Dear Linda,
I had a query on the starting times for the club knockout
competition, so I sent an email to my golf club manager as follows:
I have a query in
respect of the club match play competitions which I should be grateful if you
could put to the committee in charge of these competitions:
Is the time of
starting agreed by the competitors the same as “time of starting established by
the committee” for the purposes of Rule 6-3?
This is his reply:
“No it isn’t. If you have arranged a specific time to play a
match then common sense comes into the decision to start, e.g., a player is
held up in traffic. However, if it is 4 BBB you could insist upon starting (for
example, one of your team needs to get away at the end of the match, so you
need to start on time) and one of the opposition could start the match without
his partner. That partner can then join his playing partner at the start of any
given hole that you are playing when he eventually arrives.
This of course, does not work for foursomes and you would
need to either rearrange the match or request from the opposition a walk over,
if one player is not able to join the match.”
I should be grateful if you would give me your comments on
this, in light of your reply in #1120. Is it correct that Rule 6-3 does not
apply, and, even it does not apply, can the club ignore decision 6-3a/1.5 in
which heavy traffic is not an excuse for turning up late?
Kind regards,
Lou from England
Dear Lou,
Rule 6-3 does
apply in match play [Decision 33-3/1], and heavy traffic is not an excuse for
lateness [Decision 6-3a/1.5].
In match play, the Committee generally sets a date and time
by which the match must be played. The players may agree to play prior to that
date. Once they set a time for the match, unless they subsequently agree to
play at another time, they must arrive within five minutes of the agreed-upon
time. If one player arrives on time and the opponent arrives late but within
five minutes, the opponent loses the first hole. If both players arrive late
but within five minutes, the first hole is halved and play begins on the second
hole [Decision 6-3a/3]. If one player arrives after five minutes have elapsed,
he is disqualified from the match.
The player in a match has the right to expect his opponent
to arrive on time. It is unfair to the player who has arrived on time to wait
around for an opponent who arrives late. The “exceptional circumstances” that
would excuse lateness are clearly explained in Decision 6-3a/1.5. Heavy traffic
is not one of them.
Linda
Copyright © 2017 Linda Miller. All rights reserved.
