Pennant Rules and Conditions 2023
Any attachment to these Pennant Rules forms part of these Rules.
The 2024 Pennant Competition will be conducted under the following:
- The current Rules of Golf.
- These Rules and Conditions as laid down by the BDGA, applicable to each Grade in each Division.
- Participating clubs must provide written certification by either their President or Captain that all officials, players, and caddies are familiar with these rules and conditions and agree to abide by them.
- Any proven infringement of the rules will be penalized.
The competition
1) Team makeup
a) There are 17 clubs competing each with 3 components to a team (Open, Juniors & Masters) consisting of 4 divisions 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th. The season runs for 6 weeks and each team plays the others in home and away format.
2) Ethical standards and integrity
a) The BDGA request that all players and officials maintain a high standard of personal, team and match ethics during the pennant season. If any player or official feels that they not satisfied with any situation during play these should be directed the BDGA for clarification, At no time should any players cadies of officials be the subject to any personal attacks. If this occurs or you’re a witness of such behavior direct your complaints directly to the BDGA Ethics Committee email @BDGA .com.au, Attn: President of the BDGA. Substantiated complaints by the BDGA ethical and standards committee may lead to loss of matches or competition points. It behooves all participates to maintain a safe, friendly, cooperative, open and transparent environment during play to support a positive culture and enhance enjoyment for all participates.
3) Rules for Pennant
a) Any attachment to these Pennant Rules forms part of these Rules.
b) The Pennant Competition will be conducted under the following:
i) The current Rules of Golf;
ii) Rules and Conditions as laid down by the BDGA, applicable to each Grade in each Division;
iii) Participating clubs must provide written certification by either their President or Captain that all officials, players, and caddies are familiar with these rules and conditions and agree to abide by them; and
iv) Any proven infringement of the rules will be penalized.
4) Season Draw
a) The Season draw will be released NLT 6 weeks after the completion of the season, this is to ensure clubs have sufficient time to plan for the following years events.
b) Those clubs who win their division will be promoted up; those that finish with the least amount of points will drop back a division.
5) The competition Structure
a) The competition shall be in 4 Divisions (1, 2, 3, and 4). Each club shall compete in 3 grades, Open, Junior, and Masters in the same Division. Division 1 being the pinnacle and recognition of the number one club in the competition.
b) A perpetual trophy will be passed to the division winner as well as a pennant recognition frame for clubhouse display purposes.
c) The competition shall use the home and away format with each fixture being played as per the season draw, date, time, and at the course allocated in the pennant fixture roster provided to clubs. Any alterations to this can only be approved by the BDGA Match Committee.
6) Scoring
a) Matches to be play reverse order each individual match: Win - 1 point; matches finishing square on the 18th hole remain square with each player recording 1/2 point.
b) The club with the highest aggregate points from the results of all three grade matches determines the result of each fixture.
c) Fixture results: Win - 2 points; Tied / abandoned match -1 point each; Loss - 0 points.
d) Promotion to Divisions 1, 2, and 3 and relegation to Divisions 2, 3, and 4 will be determined using the ranking obtained from the Club Pennant results, provided the current format is retained.
e) Details of the individual and grade and overall match results document provided, must be signed by an official of each opposing club, then updated on the BDGA website and forwarded on the day of the match by the host club to e-mail to secretary@bdga.org.au.
f) Where, on completion of the season, a tied point’s score occurs in a Division or Grade competition, the team scoring the greater number of points in the relevant individual matches, including points for wins and squared matches, shall be placed in the higher position.
g) If the points are still tied, a countback shall apply, using the greater ‘for/against’ result of the player in position 1, then in position 2, and so on until a result is obtained. (Open results are used for an Open tie, junior results for a junior tie and Masters for a Masters tie, and open, followed by Junior then Masters for a Division tie.
