ByLaws and Rules of Competition

Scroll down to read the Standing Rules of Competition (including the Slow Play Policy) and information about FCWGA Special Events.

                                   FORE COUNTY WOMEN’S GOLF ASSOCIATION BYLAWS                     

ARTICLE I - NAME
The Association that was founded in January 1978 shall be called Fore County Women's Golf Association (FCWGA).

ARTICLE II - PURPOSE
The purpose of this Association is to provide its membership with tournaments conducted in Indian River, Martin, Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties according to the USGA Rules of Golf, while promoting good fellowship, competition, sportsmanship, and camaraderie. In addition, the Association shall develop, promote, maintain, and protect the best interest of the game among amateur golfers.

ARTICLE III - MEMBERSHIP
Membership is open to all Florida women 21 years of age and over residing in southeast Florida. A woman joining for the first time must have a current, verifiable USGA Index of 16.0 or less. Members renewing their FCWGA Membership within a consecutive year must have a current, verifiable index of 18.0 or less. Handicaps may be verified monthly, or as often as deemed necessary by the Executive Board. Annual dues shall be determined by a majority vote of the Executive Board. There will be a late fee of $10 assessed for dues received after the date stated on the membership application. Member dues are non-refundable. Should a member’s index rise above an 18.0 during the tournament season, she may continue to play to a maximum index of 18.0.         

ARTICLE IV - OFFICERS      
The Association shall be governed by an Executive Board consisting of the President, VP Secretary, VP Treasurer, VP Tournaments, VP Website/IT, VP Rules, VP Golf Course Coordinator and Member-at-Large.      

Section 1
TITLES AND DUTIES      
A.  President shall preside over all meetings, release all Event information within 14 days of the respective date (if a pop-up Event occurs, Event Information will be sent as soon as possible), appoint chairs for Standing Committees, oversee events and business of the Association, summarize the year’s events for the membership and purchase/present trophies for the Founder’s and Championship Days. In the President’s absence her duties will be assumed by the following officers in this order: VP Secretary, VP Treasurer. At the completion of the President’s term, she shall take on the role of Member-At-Large.
B.  VP Secretary shall assist the President in her duties and preside over meetings in the absence of the President. She shall keep records of all meetings and distribute as appropriate. She will provide welcome notes to new members and additional notes as requested. After each tournament she shall send thank you notes to the host club, head golf professional and course delegate.
C.  VP Treasurer/Membership shall oversee applications and dues from prospective members, make deposits and expend monies of the Association at the discretion of the Executive Board, including payments to maintain the FCWGA Website and Host Clubs for tournament fees and prizes. She shall present a financial statement at each Executive Board meeting, provide an annual financial report to the President at the final tournament with copies available for the membership and provide a financial report whenever requested by the President. She shall maintain current membership lists and numbers. Along with the President and VP Secretary she shall be a signatory on the Association account.
D.  VP Tournaments shall appoint other members to assist her as necessary. She shall create all events through Golf Genius and send Event Invitations within 2 weeks of respective events, Event Blasts (Event Reminders 2 weeks out that will include the names of current paid participants and reminder of cancellation deadline. Emails will be sent to ALL FCWGA members), determine flights, payouts, pairings, course set-up and request assistance from delegates. She shall assure that scoring will be handled at all events and report results of tournaments to the FCWGA VP Website/IT within 24 hours of respective event. She will be responsible for prize distribution as determined by the Executive Board. Scoring sheets from events will be kept for the current season.
E.  VP Golf Course Coordinator shall determine tournament site procurement and ensure signed contracts with host clubs are sent to the President, VP Treasurer and VP Tournaments or her designee. She will lead Delegate engagement to assist in course procurement and event flow. She will work in tandem with the President to ensure F&B and Event Blasts are completed.
F.  VP Rules shall ensure that there is an appointed rules person at each event to assist in rule decisions where there is a dispute. Provide updates to the Membership, according to the USGA, with rules questions or challenges following each event.
G.  VP Webmaster/IT shall update the Website on an as-needed basis including, but not limited to, Tournament Schedule and general information about the Association. Design and document the website including working with hosting services and other third parties. Maintain Association emails. Evaluation new technology options and provide recommendations to the Executive Board. Assist the VP Tournaments with Golf Genius portal pages and, as requested, Member directory and tournament sign-ups. Assis members with website and Golf Genius access issues upon requst.
H.  Member-at-Large shall advise the Board of past and best practices.

Section 2:
A.  The members of the Executive Board shall hold office for a minimum of two (2) and maximum of four (4) consecutive years.
B.  Any Executive Board member may be removed by a two-thirds majority vote of the entire Board, whenever in its judgment the best interest of the Association would be served.
C.  Each year a Nominating Committee Chair shall be appointed by the President at least two months prior to the Fall Meeting. The committee Chair shall appoint two other members in good standing to the Committee who will present a slate of officers (committee members may be nominees) for approval by a majority vote of those present.
D.  If an office becomes vacant the Nominating Committee shall appoint a replacement to serve until the next election.

