Month: December 2017

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R&A 2018 Local Rule: Modification of Score Card Penalty

The R&A and USGA have recommended that all Committees introduce the following Local Rule commencing 1st January 2018.j

This Local Rule overrides the change to the Exception to Rule 6-6d introduced on 1st January 2016, which penalised a player an additional two strokes for a penalty that was not recorded on their returned score card.

The Exception to Rule 6-6d is modified as follows:

Exception: If a competitor returns a score for any hole lower than actually taken due to failure to include one or more penalty strokes that, before returning his score card, he did not know he had incurred, he is not disqualified. In such circumstances, the competitor incurs the penalty prescribed by the applicable Rule, but there is no additional penalty for a breach of Rule 6-6d. This Exception does not apply when the applicable penalty is disqualification from the competition.

Note 1: The Committee is responsible for the addition of scores and application of the handicap recorded on the score card – see Rule 33-5.
Note 2: In four-ball stroke play, see also Rule 31-3 and 31-7a.

So if this Local Rule is introduced, a player will only be penalised one or two strokes (depending on the penalty for the breach incurred), for not including a penalty on their score card, providing they were not aware that they had incurred one.

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Relaxation of Rules Governing Supplementary Scores

Relaxation of the Rules to Allow an Unlimited Number of Supplementary Score Submissions After January 2018

A second post on the CONGU Changes 2018

Supplementary Scores – Relaxation of the rules to allow an unlimited number of score submissions per year and removal of the restriction of one per week. However, the restriction on Category 1 players will remain in place.

Supplementary Scores were introduced by CONGU in 2008 as a means of providing players who, despite the fact that their Golf Clubs may be considered to be running sufficient qualifying competitions, find it difficult, for various legitimate reasons, to be able to return a sufficient number of qualifying scores between Annual Reviews in order to maintain a handicap that is a true reflection of their current ability.

However CONGU placed a limit on the number and frequency that Supplemantary Scores could be submitted in each calendar year; these are noted in Supplemetary Scores along with more details of Supplementary Scores and the procedures which players and clubs are recommended to follow in submitting and processing Supplementary Scores.

In relaxing the limits on Submitting Supplementary Scores CONGU have made it easier  for players to submit more scores to their handicap record so that their current handicap is a true reflection of their ability.