Dear Linda,
I really enjoy reading your daily emails and I am hoping you
can help me with a query.
At the end of a recent stoke play competition, a fellow
competitor was disqualified by the ladies’ handicap secretary because she (the
lady in question) failed to write her full name on her score card. She had
written her first name and then a capital S to represent the start of her
surname.
My question is twofold. One, can a person be disqualified for
failing to write out their name in full? And secondly, where in the rules does
it state the requirements for what constitutes a competitor’s "name"?
I will look forward to receiving your thoughts and thanks
again from one of your English fans.
Lulu from England
Dear Lulu,
The Committee is responsible for providing each competitor
with a score card that contains the date and the competitor’s name [Rule 33-5].
The player cannot be disqualified for failing to “correctly” print her name on
the score card, since it is not her responsibility to do so.
There is nothing in the Rules specifying how a competitor’s
name must be written. Since the Committee is responsible for writing the name,
it is assumed that they will write it in whatever manner they prefer.
The competitor’s responsibilities, with regard to the score
card, are to record the correct handicap, check that the gross score for each
hole is correct, and make sure that both she and her marker sign the card. She
may sign her initials instead of her full name [Decision 6-6b/2].
I am appalled to learn that a Committee would disqualify a
player for a “supposed” error that is the Committee’s responsibility. This
comes under the heading of “Committee error,” and should be correctable,
regardless of how much time has elapsed. I would suggest you look into having
this player’s score reinstated, especially if it was significant in the final
standings.
Linda
Copyright © 2013 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