ARTICLE V - MEETINGS
There shall be an annual spring and fall meeting of the general membership held at the first and last events. Board meetings will be held as deemed necessary by the President and/or three (3) or more members of the Executive Board.

ARTICLE VI - DELEGATES
Each club shall strive to have a delegate or alternate who acts as a liaison between the Executive Board and her club.

ARTICLE VII - MEMBER RESPONSIBILITIES
A.  Proper golf attire is expected for Golf & Lunch. Bottoms must be at least mid-thigh or longer in length. Shirts must have a collar or sleeves. No hard spikes are allowed. Denim, tank or crop tops, and the like, are not allowed.
B.  Abide by USGA Rules & local rules approved and distributed specific to our tournaments.
C.  All putts must be holed.
D.  All scores must be
by end of day of respective event - Fore County events, except Founder’s Day and the Championship, should be entered as non-tournament scores.
E.  Ready golf is permissible and asking to play through a slow group is acceptable. A penalty for slow play may be enforced.
F.  Arriving within five (5) minutes after play has started results in a two (2) stroke penalty. A player arriving after five (5) minutes may play but is not eligible for prizes that day.
G. Refunds are only given if a cancellation is received by VP Tournaments via email or text by 11 a.m. four (4) days prior to event.
H. Prior to beginning play, players should exchange scorecards. Members are encouraged to keep their own score on a separate card.
I.   All scorecards must be returned even if the round is not completed. A member is ineligible for prizes if she picks up on a hole or the round is incomplete.
J.  Upon completion of the round the competitor should check her score for each hole. She shall ensure that the marker has signed the card, countersign the card herself and return the card to the Scoring table immediately.
K.  To be eligible for prizes a player shall complete her round of golf in four and a half (4 1/2) hours and return her scorecard to the scoring table within four hours and forty minutes. USGA Rule 5.6 applies.
L.  Report any rule questions, infractions, or conduct detrimental to the Association’s reputation to the Rules Chair or her designee for disposition and/or resolution.
M. Completion of two (2) tournaments (or otherwise determined by the Executive Board) is required to become eligible for the title of Champion in the Championship Tournament.
N.  Any member failing in the responsibilities as set forth above may have action taken, including, but not limited to, suspension or expulsion by two-thirds vote of the Executive Board.
O.  GPS and Range finders for distance shall be allowed. The use of any other measurement is not permitted.

ARTICLE VIII - PRIZES
Gift Certificates redeemable in the Pro Shop will be paid to approximately 25% of the field. A Hole-in-One will be awarded with $100.00.

ARTICLE IX - INDEMNIFICATION
The Association shall indemnify each and every past, present and future member of The Executive Board of the Association and her heirs, executors, and administrators, against all expenses including amounts of judgments against or amounts paid in settlement by such members of the Executive Board, together with all costs, legal account or otherwise, necessarily or reasonably incurred or otherwise imposed upon her, in connection with the defense of any action, suit or proceeding to which she may be a party with which she may be threatened by reason of her being or having been a member of the Executive Board of the Association, whether or not she continues to be a member at the time of incurring said expenses.

ARTICLE X - AMENDMENTS
These bylaws may be amended or repealed at any meeting of the Executive Board by two-thirds vote of those present, provided written notice of each proposed amendment shall have been submitted to each member fourteen (14) days before the meeting.  

These Amended bylaws were unanimously passed by the Executive Board on April 6, 2022January 25, 2023.

Amended: 1/25/23, 4/6/2022, 1/10/2022, 3/8/2018, 11/17/2014, 3/15/2013, 3/5/2012, 11/7/2011, 3/21/2011, 11/2/2009, 11/3/2008, 4/22/2005.  Privacy Policy Outside use and/or copying the membership directory without written consent of the Executive Board is strictly prohibited.

Standing Rules of Competition

Each Member should read and understand the FCWGA Bylaws.

USGA indices four (4) days before the respective event will be used to calculate handicaps for all tournaments. NO changes will be made to handicaps on the day of play.

USGA Rules govern all play unless local rules are posted on the day of the tournament.

All events are STROKE PLAY unless specified otherwise on the Event Blast.

FLIGHTS:   Will be determined by current indexes converted to the course handicap.  The number of flights and players within flights will be determined by the number of entries and set by VP Tournaments.

PRIZES:  Approximately 25% of the field will be paid.  Gross and net prizes per flight will be paid in golf shop credit, low team scores per flight in team events.  Founder’s Day and the Championship will have an overall gross and net Champion who will receive a trophy and a $50 gift card.

HOLE-IN-ONE: $100.

YARDAGE will be between 5100-5300 yards. Course slope and rating will be on the Event Blast.

