in Pine in a play-off for 3rd and 4th and so on such that positions one to eight are determined.
5. SCORING
All individual rubbers will be match play over the full eighteen holes with both golfers playing off full handicap subject to the limits indicated above (see §2). The winner will be the player with the higher number of holes won, nett of holes lost with the difference being treated as either the winning or losing holes “margin” after eighteen holes.
One ‘individual rubber’ point will be awarded for a win and half a point for a rubber which finishes all square.
In each inter-team pool match, the winning team will be the one which has scored the most “individual rubber” points from the first six, seven or eight rubbers, as appropriate, and they will be awarded two “inter- team” points. If an ‘inter-team’ match is halved, each team will be awarded one ‘inter-team’ point.
6. DETERMINATION OF POOL POSITIONS
The positions in each pool will be in accordance with the number of ‘inter-team’ points accumulated over the first three rounds of matches.
If two or more teams are tied after three rounds, the pool positions will be decided by the difference between the total individual “rubber” points, for and against of the teams involved in the tie over all three rounds of the relevant pool competition.
Where two or more teams are still tied after applying the above tie break rule, the ‘individual rubber’ points for and against in only those matches in which those eight player teams were involved playing against each other will determine the result. If this does not produce a result, the team with the highest total nett margins in matches between those teams still involved will determine the pool position.
If this does not produce a result each team manager will nominate one member of his team to play in a head-to-head gross score play-off over the last two holes – 17 and 18 of the Course being played on the third day of competition. If this finishes all square, the play off will continue from the first tee on a sudden death basis.
If a player cannot complete their match through illness, their result will be a 3 & 2 loss and a losing margin of three holes will be recorded.
7. DETERMINATION OF RESULTS IN PLAY OFFS i.e. on Final Day, Friday 19th February.
In the event of a 3:3 tied result in either Championship match or 3rd and 4th play-off match on the finals day, the result will be determined as per pool matches. If this still results in a tie, both the No 1 players from each team will play sudden death on the 17th then 18th hole (if required). If still required then play will continue sudden death play on 1st, 2nd etc until a result is reached. In 5th v 6th and 7th v 8th matches, if the result is tied after consideration of rubbers won and lost on all eight games, the result will be a tie.
8. Distance Measuring Devices, Caddies/Bag Carriers/Trolley Pullers
DMD’s are permitted to be used as long as they are not used for any purpose other than distance measurement, as per R & A rule 4-3.
It is a condition of the JTG competition that mobile telephones are not to be used on the course other than in an emergency.
Players may use an electric or pull trolley. Caddies/bag carriers/trolley pullers are not allowed.
9. SLOW PLAY
Slow play will not be tolerated. Players will be expected to keep up behind the match in front. Particularly slow play by an individual will result in a verbal warning. The Championship Referee reserves the right to enforce, under R & A rule 5.6(A) a loss of hole penalty for first and second offence followed by disqualification for persistently slow play during the Championship. Any player disqualified in a match will not be available for selection in their team’s next match of the competition.
10. PLAYING KIT – TELEVISION REQUIREMENT
Playing kit will conform to normal golf competition specification.
Please note that at the request of the TV production unit, teams may be asked to change the order in which playing kit will be worn, especially on the last two days of competition.
11. SUPPORTERS
Supporters must keep to the edges of the fairways and off the greens, and remain at least 25 metres from the players throughout play unless helping find a ‘lost ball’ (see below). Buggies must stay on the paths at all times.
No advice on rulings, coaching or otherwise, may be given to the players on the course. However, supporters are encouraged to ball-spot plus help look for lost balls for all players. (Please observe Parental Guidance Notice).
Rules queries will only be dealt with by the Championship Referees. Neither Junior Organisers/ Convenors nor any walking scorers are permitted to act as rules officials in any way shape or form. In addition, whilst walking between green and tee, team managers may enquire about the individual match position or convey news about overall match positions etc.
It is a player’s responsibility to report during, or immediately after the round, to the Referee or Championship Director, any “communication” with his or her opponent by a supporter, other than is indicated above as being acceptable.
Any breach of this rule may lead to a loss of hole penalty for the player concerned for each occasion that this rule is transgressed. The organisers reserve the right to disqualify individuals, or the whole team, for persistent transgression of this rule.
