By-Laws

Management Organization:

A Board of Directors (“BOD”), consisting of five Officers, shall manage the Inis Fada Golf Club: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Handicap Chairman.

Election and Terms of Officers:

Should an active Board member be unable to complete the year, or be unable to continue the following year – this will create an open Board position.  Should this occur, the Secretary will make a formal announcement to the membership.  The Membership will have an opportunity to nominate any qualified member to fill the open position up until the 19^th tournament (which is one week prior to the Annual Meeting).  The member nomination should be communicated directly to the President.  It is important to note that nominations should not be a popularity contest, qualifications for BOD positions are critical for Club Operations, as an example: the Treasurer requires very specific accounting experience.  

Qualifications for Board candidates will be carefully evaluated by the existing BOD.  The Board will render a final decision to fill the open position from the best qualified nominee submitted by the membership that is in the best interest of the Club.

Actions of the BOD:

Unless otherwise required, the vote of a majority of the present Board Members (minimum of 3 must be present, one must be the President) shall be the act of the Board. Each Board Member present shall have one vote.

Membership Meetings:

The annual membership meeting shall be held at the same time each year, most preferably after the final tournament. If this is not possible, the BOD will choose a date close to that time.

Board of Director Meetings:

BOD meetings shall be held as necessary. A scheduled regular annual meeting of the BOD shall be held immediately following the annual meeting of the membership.

Membership Dues:

Each member is obligated to pay annual membership dues.  Dues received by our Treasurer by March 1 are in the amount of $175, to remain in good standing with the Club.  Dues received after March 1 are in the amount of $200.  Our full membership will be contacted in January regarding our upcoming new season and a request for annual dues to be paid directly to our Treasurer. 

Failure to pay annual Club membership dues will designate that player as a Guest and therefore denying that individual from participating in membership tournament awards (closest to the pin, low net, annual most improved) as well as optional – King of the Hole & Sweep.

Any player choosing to join/re-join the club after the first tournament, or at any time during the year, will still require full annual membership dues, which are used for MGA fees, club sponsored luncheons and other club related activities.

Club Website:

InisFadaGC.com

Rules and Regulations:

A maximum USGA Handicap Index of 36.4 is allowed for each tournament.

The club awards $100.00 to any member for a Hole-In-One or Double Eagle at a club tournament or Inter-Club Match.

Two $25 prizes are awarded for ‘Closest to the Pin’ for each tournament.  To be eligible you must be a member in good standing.  Non members are not eligible to play in this contest, the “King of the Hole" contest or the Sweep

All members are required to post all rounds played, either 9 or 18 holes.

Review the Captains List and take note your Captain (as a suggestion, put them on your speed-dial).   

We are a golf club and the expectation is that we are here to play golf.  Captains will list members as playing (for the next tournament) UNLESS a member specifically notifies their Captain that they cannot play.  If you are not attending the current outing to communicate to your Captain in person, it is the members responsibility to reach out to your Captain by COB Weds that you are unable to play the following week (a Regrets Only scenario).

Since the Club is contractually mandated to contact the course at least one week in advance, Each Captain submits their roster with who’s playing and who’s not - by Weds night/Thurs noon.  This gives our Board the ability to contact the course with a total attending headcount for the following tournament.

As an important note: the courses are contractually allowed to charge us for the total number of players we designated (a week earlier), if you are a No Show and the Club is charged by the golf course, you are liable for that green fee.  We understand that emergencies can arise the day of the tournament and you cannot play, should this occur, please contact your Captain or a member of the Board ASAP and we will do our best to manage the situation.  Regarding late cancellations: the Club will levy a $10 fine for the first late tournament cancellation and a $20 fine for all subsequent infractions of cancellations.

Please arrive at the golf course at least 30 minutes prior to tee time, this will allow enough time for the Collection of fees and give the Collectors a few minutes to warm up at the range and putting green just like everyone else.  Let’s be considerate of our fellow members. 

Each group is required to submit an attested scorecard with all golfers last names and scores on the card. Failure to submit a correct scorecard will result in disqualification from the tournament for all golfers in the group.

Rainy day procedures:

The BOD will be monitoring any suspect weather forecast prior to our Wednesday tournament and will implement the following protocol as necessary:

• The Vice-President will call the course when they open Weds morning 5:30 – 6am. If they are fully open, we are obligated by contract to play (& pay).
• If No Carts are available, we will cancel and reschedule.
• If it’s Cart Path Only, we’ll have to play.
• The Vice-President will send a TEXT out to the Captains with a Go/No-Go decision.
• The Captains will text/contact their teams ASAP. This is the fastest way to contact playing members.

Tournament Rules:

All USGA Stroke play rules apply except as noted below. Players are expected to follow the rules with the utmost integrity.

The USGA Alternative Rule to Stroke and Distance for Lost Ball or Out of Bounds will apply.

Local Scorecard rules supercede USGA rules.

Additional exceptions such as lift, clean and place, drop areas, aeration, fescue rules; et al will be announced prior to each tournament. 

Any ball that lands in a sand trap may be lifted, the sand raked and the ball replaced as near as possible in the same spot.

A ball in a divot on your fairway may be moved outside the divot - as a DROP (not a lift and place).

The tees chosen for play will be those closest to 6000 yards.  For Tournament play, No “gimme” putts, putt everything out.  It is also recommended that once on the green, the player continues to putt out.  Research shows that this will improve the pace of play by approximately 20-30 mins per round.

Code of Conduct:

As a club, we interact with Courses in several ways: (1) their Management, (2) course Ranger, and (3) other non-club players, as well as other clubs, such as the Shamrocks.

