Ovaltine Women's Scratch League

Hertfordshire Golf Ovaltine Scratch League

TERMS OF COMPETITION 2024

In addition to the following Terms of Competition, all Hertfordshire Golf Policies and General Terms apply, e.g. Transportation, Extreme Weather, Juniors in Adult Events, etc.

1. All competitors must be female amateur golfers who are affiliated members of Hertfordshire Golf with their Home Club in Hertfordshire. Competitors may only play for their Home Club and may only play for one club during any season. Any points won by a player subsequently found to be ineligible will be awarded to the opposition and the result of the match adjusted accordingly.
2. The League season will run from 1st March to 30th September. A Finals Day will be held in October 2024 for which separate Rules will apply.
3. Matches will be played on a Home and Away basis. Dates of matches must be mutually agreed and each League Captain should forward a list of their agreed home match dates to the League Administrator prior to 1st March.
4. Teams will comprise 5 players and players will play in handicap order, but games may start in any order.
5. In principle the League will consist of up to 5 Divisions depending on the number of teams entered and at the discretion of the League Administrator. The first 3 divisions will each have 10 teams divided into 2 Groups (A and B). Division 4 will consist of up to 2 Groups (A and B). The size of each Group will depend on the numbers of teams entered. If there are more than 38 teams entered there may be a 5th Division which would consist of 1 group. Division 5 would not qualify for Finals Day but the top 2 teams would be promoted to Division 4 and the bottom 2 teams in Division 4 would go down to Division 5. The teams in each Division and Group for the follow-ing year will be announced shortly after the close of the season.
6. All teams must have a minimum of 3 players available to play who have a handicap index of 14.4 or less at the time of entry.
7. Clubs may enter 1 or 2 teams only. For those Clubs entering 2 teams they must nominate 5 eligible players for the first team. Nominations must be sent to the League Administrator before the start of the first match for either team or by 1st April if earlier. Note, players do not need to be nominated for the B team. The highest handicap index of the nominated players, on the date of nomination, will be the lowest handicap index permitted for a B team player for the current season. Players nominated for the A team, and those with a handicap index, on the date of the match being played, lower than the minimum permitted for the second team cannot play for the B team. Players with a handicap index the same or higher than the minimum permitted B Team handicap index may initially play for both the A and B Teams but after playing 3 matches for the A Team they are no longer eligible to play for the B Team.
   If both teams from the same club are in the same Division, they will be allocated to separate Groups by random draw. This is in order that the other teams in the Division play the maximum possible number of different clubs.
8. All games are to be played over 18 holes in accordance with the Rules of Golf. A game that is all square after 18 holes will end in a tie and will not be extended. Games will be played off scratch. Players will play from ‘tees of the day’. Matches cannot be played on a course with more than 2 temporary greens.
9. Captains must exchange a list of players no later than 15 minutes before the tee time for the first match. Once the list of players is exchanged no substitutions are permitted. Any player who fails to be on the tee within 45 minutes of the agreed starting time of the first match shall concede her match to her opponent. See rule 13 for the score awarded where a match is conceded.
10. In the event of a club being unable to field a team of 5 players, a minimum of 3 players may constitute a team. This should only apply in exceptional circumstances and in any case may only be applied on one occasion during the year. Where this occurs the captain of the team fielding fewer than 5 players must inform the opposing team captain of the situation in advance unless exceptional circumstances prevent them from doing so. When fewer than 5 players are taking part in a match, the position(s) at the end of the team order must be left empty. If it is not possible to field 3 players, the fixture is deemed to be not fulfilled and Rule 14 applies. No results obtained by that team shall count in the group.
    A club withdrawing may be ineligible for the competition the following year. If the Club wishes to be re-instated the following year, it will automatically be demoted to the lowest Division.
11. If a player is disqualified, concedes or forfeits her match, her opponent will be awarded a 1 match win and for countback purposes the score will be 10/8. In the case of injury or retirement for any other reason, the injured or retiring player forfeits all the holes she has not played. For example, if the player is 4 up with 5 holes remaining, she loses 1 down. If she is 4 up with 9 holes remaining, she loses 3/2.
12. Once a date is agreed, it may only be changed by agreement of both clubs or if it is known that the course will be closed on the scheduled date.
    Any club which fails to fulfil an agreed fixture will be relegated to the lowest division and their matches made void for the season, unless they provide details of exceptional circumstances to the Ovaltine Scratch League Administrator and these are approved by Hertfordshire Golf.
13. Weather Conditions – The Hertfordshire Golf Extreme Weather Policy applies. In addition, in the event of bad weather, every effort should be made to complete the whole match on the arranged date. A match can only be abandoned if the home club closes the course or if the two Team Captains agree that the course has become unplayable. In this instance a reasonable amount of time should be allowed for conditions to improve. In the event that a match has to be re-scheduled, it is not necessary for either team to field the same players.