12. BEHAVIOUR
The organisers reserve the right to apply severe future sanctions on any club whose team members behave unacceptably, on or off the course. It is the responsibility of the Chef de Missions and the Team Managers to ensure that the behaviour of their team members including players, officials and supporters does not breach acceptable standards (see Appendix 2).
13. TROPHIES
In addition to the Trophy, prizes awarded to the winning team, runners up and third place teams plus rolls of honour and sponsors prize presented to all teams, there will be trophies for individual performances (see Appendix 1 for details).
It is the obligation of both the Winners of the Nigel Dolton Trophy and the Winner of the Alex Hay Trophy to return their awards a minimum of 8 weeks before the start of the 2021 – 22 Competition.
14. BAD WEATHER PROVISION (if all or part of a day’s play is abandoned)
14.1 If for whatever reason, a round of matches is cancelled in advance of play commencing or during play, every effort will be made to reorganize/continue the round of matches at a mutually convenient time either later the same day, or at least prior to the next round of matches scheduled for the following day.
If this is not possible to achieve in good time prior to the next round, the result shall be deemed to be a tie, unless §14.2 can be applied (see below).
14.2 If play has to be abandoned during the course of a round, the following procedure will be adopted in order to determine the winning team in each match VIZ:-Where less than four rubbers in a match have completed a minimum of six holes at the time of abandonment, the whole match, will be deemed abandoned and §14.1 shall apply in respect of that match.
Note: The relevant hole, referred to below as the “base” hole(s), will be the last hole completed, prior to the abandonment by players in the fourballs/ two balls as appropriate at the back of the field, i.e. who teed off last. The base hole must be the sixth or greater.
Where rubbers have not been fully completed when the match is abandoned, the position in each individual rubber, taken at the same “base” hole, will be deemed to be the result.
Any rubbers which have not completed six holes ie maximum of two will be declared tied, irrespective of the actual position at the abandonment.
Where rubbers have been completed ie a winner has been identified in advance of the 18th hole the result of that rubber will stand irrespective of whether some of the rubbers in the match have not been completed and are determined by reference back to the position at the relevant base hole.
The result of the match will be determined in the normal way as though all eight matches have registered “completed rounds”.
DISCLAIMER ETC.
15. By agreeing to play at any Junior Team Golf event, Clubs accept full responsibility for any injury that may occur to any team member or official, and release and indemnify the event organisers from any actions, costs, damages, expenses or liability.
It is understood that all spectators other than Club Officials will be attending the event at their own risk.
In order to fulfil the requirements of Television and other media, Clubs agree for individual players/member of the official party to be photographed for print media and filmed for television.
Junior Team Golf agrees, that they shall not use this visual material to promote anything other than the event itself, without parental or individual’s permission, as appropriate.
The R&A definition of “junior” applies, ie a junior golfer is an amateur golfer who had not reached his/her 18th birthday prior to the 1st January 2020.
2. HANDICAPS
The maximum playing handicap in the competition is 18 for boys and 24 for girls. Of course, those with higher handicaps may still play but their handicap will be reduced to 18 or 24, as appropriate, in competition.
Up to date handicap certificates, must be submitted to the Championship Director on arrival at Forest Pines prior to the practice round. All players must have submitted at least four qualifying Medal round cards since 1st July 2020.
Boys will play off the WHITE tees and girls will play off the RED tees.
3. TEAM SELECTION
Teams will consist of squads of eight players from which six will be selected to play in handicap order in a match with the other two playing in handicap order in the “tie break” rubbers. In the event of the first six rubbers being tied three each. The result of rubber 7 will determine the result of the match and if that rubber finishes all square then the result of rubber 8 will determine the result of the match, if this last rubber also finishes all square the match will be declared to be a tie.
If more than eight players are brought to the Finals, then the final squad of eight, together with the selected team of six plus the tie break two for the first day of competition must be submitted to the Championship Director immediately after the practice rounds or prior to 16.00, (whichever is the earlier), on Monday 15th February.
Thereafter, teams for each day’s play (6 plus 2) must be nominated prior to 16:00, the day before each round of matches. Team playing order will be in accordance with exact handicap.
