1. ELIGIBILITY

All players must be a full member of a Golf Club affiliated to the Essex Golf or an associate member of Essex Golf (“EG”).  Essex Golf reserves the right to exclude clubs or individuals that have not paid their England Golf Affiliation fees for the current year. It is a player’s responsibility to ensure they meet this qualifying criteria for all EGL Women’s Competitions. Players who compete without meeting this criterion will be disqualified.

Players competing in any EG Women’s competitions must:

  • be female as defined in the EGL Gender & Fairness in Competition Policy 2025 and be of Amateur status as defined by the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, unless competition conditions state otherwise.  
  • hold an official handicap maintained on the World Handicap System in accordance with the National Body’s Rules of Handicapping and
  • have a mature handicap record of at least 20 scores (made up of either 9- or 18-hole rounds) 
  • have submitted seven competition scores within the 365 days prior to midnight on the eve of the competition they intend to play in.  

In County Club Team Competitions, a player must have their handicap uploaded to WHS by their chosen ‘home’ club by 1st February in the current calendar year and must still be a member of that club on the competition date. Player’s may only represent their home club in any County Club Team Competition as detailed above.

Please note that in Junior Club Team Competitions the deadline to Rule 2e does not apply if the ‘home’ club on 1st February agrees to the transfer of ‘home’ Club nomination later that calendar year

NB: cards marked with a P in WHS are penalty scores and are not eligible to count towards handicap.

It is the Team Captain’s responsibility to ensure their players meet the qualifying criteria for these EGL Women’s Competitions. Where players do not meet the qualifying criteria, the Team will be disqualified from the match and 2 points plus a 5 match win result will be awarded to the innocent team.

NB: HANDICAP INDEX RESTRICTIONS Silver Shield – none; Silver Trophy – 9.5+; Bronze Shield – 18.5+. Harris Bowl - + to 36.4 - where a player’s handicap index goes above 36.4 that player may still play but must play off the handicap index limit of 36.4.

NB: Apart from these handicap restrictions any player can play for any team, there are no other restrictions.

 2. MATCH DATES

Home Captains are responsible for arranging the match dates. A minimum of three dates must be offered and must include at least one weekend and one mid-week date. This may mean using your normal club day. To avoid problems later the Home Captain should confirm the date in writing/email to the respective Away Captain.

Team Captains must notify the relevant Organiser as soon as all league match dates have been agreed and no later than 1st December 2025. No match dates may be altered after 1st April except under Rule 1.13 or unless the Competition Organiser has agreed to a change due to exceptional circumstances.

Any Club not able to field a team under Rule 6.9 will automatically be withdrawn from the league. Matches already played by the withdrawing team will be nullified and any points won already by opposing teams will be disregarded. Under Rule 6.9 any Clubs that withdraw from an Inter-Club competition two years in succession will not be allowed to enter the following year.

It is expected that the winner of any Inter Club Competition should host the following years final of the respective competition subject to them not being a finalist. This is subject to change should a finalist have played a league fixture at the respective club. 

3. COURSES TO BE USED

Where a club has more than 18 holes it should be made clear to opponents, when arranging matches, which 18 holes will be used for that match. Clubs with more than 18 holes must use the same 18 holes for all inter-club league matches. TEMPORARY HOLE - When a temporary hole is no longer in use and therefore the course that is played as the measured course is the one that the matches should take place on.

SUSPENSION OF PLAY

Please refer to EG Rule1.12.3. The Team Captains must inform the relevant Competition Organiser immediately in such cases. The Organiser’s decision will be final in exceptional circumstances.

4. MATCH ARRANGEMENTS

At least one week before the match, the host Team Captain should contact the visiting Team Captain to confirm tee times and numbers and requirements regarding refreshments. Host Clubs should take into consideration the distance the opposing team is travelling when offering tee times. Depending on the time of the matches and the distance to be travelled, some teams may prefer to have light refreshments before the match rather than afterwards. It has been a tradition that the visiting Team Captain and her team are guests of the host club, but this is entirely a matter for individual clubs to decide and communicate. At the same time host captains should advise the visiting team of any rules regarding dress code and local rules (e.g., ground under repair, use of trolleys, etc.) even if only temporary they must be made clear to the visiting team and if temporary greens or tees are in use, approximate yardages should be given for the holes affected.

5.   BUGGY USE IN COUNTY COMPETITIONS

Eligibility for buggy use
A member who is defined as disabled under the Equality Act 2010, or who has a long-term medical condition, may apply to the County Office for permission to use a buggy in County Competitions and must abide by the EGL Transportation policy


6. COURTESY ROUNDS - May not be requested at any time.

Silver Shield/Silver Trophy Organiser:

Sally Newman Russell    

 elcga.silver@essexladiesgolf.org

Bronze Shield Organiser:                                             

Jackie Skinne 

elcga.bronze@essexladiesgolf.org

Harris Bowl Organiser                                                  

Sonja Strutt

 elcga.harrisbowl@essexladiesgolf.org                   

ELCGA MANAGEMENT TEAM

October 25