    14.
    During a game, a player must not ride on any form of motorised transportation, except when prior authorisation has been granted in accordance with the Hertfordshire Golf Transportation Policy.
    15.
    No player may have a caddie. Penalty for breach of rule – the player gets the general penalty for each hole during which she is helped by a caddie. If the breach happens or continues between two holes, the player gets the general penalty for the next hole.
    16.
    In accordance with Rule 24.4, each team may name one advice giver who players on the team may ask for advice and receive advice from during the round (in addition to those permitted under Rule 10.2a). That person must not be a professional golfer and must keep off all putting greens. The advice giver must be identified to the opposing team at the start of the match. In accordance with R&A Rule 24.4b, if a team’s advice giver is a player on the team, she is not allowed to act in that role while playing a round in the competition. While playing a round the advice giver is treated like any other playing team member for purposes of the restrictions on advice in Rule 10.2a.
    17.
    Exceptional circumstances in connection with the above rules may be considered by the League Administrator who may refer to the Championship Committee if necessary. The decision of the Championship Committee is final.
    League Administrator Rhona Finch
    League Format
    1.
    Matches may be halved and points will be awarded as follows: 1 point for a match win ½ a point for each team for a match halved 0 point for a match loss
    2.
    The Captain of the winning team must forward the result to the League Administrator (Rhona Finch, rhonaduncan@yahoo.co.uk ) within three days of the date the match is played. In the case of a draw the home captain is responsible. Any team in breach of this rule or submitting results late may be fined points at the discretion of the League Administrator. The results should be submitted in the format shown on the attached sample results sheet. Note that current handicap indices must be submitted with the results, but Captains may withhold that information when exchanging team lists and may omit it from the results sheet and submit the handicap index information separately to the League Administrator if wished. The three-day deadline also applies to any handicap index information being submitted separately.
    3.
    The winner of each Group in Divisions 1, 2, 3 and 4 will contest a match on Finals Day to determine the overall winner of their respective Division. A player who has not represented the club in the regular season by playing in at least one match cannot be included in a team squad for Finals Day.
    The winner of the Finals Day match for Division 1 will be awarded the Ovaltine Cup and the loser will be awarded the Hertfordshire Stag.
    The winners of all the other Divisions will be awarded a memento.
    The teams from Division 2, 3, and 4 contesting Finals Day matches will be promoted to the next higher Division.
    The teams with the lowest scores in each Group of Division 1, 2 and 3 will move down a Division.
    If there is a Division 5, the 2 teams with the highest scores will be promoted to Division 4 and the 2 teams in Division 4 with the lowest scores may move down to Division 5 depending on the number of entries.
    If a club has 2 teams in the League, the B team cannot be in a higher Division than the A team. If this would happen as a consequence of the promotion or demotion rules, the teams will be swapped so that the A team is in a higher Division than the B team.
    4.
    If more than one team in a Group finishes with the same number of points, the winner will be decided on the following basis: (i) the team with the greatest number of individual games won (2 halves = 1 win) (ii) if still tied, the team with the greatest number of individual games won in the matches played between the tied teams (iii) if still tied, by aggregating the lowest number of holes played in the individual games won between the tied teams (iv) if still tied, a play-off between the tied teams at a neutral course
    Ovaltine Scratch League Rules for Agreeing Match Dates and Times
    1. The home captain will offer dates to the away captain.
    2. It is preferred that a combination of weekend and weekday dates are offered with the flexibility between clubs to find a mutually agreed day of the week
    3. The first start (tee) time must be between 9.30am and 2.30pm unless both captains agree an earlier or later one.
    4. The home captain must offer at least three available dates to the away captain. It is permissible for the home captain to offer the same set of dates to all away captains, but if the number that remain available to an away captain falls below three, additional dates must be provided on request. For example, if a home captain offers six possible dates to four opponents then by definition each will have a choice of at least three dates. If the home captain offers only four dates then, once the first two away captains have chosen their date, additional dates will need to be made available to the remaining away captains upon request.
    5. Match dates, once agreed, should be submitted to the League Administrator by the home captain.
    SAMPLE RESULTS SHEET
    HG OVALTINE LEAGUE
    RESULTS SHEET
    DIVISION …1……. GROUP …B……
    ……Astounding………….GOLF CLUB VS …Notsogood……GOLF CLUB
    Played at …Astounding……… on ……15 March 2024…………….
    Home Player (name and handicap index)
    Result (Home win or half)
    Away Player (name and handicap index)
    Result (Away win or half)
    1
    Anna Adams 2.2
    Win 4/3
    Fiona Faith 4.2
    2
    Betty Baldwin 6.6
    Half
    Gloria Good 4.6
    Half
    3
    Carol Cook 7.7
    Win 1 up
    Harriet Hodges 7.5
    4
    Doreen Day 7.9
    Isla Irwin 8.9
    Win 3/2
    5
    Edna Easton 11.8
    Half
    Jenny Jarman 11.6
    Half
    Overall result …win to Astounding 3/2…………..…….