4. COMPETITION FORMAT (‘Rubber’ is any two ball between two players: ‘Match’ refers to all eight rubbers between two teams)
The eight competing teams will be divided into two four team pools, Forest and Pine, consisting of one team from each of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in each pool. The teams in each pool play a round robin series of inter team matches.
Players will all go out in fourballs each one consisting of two individual rubbers. Players in the same fourball may talk to and encourage each other. However, they are not permitted, in accordance with the rules of golf, to give playing advice to one another. This overrides the “no advice by third parties” see rule §11.
A draw will be made at the Draw Dinner, to be held after the practice round on Monday 15th February, to determine who play in which pool and the four matches, two in each pool, to be played in the first round on Tuesday 16th February.
For the second round on Wednesday 17th February, the four teams which win their matches in the first round of pool matches, will play against the team in their pool on the first day that lost and which they did not play.
In the event of a 3:3 tied result in the first round, in order to identify the winner for the purposes of determining the second round draw, the official 7th rubber will determine the winner. If this is halved, the official eighth rubber will determine the winner (see §3 above).
If both these rubbers are also halved, the result of the first individual rubber (between the No1 strings) will count. If this is halved, the second individual rubber will count and so on. If all eight matches are tied, the winner will be identified by a simple draw.
On the final day of competition, Friday 19th February, the winner of Forest will play the winner of Pine (see
§6 below) in the Grand Final.
The Runner up in Forest will play the runner up in Pine in a play-off for 3rd and 4th and so on such that positions one to eight are determined.
5. SCORING
All individual rubbers will be match play over the full eighteen holes with both golfers playing off full handicap subject to the limits indicated above (see §2). The winner will be the player with the higher number of holes won, nett of holes lost with the difference being treated as either the winning or losing holes “margin” after eighteen holes.
One ‘individual rubber’ point will be awarded for a win and half a point for a rubber which finishes all square.
In each inter-team pool match, the winning team will be the one which has scored the most “individual rubber” points from the first six, seven or eight rubbers, as appropriate, and they will be awarded two “inter- team” points. If an ‘inter-team’ match is halved, each team will be awarded one ‘inter-team’ point.
6. DETERMINATION OF POOL POSITIONS
The positions in each pool will be in accordance with the number of ‘inter-team’ points accumulated over the first three rounds of matches.
If two or more teams are tied after three rounds, the pool positions will be decided by the difference between the total individual “rubber” points, for and against of the teams involved in the tie over all three rounds of the relevant pool competition.
Where two or more teams are still tied after applying the above tie break rule, the ‘individual rubber’ points for and against in only those matches in which those eight player teams were involved playing against each other will determine the result. If this does not produce a result, the team with the highest total nett margins in matches between those teams still involved will determine the pool position.
If this does not produce a result each team manager will nominate one member of his team to play in a head-to-head gross score play-off over the last two holes – 17 and 18 of the Course being played on the third day of competition. If this finishes all square, the play off will continue from the first tee on a sudden death basis.
If a player cannot complete their match through illness, their result will be a 3 & 2 loss and a losing margin of three holes will be recorded.
7. DETERMINATION OF RESULTS IN PLAY OFFS i.e. on Final Day, Friday 19th February.
In the event of a 3:3 tied result in either Championship match or 3rd and 4th play-off match on the finals day, the result will be determined as per pool matches. If this still results in a tie, both the No 1 players from each team will play sudden death on the 17th then 18th hole (if required). If still required then play will continue sudden death play on 1st, 2nd etc until a result is reached. In 5th v 6th and 7th v 8th matches, if the result is tied after consideration of rubbers won and lost on all eight games, the result will be a tie.
8. Distance Measuring Devices, Caddies/Bag Carriers/Trolley Pullers
DMD’s are permitted to be used as long as they are not used for any purpose other than distance measurement, as per R & A rule 4-3.
It is a condition of the JTG competition that mobile telephones are not to be used on the course other than in an emergency.
Players may use an electric or pull trolley. Caddies/bag carriers/trolley pullers are not allowed.
9. SLOW PLAY
Slow play will not be tolerated. Players will be expected to keep up behind the match in front. Particularly slow play by an individual will result in a verbal warning. The Championship Referee reserves the right to enforce, under R & A rule 5.6(A) a loss of hole penalty for first and second offence followed by disqualification for persistently slow play during the Championship. Any player disqualified in a match will not be available for selection in their team’s next match of the competition.