7) Host club responsibilities Match Committee:
a) The host club shall appoint at least one person who must be present and available throughout each home match to act as the Match Committee of the day in order to oversee the interchange of team lists, supervise the start of and pace of play, and be available to make decisions affecting play according to these Rules and Conditions and the Rules of Golf. It is recommended that such a person hold a minimum GA/GQ Club Accreditation as a Rules Official. All other matters are to be referred to the BDGA Match Committee for determination.
b) Any member of the Match Committee of the day must not be:
i) a player or caddie in the competition of the day;
ii) the Captain, or the team Captain or Manager of the host club; or
iii) a holder of any other official position on the day, including those acting under Rule 8 of the Rules of Golf;
iv) the person or persons of the Match Committee of the day must be noted on the Results Document; and
v) should a club require the services of an accredited rules official, it should contact the BDGA at least one week prior to the commencement of the pennant season to seek assistance in providing such a rules official.
8) Course presentation
a) Each course should be presented to the highest possible standard.
b) Each club in the pennant competition must have available a golf course to accommodate play.
c) A ‘surrogate’ course must be approved prior to the season by the BDGA Match Committee. A surrogate course may not be a course used by another club in the same Division. Any costs involved in using a surrogate course are to be borne by the clubs involved.
d) Tee markers may be in different positions for different grades.
e) Where a club has more than 18 holes available for play, it must nominate before the season to the BDGA those holes to be used for play. Any temporary alterations must be advised to the opposing club and the BDGA as soon as possible.
f) No social or other play is permitted on the course to be used for pennant play prior to the competition on the morning of the fixture unless prior written approval is granted by the BDGA Match Committee.
g) In the event of poor climatic conditions, the Match Committee of the day should endeavor to play if possible, by either a short delay or using one or more holes more than once. If play is not possible, or no possibility of completion of play exists, the fixture is abandoned. The host club should notify the Secretary of the BDGA as soon as possible.
9) Provisions
a) The host club is responsible for welcoming visiting club players, caddies, and officials, ensuring that the host and guest teams are provided with access to identical scorecards, local rule lists, and any pin sheets.
b) Pre and post-match catering is at the discretion of the host club, but where provided, is to be for both teams. If catering is not to be provided, the guest club should be notified prior to the day of the fixture.
10) Player eligibility
a) Compulsory registration of players is required priors to the commencement of the first matches of the season.
b) Only male players who have the qualification as an “amateur” as specified by Golf Australia, who have supplied the current stipulated details for registration including home club Link Number and DOB to the BDGA no later than on the day of competition, are eligible. If players are not registered that any matched played will be forfeited until registration is confirmed.
c) If a player provides a Golf Link No. other than from the club he is representing, then that club must supply by email to the BDGA Secretary prior to that player competing, confirmation of that player’s eligible membership of that club. If this is not received any matches played may be forfeited until confirmation is received.
d) It is the responsibility of the relevant club to ensure that each player is registered and that only registered players appear on the Results Document.
e) Any unregistered player will not score points.
f) Any attempt to circumvent the registration system will result in player or team disqualification by the BDGA.
11) Player status
a) Any competing player must have Sunday playing rights in a category of membership at the club he represents during the pennant season.
b) If a club is unable to supply a complete Junior team, up to 2 ‘surrogate’ registered players may be substituted, provided the substitute(s) is from another BDGA club which is not in the same Division as the club using the substitute and at the time of playing. Surrogate may only register to play for their home club plus one Div4 club.
c) A player may not play for more than one club during a pennant season, irrespective of eligibility for more than one grade.
d) Open– A team shall consist of 11 players.
e) Junior * – A team shall consist of 5 players who have not attained the age of 19 on the day of the match.
f) Juniors In division 4 only, each junior grade team shall play in handicap order with the lowest handicap playing number 1, the next lowest at 2 and so on. Handicap used shall be the GA handicap on the day. It is the responsibility of the Team Captain to ensure that correct handicaps are used, and failure to play in correct handicap order may be the reason for a forfeit of one or more matches.
g) Masters – A team shall consist of 5 players who have reached the age of 50 years on the day of the Match.