We all look forward to having enjoyable, weekly tournaments and the Board always seeks to remain in good standing (with positive feedback) with our partner courses.

Any member or guest, whose conduct is considered offensive or harms the good reputation of the Club may be reprimanded, suspended, or expelled from the Club.  The Board will be the sole judge of what constitutes improper conduct.  The President will lead an investigation into the reported conduct and the member will be notified of any disciplinary action and given an opportunity to show cause why the Club should not discipline the member.

While the Club considers the complaint, the member will continue to enjoy all member privileges prior to the complaint. 

Pace of Play:

Pace of Play - Always a Hot Topic – Course management has registered complaints to the BOD on several occasions.  Please make a concerted attempt to keep up with the group in front of you. If you do happen to fall behind, please make every effort to catch up to the group in front as soon as possible. The USGA suggests 4 hours and 20 minutes is more than a reasonable time to play 18 holes. Let’s try our best to meet this standard.  If your score is high and you’re out of the tournament, don’t be afraid to pick up and take your maximum ESC score for the hole.  For starters, Play ready golf!!

Additionally, consider the following:

• Continuous putting is recommended. The “away” golfer should take the first putt and then continue to putt out, keeping in mind the lines of his fellow golfers' putts.
• Plan your shot before you get to the ball (while others are hitting),
• Be ready to hit, when it’s your turn,
• When possible, don’t wait in the cart while your cart-mate hits and then drive to your ball. Again, when possible – get out and walk to your ball with a few clubs.  Be ready to play and then your cart-mate will pick you up.
• Be helpful to others in your group. Follow the flight of all tee shots and help (when you can) look for their ball if you already know the location of your ball.
• Keep up with the group in front of you

Scratch and Handicap Match Play Championships:

Members must play in at least two of the first five tournaments of the year to qualify for the Club Championship (Scratch Tournament). The two best scores of the first five tournaments will be used for qualification and seeding. The top 16 golfers from these two rounds will qualify for the Scratch Tournament.

All members will qualify for the Handicap Tournament. Handicap and Scratch champions from the previous year will qualify and are automatically seeded number one.  Strict deadline (Cut off) dates are noted at the top of the bracket for each round.  These cut off dates must be adhered to, but can be extended if approved by a vote of the Board.  If you are playing and are scheduled to play a match, it must be played, otherwise a forfeit will be granted.  

If a scheduled match is nearing its deadline, and cannot be played on Wednesday, BOTH players can agree to play their match on their own.  However, it must be played prior to the next Inis Fada tournament, so that the winner can be recorded and Match Play continues.  The Handicap Chairman will gladly assist in providing handicaps for the players at the agreed-to course (in the case of a handicap match).

If the deadline for a match has passed, the Handicap Chairman will apply a set of rules that have been developed to determine a winner.  The decision of the Handicap Chairman will be final.  The goal of the rules continues to make it fair to our members and allow us to maintain a forward momentum of the Tournament before we run out of runway.

Based on the number of matches to be played, as well as constraints imposed by members playing in both Handicap and Scratch Tournaments, it is imperative that match play proceed on a timely basis and complete by the end of August. To achieve this goal, no match may end in a TIE.  The Terms of Match Play Competition now specify that ties will be decided by USGA tie-breaker matching scorecards.   The match play winner will be based on the score for:

• the last nine holes,
• if still tied, the last six holes,
• if still tied, the last three holes,
• and finally, the 18^th hole

In the event that this process does not result in a winner, the Board will make a recommendation. 

Prior to the start of the Final Handicap Championship match (18 holes), a decision must be made by both players as to how to proceed in the event that the match conclude in a tie.  They may either continue to play a specified number of extra holes, or mutually agree to play an additional 18 holes at an upcoming tournament.  If still tied under either option, the USGA tie-breaker process stated above will apply.

The Final Scratch Championship shall be played over 36 holes. Prior to the start of the second round of match play, a decision must be made by both players as to how to proceed in the event that the match conclude in a tie.  They may either continue to play a specified number of extra holes, or mutually agree to play an additional 18 holes at an upcoming tournament.  If still tied under either option, the USGA tie-breaker process stated above will apply.  The winner will be declared Club Champion.

Inis Fada Golfer of the Year:  Nugent / Doolan Trophy:

SYL NUGENT AND CONNIE DOOLAN were two of the “founders’ of our club and are recognized each year with this trophy presentation.  Points are awarded for each tournament and match play championship semi-finals and finals.

For each tournament a total of 40 points is awarded, as follows: 15 to the winner.... 10 for second... 8 for third... 7 for fourth. Should there be a tie the points will be divided appropriately.  No points will go to anyone who finishes behind those four.  The Scratch and Handicap (Match Play) winners will be awarded 15 points, runner-up 10 points. The losers of semi-final matches will get 5 points each.

The winner of the Nugent / Doolan Trophy will be the member with the most points at the end of the year.

Most Improved: Cavanaugh Award:

A perpetual trophy, donated by John Casley, in memory of Don Cavanaugh is given to the most improved player on a percentage basis.  The period measured starts April 15 and ends as of the last tournament of the year.   The Most Improved Player is determined by a standard USGA report, which applies a long standing, well-established formula. 

Memorial Trophy:

A perpetual trophy given yearly to the winner of the Memorial Tournament, a tournament designated each year by the Board of Directors, in memory of our departed members.

Inter-Club Tournaments:

All members who have posted 20 scores are eligible.  Should more members wish to play than needed, the current reigning match play champions and members of the BOD will choose the team.