1. Players must have represented their club (A or B team) in at least one match during the regular league season. Players who were nominated for the A team or whose handicap index is lower than the minimum for the B team of a club during the regular season may not play for the B team in a Finals Day match.

2. Each team will contain five players, who will play in handicap index order.

3. Teams must register at least 30 minutes before their first start time. It is permissible for one representative to register the whole team, but all team members should be present at least 15 minutes before the start of the first match.

4. The honour on the starting tee will be alternated between the two teams, with Group A having it for match 1, 3, and 5, and Group B for match 2 and 4.

5. Players may not have a caddie. Only the players in a match and officials (e.g., referee) may be on the fairways or greens. Spectators should stay in the rough alongside the hole being played and stay clear of the players.

6. In accordance with Rule 24.4, each team may name one advice giver who players on the team may ask for advice and receive advice from during the round (in addition to those permitted under Rule 10.2a). That person must not be a professional golfer and must keep off all putting greens. The advice giver must be identified to the opposing team at the start of the match. In accordance with R&A Rule 24.4b, if a team’s advice giver is a player on the team, she is not allowed to act in that role while playing a round in the competition. While playing a round the advice giver is treated like any other playing team member for purposes of the restrictions on advice in Rule 10.2a.

7. Matches are played in accordance with the Rules of Golf for matchplay. Individual games should be played to a conclusion. If a game is tied after 18 holes, players must play sudden death from the original starting hole. Once either team achieves 3 points, any remaining games still on the course will be deemed tied and the players will be called in.

8. If players have a dispute which they cannot resolve among themselves, they should call for the roving referee. If it is apparent that a ruling may delay play, they should also call through the match(es) behind so that play is not unduly delayed.

9. All team members are expected to remain for the prize-giving.

OL Match Result Sheet

Ovaltine League Entry Form 2025