SCORING:  Players shall exchange scorecards within their group prior to start.  Cards must be signed and attested.  Cards must be returned to the designated collector within the time allocated. A player may NO CARD, but card must be turned in to designated card collector and score posted for handicap purposes.

SCORING AREA:  If a player has not left the scorecard collection area and eating area, a scorecard may be amended and/or altered for signatures, correction of score and inclusion of penalty.  Once results are announced only changes due to committee error or player DQ shall be made.

SCORECARD must be returned to the designated collector by 4 hours 40 minutes from start of play to be eligible for prizes.  Scorecards returned after this time will NOT be Eligible for prizes.

TIES will be decided by the USGA recommendation of matching cards (App.  1-2: back 9, back 6, back 3, etc.), except for Founder’s Day & Championship which will have a playoff (or determined by the VP Tournaments).

Unless otherwise specified, the listed price for each tournament includes cart, greens fees, F&B and tax.

CANCELLATION must be submitted by email or text to the VP Tournaments by 11 a.m. four (4) days prior to the event to qualify for a refund (Less service fees).

PRACTICE ROUND – Members are not entitled to a practice round at the courses on our schedule except as specified on the Event Blast or other communication from the VP Tournaments.

LIMITED FIELD:  If there are more entries than the host club can accommodate, the following procedure will be used:

  • Once the number of entries has been reached, an announcement that the event is closed will be sent.
  • An alternates list based on the order wait list requests are received will be kept.

Be considerate of other players. Cell phones may ONLY be used in case of emergency – use only after completing play on one hole and before teeing off on the next hole.

Share the responsibility for flag replacement – “the first one in gets the pin”.

SUSPENDED PLAY POLICY:  When play is suspended for a dangerous situation, players MUST discontinue play immediately, mark ball position and leave the course.  Non-compliance may result in disqualification.

RAIN/CANCELLATION POLICY:  Registered players will be notified via email and/or text based on the Member Directory data with as much advanced notice as possible (Members are responsible for KEEPING THEIR respective Membership Directory data ACCURATE).   

When we are at the club, if play is stopped due to rain and/or lightning and lunch is being served, attendance prizes will be distributed as follows (or at the Executive Board’s discretion on site):

  • If less than 9 holes are played before the rain, a lottery will be used to select winners.
  • If 9 holes or more are played before the rain, par plus any handicap strokes will be added to each player’s hole-by-hole score to even out the total holes played. The winner will be determined as if all players had completed the same number of holes or full round.

PACE OF PLAY:  USGA Rule 5.6 applies (See Red Script below for FCWGA revised Slow Play Policy)

Rule 5.6 (a)(b): Unreasonable Delay; Prompt Pace of Play (SLOW PLAY) - We take this seriously at FCWGA. We have up to 100 women participating in each event and it is vital that each group keeps pace with the group in front of them. This will continue to be enforced according to USGA rule 5.6:

Encourage prompt pace of play by recommending that:

  • Players should recognize that their pace of play affects others, and they should play promptly throughout the round(such as by preparing in advance for each stroke and moving promptly between strokes and in going to the next tee),
  • A player should make a stroke in no more than 40 seconds(and usually in less time) after the player is able to play without interference or distraction, and
  • Committees should adopt a Pace of Play Policy

In addition, Rule 5.6 (2) expressly allows playing out of turn in match play by agreement, and for stroke play, affirmatively allows and encourages players to play out of turn in a safe and responsible way to save time or for convenience (also known as “ready golf”). The agreement to play out of turn cannot be a general agreement (agreement for the entire round). Agreement must be given each time you play out of turn.

Penalties for Breach of Rule 5.6a:

FCWGA Slow Policy is as follows:

If a group is at least a hole behind, the players behind them can call the pro shop and request a ranger to come assess the situation ahead of them.

The ranger WILL give these slow players A WARNING to speed up play and stay with the group ahead of them. This warning should prompt “ready golf” to speed play up.

If this WARNING does not work, the ranger will again approach the slow players and assess the 1st Breach: 1 stroke penalty.

If the 1st Breach does not motivate the slow players to speed up, the ranger will assess the 2nd Breach: General Penalty (2 strokes).

If a 3rd Breach is warranted, the team will be disqualified.

Please note that these penalties affect the entire foursome/group.

Following are suggestions to ASSIST in READY GOLF:

  • Prepare in advance. Determine shot distance and choose your club while others are hitting.
  • Minimize pre-shot routines including practice swings. There are statistics indicating more than one practice swing/shot adds 30 minutes or more to your round.
  • Don’t over analyze. Don’t obsess over putting lines. Read your putt while others are putting and be ready to go when it is your turn.
  • Hit provisional shots when your ball might be lost. There is a USGA Rule limiting searches to 3 minutes after arriving at the search location.
  • Pick up!  If you can’t improve your team’s score, then pick up and move on.

Rev. 012523

© Copyright SE Florida WGA