12) Conditions of play
a) Each match shall be played under the Rules of Golf, the Local Rules of the host club, and these Pennant Rules.
b) Penalties will be applied to any club, player, caddie, club official person who fails to comply with these Rules. Relevant penalties that may be applied are those as prescribed in the Rules of Golf, loss of points for Clubs, cancellation of registration or disqualifications. Such application of penalties is at the discretion of the BDGA Match Committee.
13) Practice
a) Practice prior to the day of play is to be negotiated between clubs.
14) Playing equipment
a) Any ball a player plays must be named on the current list of Conforming Golf Balls issued by the R&A. Penalty as per the Rules of Golf.
b) Any driver the player carries must have a clubhead, identified by a model that is named on the current list of Conforming Driver heads issued by the R & A. Penalty as per the Rules of Golf.
15) Play
a) Open grade matches shall commence from the first teeing ground.
b) Masters will precede juniors from another teeing ground or for 9 hole courses, after the open matches.
c) The host team shall have the honor in each match on the initial teeing ground.
d) Matches are to be played as a two-ball for Div 1 and 2; Div 3 and 4 may play in four-balls.
16) Team details
a) The Captain, or his nominee, shall prepare on the form provided, a list of the players for each grade team in playing order with the highest number playing first in each grade. The lists are to be submitted to the nominated Match Committee at least 10 minutes before the first scheduled tee time for the compilation of team lists.
b) After the teams have been submitted, an eligible, registered reserve player may be substituted for a nominated player in the case of the player being disqualified before teeing off.
c) Players must be ready to tee off before their nominated tee time. Late arrival will incur a forfeit.
d) Under no circumstances may matches be played outside the block time allocated for the fixture, Captains may agree to move individual drawn matches within that time.
e) In accordance with the Note to Rule 8 of the Rules of Golf, in addition to the persons from whom advice may be sought under that Rule, there may be appointed one non-playing person for each grade team who is permitted to give advice to players and caddies of that team. One of the persons appointed to give such advice must be the nominated non-playing Captain/Manager.
f) Slow Play: play should be in accordance with the pace of play guidelines of the host club. A match that loses a hole to the group ahead should be warned, with any subsequent offense penalized by the Match Committee of the day under these rules.
17) Other equipment
a) Use of a motorized cart or the like in Open or Junior matches in division 1 and 2 must be approved by the BDGA Match Committee at least 7 days prior to the fixture and is subject to the submission of a medical certificate justifying the need to do so unless the player is at least 50 years old. The opposing team is to be notified of any such approval. The penalty for breach of this rule will be a forfeit of the match.
b) Masters players and any Open player at least 50 years old and each caddie are permitted the use of a motorized cart.
c) The use of electronic communicating devices (e.g. mobile phones), is only permitted in emergency circumstances, or to call for an official ruling or if eligible as a DMD as per the R&A rules (Refer 7 (a) above and DMD attachment.) However, should the use of any such device distract any other player, a penalty may be applied under Section 1 of the Rules of Golf.
18) Local rules, dress regulations, and code of conduct
a) Each player, officials, and caddie must comply with the dress regulations of the host club.
b) Any club permitting the use of metal spikes should advise the other clubs in their Division. Otherwise, they are prohibited.
c) Each player and caddie must abide by the provisions of the BDGA Code of Conduct, published on the website. Players and caddies are reminded that the consumption of alcohol on the course while playing is prohibited. The penalty for non-compliance is disqualification.
19) Amendments and interpretations
a) The BDGA Management Committee has the right at any time to alter, to add to, or to substitute any or all of the foregoing rules by appropriate notification to all clubs. The BDGA is the authority for the interpretation of these rules having full power to deal with any relevant matter not provided for herein.