Seniors Section Constitution

John O’Gaunt Club Senior Section

Constitution

Including

Eligibility for and Rules and 

Responsibilities of Membership

And

Eligibility and Rules for and Responsibilities ofEntering

Senior Section Competitions and Interclub Matches

 

First published June 2017

 ​

 

A. Constitution

1. Objectives

The purpose of the John O’Gaunt Golf Club (‘the Club’) Seniors’ Section (‘the Section’), is to arrange and encourage the play of social and competitive golf among those eligible for membership of the Section (see Section 2 below).

Section members are not a separate category of membership of the Club but the Club kindly supports the Section by:

o allowing the Section to manage competitions and matches through the Club’s golf management system;

o allowing the Section to reserve tee times for matches and competitions;

o allowing free golf for visitors for Interclub Matches and the Senior Member & Guest Day;

o including Section events in the Club calendar and diary.

Section members retain the same rights and responsibilities as any other member of the Club as defined by their Club membership category. Correspondingly members of the Section have a responsibility to ensure that their actions or words do not embarrass or cause difficulties for the Club or the Section.

The Section defines its own governance and rules provided that those do not conflict with the Club’s current governance and rules or the current Rules of Golf, bothapplicable at the time and including any changes to those which may be made from time to time.

The membership and financial year of the Section shall run from 1st January to 31st December each year.

2. Membership

Playing Membership of the Section is available to any playing male member of the Club who will be aged 60 or more in the current calendar year, on payment of an annual subscription as set by the Committee from time-to-time.Playing members (‘members’):

• may enter any Section Competition (and see C below)

• may enter the Section Interclub Match Squad (and see D below)

• may offer to organise any Section Competitions and Matches

• may be elected to any Office on the Senior Section Committee (see 3 below)

• shall be a voting member at any General Meeting of members of the Senior Section.

The annual subscription will become due on 1st January every year. A new member joining during a year will be required to pay the full annual subscription for that year with no reduction.

Annual subscriptions must be paid before any member may vote at a General Meeting of members, enter any Section competition or be selected for any Interclub match in that year.

Courtesy Membership of the Section may be offered by the Committee at their discretion. A Courtesy Member will pay no annual fee but in all other respects has the same rights and responsibilities as a Playing Member.

Social Membership of the Section is available to any male social member of the Club who has also previously been a playing member of the Section. No annual fee is payable by Social members of the Section.

Any member may attend the Senior Section Annual Dinner on payment of the fee set by the Section Committee.

A Social Member who changes his Club membership category back to a playing category, must pay the required annual subscription before having the rights and responsibilities of a Playing Member of the Section.

3. Governance

An Annual General Meeting (AGM) of members shall be held in February each year. Only members who have joined (or rejoined) the Section in the current year shall be eligible to stand for office and/or vote at the AGM.

On behalf of the Committee, the Hon Sec shall give notice of the AGM and issue an Agenda at least 5 weeks prior to the AGM.

At the AGM:

• the Captain and Honorary Secretary shall present their reports, and the Treasurer shall present his report and the accounts, for the previous year to 31st December.

• Members shall be asked to vote to adopt the accounts for the previous year and to appoint an auditor for the current year’s accounts.

• The members of the Section shall then elect the following Officers:

o Senior Section Captain “Seniors Captain”

o Senior Section Vice-Captain “Vice-Captain”

o Senior Section Honorary Treasurer “Treasurer”

o Senior Section Honorary Secretary “Hon Sec”

The above officers, together with the Immediate Past Senior Section Captain, shall comprise the Senior Section Committee (‘the Committee’).

Should a vacancy arise on the Committee during the year, the Committee has the power to co-opt addition membersas necessary. Such co-opted members of the Committee shall retire at the next AGM but be eligible for proposal for election at the next AGM.

The Committee shall meet as they decide is necessary and be responsible for:

• the overall management of the Section;

• responding to any matters that arise from Section members relating to Section activities;

• dealing with any breach of the Rules of Golf, the Rules of the Club and/or the Rules of the Section which may occur during or relating to Section events.

o This responsibility does not exclude or replace the responsibility of the Club Committee for dealing with disciplinary or other matters relating to any events at the Club, including Section events. (See Paragraph E below).

• agreeing a list of competitions, interclub matches and other events for the Section Calendar to be submitted to the Club for consideration for the Club diary;

• after approval by the Club for those events held at the Club, agreeing the annual Section Calendar;

• agreeing the conditions of entry, fees and prizes for Section competitions, matches and other events;

• agreeing a budget from which the Captain may obtain keepsake prizes for winners and other gifts for thoseassisting in any Section event;

• agreeing the style of any Senior Section clothing (e.g. ties, t-shirts, jumpers, slipovers).

o Any change to the Senior Section clothing which includes the Club logo must be approved by the Club.

• appointing and determining the roles of any Organiser to assist in any Section competition, match or event.

