Connacht District Information Meeting

1. Connacht DistrictInformation Meeting Co. Sligo Golf Club Sunday 16th February 2014

2. CONGU HANDICAP ADVISORS for Connacht • Zone A – Jane Brown • Zone B – Mairéad O’Shaughnessy • Zone C – Kay O’Loughlin • Zone D – Regina Power Assistants –Julie Hassett Contact Details in the ILGU Official Handbook

3. Main Duties of Handicap Committees • Complete Annual Review • General Play Reductions • Allocation of Handicaps • Qualifying Competition Adjustments • Maintaining Handicap Adjustments.

4. ILGU Official Handbook 2014 • Advice to Handicap Committees • Pages 21-25 Yellow Section • Minimum 3 on committee • Encourage new membership • Establish a disciplinary procedure for persistent failure to return cards • Establish Appeals Precedure • Retain all handicap records - previous 2 years • Ensure All members are registered on Golfnet.

5. Responsibilities of Handicap Committee/ Handicap Documentation • Display list of current handicaps • Display how a handicap may be obtained • Provide a book for players to record all Away and Non-qualifying scores. • Provide a book to record Supplementary Scores • Ensure all players have their correct HOME & AWAY status on Golfnet and for AWAY players, ensure their HOME number is correct in the Club software • Every Club must action their “Unprocessed Away Scores” at least once per month or ideally once per week. • CONGU regulations state that Clubs must keep handicap information for the current year and for 2 years’ previous.

6. Allocation of Handicap • Decide what conditions apply when a member wishes to obtain a handicap, as per CONGU 16. • If a first handicap is being allocated, establish the member’s sporting history. A 36 handicap should not be allocated automatically. • If a player has ceased to be a member of your Club, she should be deleted from Golfnet and every effort made to recover her Card. The Club must ensure that a copy of the player’s handicap register can be provided, on request, at a future date.

7. A player’s handicap only lapses when they cease to be a member of a Golf Club for more than 6 months. • If the player rejoins the club within 6 months her handicap can be reinstated at the same handicap the player last held. • If the player rejoins after 6 months e.g. a year later they must obtain a handicap as per CONGU 16 ( three cards) and the Handicap Committee must give due and full consideration to the handicap the player last held.

8. Category 1 Players • Handicap adjustments to Category 1 players, or players who become Category 1 due to any adjustments,must be referred to your Handicap Advisor • Players with handicaps 3 or less who are based in USA should submit scores to the National Handicap Committee for possible adjustment. • It is the responsibility of category 1 players to return all scores (good & bad) from home and abroad. Sanctions may be imposed on players who fail to do so.

9. On Completion of Competition • Ensure that all cards are returned, including N/Rs, before calculating CSS • Calculate a separate CSS for each day of competition (main day & alternate Day) • Display Competition Standard Scratch and list all alterations to playing Handicaps of members • Process all ‘Away’ scores. (This should be done on a regular basis through-out the year) • Check that ‘Away’ scores are not duplicated if entered manually. (Only in exceptional circumstances and with concrete evidence should cards be entered manually)

10. Display new Club handicap record. (Note: handicap increases are not valid until they are posted) • Upload handicaprecords to CDH after each Competition • In addition to updating the CDH after Club Competitions, it is now a requirement that all scores achieved at Qualifying Opens are returned to the CDH as soon as possible after the competition is closed. • For 36 hole Competitions (e.g. Lady Captain’s), unless otherwise stated in the Conditions of Competition, handicaps are not cut for the 2nd 18 holes.

11. Exceptional Scoring Reduction - ESR • An additional formula for the reduction of handicaps has been introduced called “Exceptional Scoring Reduction”. • In a Qualifying Competition, when a player returns a score with a nett differential of -4 or better, a “flag” is set and if a similar or better score is returned within a given number of returns, an additional handicap reduction is imposed. • This will not apply to Category 1 players nor can it reduce a handicap below 5.5. • Ireland directs that any additional reduction must be accepted, when flagged by the handicapping software at the closure of the competition.

12. General Play Adjustment/Non-Qualifying Scores A General Play Adjustment (GPA) is a change to a player’s handicap, other than resulting from participation in a Qualifying Competition that is actioned by the Handicap Committee in the period between Annual Reviews • It is recommended that scores in singles (Non Qualifying) competitions be given earnest consideration for an immediate adjustment to the handicap of the player concerned. • There is no exact rule for cutting (Up to individual Handicap Committees) but committees could consider making a cut that would be half of what would have been made if it was a qualifying competition.

13. 9 Hole Competitions • The ILGU want to encourage clubs to run 9-Hole competitions. • Apply for a Standard Scratch Score for 9 Holes. • 9 Hole Qualifying Competitions must be Stableford format. • Head Office will send out a chart that shows the handicaps that players play off. • The CONGU Handbook deals with this area on pages 40 & 41.

14. Junior Golfers • All juniors members must be registered on the CDH system, with a valid date of birth, irrespective of whether they have obtained an official CONGU handicap • Juniors & Juveniles must be encouraged to have a CONGU handicap and be treated like adult players. • “Tee it forward” is the preferred option as opposed to increasing a handicap above 36. • For competitions run with boys, a separate CSS must be calculated and all scores must be returned to the HOME Club.

15. Annual Handicap Review - AHR • Information meetings in October • All players involved in District and National Finals will be audited. • The National Handicap Committee expect reductions in handicaps. • AHR – Computer Report – should only be used as a guide. • A player consistently performing in buffer zone can be cut.

16. Appeals Procedure • The ILGU requires that Clubs inform their members that an Appeals Procedure exists. • If a player appeals her handicap adjustment, following AHR or any disciplinary sanctions imposed on her, she must appeal in writing to her Club within 14 days of notification of the decision. If the issue is not resolved within her Home Club, the Club will submit all relevant documentation to their Advisor whose decision shall be final.