10. PLAYING KIT – TELEVISION REQUIREMENT
Playing kit will conform to normal golf competition specification.
Please note that at the request of the TV production unit, teams may be asked to change the order in which playing kit will be worn, especially on the last two days of competition.
11. SUPPORTERS
Supporters must keep to the edges of the fairways and off the greens, and remain at least 25 metres from the players throughout play unless helping find a ‘lost ball’ (see below). Buggies must stay on the paths at all times.
No advice on rulings, coaching or otherwise, may be given to the players on the course. However, supporters are encouraged to ball-spot plus help look for lost balls for all players. (Please observe Parental Guidance Notice).
Rules queries will only be dealt with by the Championship Referees. Neither Junior Organisers/ Convenors nor any walking scorers are permitted to act as rules officials in any way shape or form. In addition, whilst walking between green and tee, team managers may enquire about the individual match position or convey news about overall match positions etc.
It is a player’s responsibility to report during, or immediately after the round, to the Referee or Championship Director, any “communication” with his or her opponent by a supporter, other than is indicated above as being acceptable.
Any breach of this rule may lead to a loss of hole penalty for the player concerned for each occasion that this rule is transgressed. The organisers reserve the right to disqualify individuals, or the whole team, for persistent transgression of this rule.
12. BEHAVIOUR
The organisers reserve the right to apply severe future sanctions on any club whose team members behave unacceptably, on or off the course. It is the responsibility of the Chef de Missions and the Team Managers to ensure that the behaviour of their team members including players, officials and supporters does not breach acceptable standards (see Appendix 2).
13. TROPHIES
In addition to the Trophy, prizes awarded to the winning team, runners up and third place teams plus rolls of honour and sponsors prize presented to all teams, there will be trophies for individual performances (see Appendix 1 for details).
It is the obligation of both the Winners of the Nigel Dolton Trophy and the Winner of the Alex Hay Trophy to return their awards a minimum of 8 weeks before the start of the 2021 – 22 Competition.
14. BAD WEATHER PROVISION (if all or part of a day’s play is abandoned)
14.1 If for whatever reason, a round of matches is cancelled in advance of play commencing or during play, every effort will be made to reorganize/continue the round of matches at a mutually convenient time either later the same day, or at least prior to the next round of matches scheduled for the following day.
If this is not possible to achieve in good time prior to the next round, the result shall be deemed to be a tie, unless §14.2 can be applied (see below).
14.2 If play has to be abandoned during the course of a round, the following procedure will be adopted in order to determine the winning team in each match VIZ:-Where less than four rubbers in a match have completed a minimum of six holes at the time of abandonment, the whole match, will be deemed abandoned and §14.1 shall apply in respect of that match.
Note: The relevant hole, referred to below as the “base” hole(s), will be the last hole completed, prior to the abandonment by players in the fourballs/ two balls as appropriate at the back of the field, i.e. who teed off last. The base hole must be the sixth or greater.
Where rubbers have not been fully completed when the match is abandoned, the position in each individual rubber, taken at the same “base” hole, will be deemed to be the result.
Any rubbers which have not completed six holes ie maximum of two will be declared tied, irrespective of the actual position at the abandonment.
Where rubbers have been completed ie a winner has been identified in advance of the 18th hole the result of that rubber will stand irrespective of whether some of the rubbers in the match have not been completed and are determined by reference back to the position at the relevant base hole.
The result of the match will be determined in the normal way as though all eight matches have registered “completed rounds”.
DISCLAIMER ETC.
15. By agreeing to play at any Junior Team Golf event, Clubs accept full responsibility for any injury that may occur to any team member or official, and release and indemnify the event organisers from any actions, costs, damages, expenses or liability.
It is understood that all spectators other than Club Officials will be attending the event at their own risk.
In order to fulfil the requirements of Television and other media, Clubs agree for individual players/member of the official party to be photographed for print media and filmed for television.
Junior Team Golf agrees, that they shall not use this visual material to promote anything other than the event itself, without parental or individual’s permission, as appropriate.
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