The Seniors Captain shall be responsible for:

• choosing one of more charities to support during his year of Captaincy and, if more than one, determining the apportionment of total money raised to go to each charity;

• captaining, or appointing a Match Captain for, each Interclub Match;

• selecting the team for each Interclub match;

• using the budget determined by the Committee to provide keepsake prizes for each competition winner and other gifts to those assisting in the running of Section events as he may decide;

• presenting prize-winners and other placed competitors with their trophy and/or prizes ;

• chairing the Committee meetings or appointing a deputy to do so;

• chairing the Annual (or any Extraordinary) General Meeting until the point where a new Captain is appointed, or appointing a deputy to do so.

The Vice-Captain shall be responsible for:

• deputising for the Captain in his absence;

• being a primary contact for members expressing grievances concerning the running of the Section.

o This does not preclude any member from expressing a grievance to any other member of the Committee;

• having a particular care for members who are temporarily unable to participate in Section events due to any adversity.

The Treasurer shall be responsible for:

• keeping the accounts of the Section and ensuring that they are ready for audit before and presentation at the Annual General Meeting or at any other time requested by the Committee with reasonable notice;

• reporting the current status of the accounts at each Committee meeting;

• managing the purchase and sale of Section clothing (optionally through a Section Clothing Administrator).

The Hon Sec shall be responsible for:

• the day-to-day running of the Section on behalf of the Committee;

• receiving communications from members on behalf of the Committee with the exception that any member wishing to communicate with the Committee concerning the Honorary Secretary shall be able to communicate with any member of the Committee;

• maintaining a mailing list of members of the Section;

• communicating any decisions of the Committee to the Section members;

• liaising with the Club regarding diary bookings for teesand/or social facilities in order to enable the Committee to agree the annual Section Calendar;

• liaising with his equivalent at other club’s to agree the dates and times of Interclub matches;

• with the Club’s agreement, having ‘Competition Management’ access to the Club’s golf administration system to set up and manage Section golf events, including arranging the draw and tee bookings;

• ensuring that all competitions, matches and events are run in accordance with the Committee’s decisions. This may be through an Organiser where one has been appointed;

• ensuring that all competitions are run according to the Rules of Golf and any local, Club or Section rules and that the appropriate penalties are applied for breach of those rules;

• ensuring that a register is maintained whereby members can join or leave the Senior Section Interclub Match Squad and can maintain their availability to be selected for a match team;

• recording the decisions made at any Committee, Annual or Extraordinary Meetings and producing minutes of that meeting;

• corresponding with members of the Section to ensure all members are kept informed of events including opening and closing dates and results of competitions, matches and other events. Optionally this may include maintaining a Section Blog and this may be maintained through a Section Blog Administrator;

• managing the Senior Section notice board in the changing room lobby.

An Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of members may be called the Committee or by 5 or more voting members with at least 5 weeks’ notice.

B. Handicaps

Each member wishing to play in a Section Competition or Interclub Match must have a Competition Handicap. The member is responsible for ensuring that his own handicap is maintained correctly by the Club and that he meets the requirements to maintain a competition handicap.

A member without a Competition Handicap who registers to play in a Section Competition will initially be added to a Reserve List. Should spaces remain after entry for the competition has closed, the member will be added to the competition but will not be eligible to win any prizes.

If the competition is a qualifying competition for handicap purposes, all cards will be submitted for possible handicap adjustment.

Where requested, provision will be made available for 9-hole qualifying competitions for members who do not play 18 hole competitions.

C. Competitions

The Section will run a number of competitions of various formats over the year and, unless specified in the particular competition rules, entry to these will be limited to members of the Section. The list of competitions will be determined by the Committee, agreed with the Cluband published annually.

Members or their families wishing to donate a new trophy should submit their proposal to the Section Committee. The Section is limited in the number of competitions it can run by course availability and must abide by Club decisions. The Committee will look at any requests and consider them in the context of existing competitions. Any changes to the list of competitions will be published before the next AGM for consideration by members at the AGM.

The rules, including rules of entry, for each competition will be set by the Committee and published annually and again prior to entry for the competition opening.

Members may enter competitions between the opening and closing dates for the particular competition and may, if required, withdraw from a competition before the closing date without notice. Members who have signed up to a competition and need to withdraw after the closing date, must advise the Organiser or Hon Sec in writing, giving a reason for their withdrawal.

Members who fail to attend a competition for which they have signed up, or habitually withdraw from a competition with short notice, may be subject to discipline (see G below).

Members who fail to submit a card at the conclusion of their competition round have breached a Rule of Golf and may be subject to discipline (see G below).

In a competition, where the stipulated round starts at other than the first hole, the holes must be played consecutively from the allotted start hole until completion of the eighteen holes.  Players must ensure their card is correctly marked (Rule 6-6d).  Failure to play the holes and/or record them in the correct order will result in disqualification.  For the purposes of count back in such competitions the front nine will always be the front nine of the course and the back nine will always be the back nine of the course.

An Organiser may be appointed to assist with the running of any competition. The Organiser’s duties will be communicated by the Hon Sec to the person appointed for each competition.

Optionally a raffle may be held at each competition. The net proceeds from the raffle will be added to the sum raised for the Captain’s chosen charity/charities.

Members over the age of 70 who no longer play in 18-hole competitions may, by prior arrangement with the Hon Sec and agreement of the Club Golf Administrator, play a separate 9-hole competition. Where such competitions are qualifying, the members’ cards will be submitted for possible handicap adjustment.

D. Interclub Matches

The Section will run a number of Interclub matches over the year and entry to the teams for these will be limited to members of the Section. The list of matches will be determined by the Committee and published annually. Matches will comprise a home and away leg. The dates and times for home legs will be agreed by the Committee with the Club to ensure the appropriate tee reservations can be made. The dates and times of away legs will be agreed by the Committee with the opposing club.

Members wishing to be selected for a match team should ensure they are registered as available for both legs of that match.

Selection for a match team will be limited to those indicating they are available for both legs of a match. Selection will be made in time to enable members to confirm their availability for both legs. Other than the Senior Section Captain, all members who are selected for a team but are unable to confirm their availability for both legs will be withdrawn from the match team and replaced by a reserve for both legs of that match.Members who, having played the first leg of a match, subsequently withdraw from the second leg without, in the Committee’s opinion, good reason may be withdrawn or removed from subsequent matches. The Committee may, in exceptional circumstances, remove a member from the Interclub Squad.

The Captain’s team selection decision is final.

Members who fail to attend a match for which they have been selected or habitually withdraw with short notice may be subject to discipline (see G below).

Members selected for a team are expected to wear the Seniors’ match kit whilst playing matches. Unless advised otherwise by a member of the Committee, team members are expected to dress in jacket and Senior Section tie at the match lunches.

The Captain has discretion to impose a fine on any member playing a match who breaches the match dress code or any etiquette. Any fines imposed will be added to the Captain’s Charity fund.

An Organiser may be appointed to assist with the running of any match. The Organiser’s duties will be communicated by the Hon Sec to the person appointed for each match.

E. Invitations.

The Senior Section receives invitations from other clubs to send representatives to special events. These will be published and are open to all Section members to offer to play. 

Where entry is unlimited, members are free to enter such competitions but are asked to report the result to the Hon Sec or Blog Administrator.

Where entry is limited, the Captain will select those who are to represent the Club and Section and selection will be made on an equitable basis.

F. Holes in One

The Committee will reimburse the reasonable bar bill of a Section member who achieves a Hole in One at any Section Competition or Interclub Match. The member must pay the bar bill and submit his claim to the Treasurer with his bar receipt and the signed card.

G. Disputes

Any member who wishes to dispute any decision made by the Committee or anyone acting on behalf of the Committee should follow the procedure below:

• Discuss the matter with the Hon Sec or, if the dispute concerns the Hon Sec, any other member of the Committee, to try to come to a resolution informally;

• If the matter cannot be resolved informally, the complainant(s) should send the complaint in writing to the Committee. If necessary, the Committee will then invite the complainant(s) to attend a Committee meeting to discuss the grounds for their complaint.

The Committee will confirm any decision verbally and in writing and their decision is final.

Any member who makes a complaint to the Club regarding any matter that affects the Section is required to inform the Section Committee via the Honorary Secretary of the nature of the complaint so that they can be properly prepared to respond to the Club on the matter. A member who fails to inform the Section Committee of any such complaint may be subject to discipline.

H. Discipline

The Committee are responsible for ensuring adherence to the Rules of Golf and any local, Club or Section rules in any Section events.

Failure to attend a Section competition or Interclub match without notifying the Hon Sec or Organiser in advance and/or without reasonable excuse, is considered a breach of Section rules.

In the event that any rule is breached, in addition to applying any penalties defined in the Rules of Golf, the Committee may, after hearing submissions from the member or members concerned, apply any of the following sanctions according to the seriousness of the breach of rules:

o disqualification from a competition. If this occurs after the competition and the member has been awarded a trophy and/or a prize. The trophy and/or prizes may then be awarded to the next player(s) on the results list and/or retained by the Committee until the following year at the Committee’s discretion;

o banning from a number of subsequent competitions in the current and/or following year;

o withdrawal from one or match teams in the current and/or following year;

o removal from the Interclub match Squad;

o removal from membership of the Senior section.

In the event that any of the above sanctions are applied, the Committee has the right to retain any fees paid.

In the first instance the Committee delegates to the Honorary Secretary the responsibility for applying the appropriate penalties to be applied with regard to a breach of any Rules of Golf. Any member so sanctioned by the Honorary Secretary may appeal to the Committee.

In the event that a banning or removal sanction is applied, the member may apply for reinstatement the following year and the Committee has the right to approve or reject that application. 

Any disciplinary action taken by the Committee does not preclude the member(s) involved also being subject to the Club’s disciplinary procedures where appropriate.

 

I. Changes to this Constitution

This Constitution can only be changed at a General Meeting of voting members of the Section.

A proposal to change to this Constitution can be submitted by the Committee or by a minimum of five members of the Section, provided that such a request is made in writing. Prior to making such a request in writing, the members may discuss the reason for the request with any member of the Committee.