TITLE
1. The name of the Association shall be “HSBC GOLF ASSOCIATION”
MEMBERSHIP
2. Membership of the Association shall be open to all serving members of staff of HSBC Holdings and its subsidiary companies in the UK [the Bank] - (Category A).
An existing member may retain his/her membership when leaving the employ of the Bank if he/she is in immediate receipt of a qualifying HSBC pension or has transferred to cash or an alternative provider. Also, membership of the Association shall be open to any former members of staff in receipt of a qualifying HSBC pension, or one transferred to cash or an alternative provider (Category B). Members reaching the age of 60 before the commencement of the Annual Golf Meeting shall be deemed to be a ‘Veteran’ Member.
Past members of the Association who have left the employ of the Bank and who are not in immediate receipt of pension, may apply to re-join the Association as an HSBC Affiliate Member (Category C), subject to the discretion of the Standing Sub-Committee.
Any person previously employed by the Bank, not in immediate receipt of pension and not previously a member of the Association, may apply to join the Association as an HSBC Affiliate Member (Category D), subject to the discretion of the Standing Sub-Committee.
All members attending the Annual Golf Meeting shall, in addition, be fully subscribed members of the HSBC Sports & Social Club (payment by Direct Debit). Category C & D members will be HSBC Affiliate members of the HSBC Sports & Social Club.
MANAGEMENT
3. The Management of the Association shall be in the hands of a Committee, who shall have full powers.
OFFICERS
4. There shall be a President, any number of Vice Presidents, an Association Captain, an Association Vice-Captain, a Secretary, an Assistant Secretary, and a Membership Secretary / Treasurer. Once elected in General Meeting, Vice Presidents are not then subject to subsequent re-election. All other Officers shall be elected in General Meeting and, except for Vice President’s, shall serve for a period of two years. All officers may be eligible for re-election.
COMMITTEE
5. The Committee shall consist of the Officers and additionally up to 15 members each of whom should normally serve for 3 years. Members retiring after their three-year term of office shall be eligible for re-election. To qualify for membership of the Committee, members should have attended a minimum of three Golf Meetings of the Association. There should be a minimum of nine Committee members to form a quorum.
SUB-COMMITTEES
6. The Annual General Meeting or the Committee shall have power to appoint any Sub-Committee for specific purposes. The ongoing management of the Association, particularly during the period outside of the Annual Golf Meeting, shall be conducted by a Standing Sub-Committee consisting of the Association Captain, Association Vice-Captain, Secretary, Assistant Secretary and Treasurer/Membership Secretary. One member of the Standing Sub-committee must be currently employed by a company within HSBC and shall be given the additional title of Team Captain. The Standing Sub-Committee shall have the power to co-opt any Officer or Committee Member for specific purposes or in the absence of any member of the Standing Sub-Committee.
FINANCES, FINANCIAL YEAR & AUDITS
7. The Financial Year shall commence on 1st January. The financial accounts should be the subject of an annual audit, prior to being adopted at the Annual Meeting. The audit responsibilities shall be undertaken by the serving Vice Captain. The bank mandate and authorities allow “any one officer to sign” on the account and the Treasurer is the ‘Primary User’ of all aspects of Business Internet Banking.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
8. The Subscription shall be £5, payable annually on 1st January, only by Standing Order. For newly joining applicants, the £5 subscription is payable at the time of the application and membership will be accepted or confirmed only upon receipt of the subscription. Any member whose subscription is unpaid by the date of the Annual Golf Meeting shall be deemed to have resigned and is therefore ineligible to take part in the Golf Meeting or in competitions.
ENTRY QUALIFICATIONS & CRITERIA
9. The entry qualifications and criteria for the Meeting is dependent on whether the Association has chosen to host competitions across two courses or on one course only.
Two Course Golf Week
The Association is not able to accommodate any more than 160 competitors on any one day of Golf Week.
In the event of there being no more than 160 entries in total, all applicants will be accepted as firm entries for the meeting, immediately after the closing date as indicated on the entry form.
In the event of there being entries that will result in there being more than 160 present on any one day, places will be allocated based on 5 tiers of priority: -
1) Current and Past Officers of the Association certifying their attendance for 2 or 5 days.
2) Current Committee Members of the Association, certifying their attendance for 2 or 5 days.
3) Former Winners of the Bank Championship, Venture Cup or Veteran’s Challenge Trophy certifying their attendance for 2 or 5 days.
4) Existing Category A, B, C & D Members certifying their attendance for 5 days.
5) Existing Category A, B, C & D Members certifying their attendance over 2 days.
Individuals within each tier of priority will be ranked according to their attendance history.
a) Highest number of attendances in the last 10 meetings.
b) Highest number of attendances in the last 5 meetings.
c) Highest number of attendances in the last 3 meetings.
d) Attendance at the last meeting.
The above procedure will be used to identify the first 90% of entries required to fill our capacity.
Within this 90%, there may be no more than 16 Affiliates and no more than 64 Veterans. Where this is the case, a cut of Affiliates and Veterans will be made according to their rankings against peers sharing that membership attribute. Those cut at this stage will be eligible to be considered for the final 10% of places.
The final 10% of entries will be allocated as follows: -
i) The 3 lowest handicap male golfers remaining and the 3 lowest handicap female golfers remaining.
ii) The 4 new Category A members of the Association with the lowest handicaps.
iii) The remaining spaces will be filled with players drawn from a straight ballot from all those that have entered but subsequently missed out at this stage until the daily capacity of 160 is reached on any one day.
iv) Any remaining unsuccessful entries thereafter will be drawn to determine their order on a reserve list.
Note: Where a member has entered the meeting but has been balloted out, their attendance will be counted in line with their intent.
One Course Golf Week
In the event of there being no more than 100 Five Day entries and no more than 40 Two Day entries, all applicants will be accepted as firm entries for the meeting, immediately after the closing date as indicated on the entry form.
5-Day Entries
In the event of there being more than 100 Five Day entries on the closing date, the Standing Sub-Committee will allocate entry acceptance based on 4 tiers of priority: -
1) Current and Past Officers of the Association certifying their attendance for 5 days.
2) Current Committee Members of the Association, certifying their attendance for 5 days.
3) Former Winners of the Bank Championship, Venture Cup or Veteran’s Challenge Trophy certifying their attendance for 5 days.
4) Existing Category A, B, C & D Members certifying their attendance for 5 days.
Individuals within each tier of priority will be ranked according to their attendance history.
a) Highest number of attendances in the last 10 meetings.
b) Highest number of attendances in the last 5 meetings.
c) Highest number of attendances in the last 3 meetings.
d) Attendance at the last meeting.
The above procedure will be used to identify the first 90 5-Day entries to be accepted. Among the 90 entries that make the cut, there may be no more than 14 Affiliate Members and no more than 56 Veteran Members. Where this is the case, a cut of Affiliates and/or Veterans will be made according to their rankings against peers sharing that membership attribute. Those cut at this stage will be eligible to be considered for the final 10 places at 5-Day attendance.
The final 10 entries will be allocated as follows: -
i) The 3 lowest male handicap golfers and the 3 lowest female handicap golfers remaining.
ii) 4 Players drawn randomly from a straight ballot from all those that have entered but subsequently missed out at this stage.
iii) Remaining unsuccessful entries to be asked if they wish to be considered for 2 Day attendance as an alternative.
iv) Those who wish to only attend for 5 Days will be drawn to determine their order on a 5-Day reserve list.
Note: Where a member has entered the meeting but has been balloted out, their attendance will be counted in line with their intent.
2 Day Entries
In the event of there being 100 5-day places filled and more than 40 Two-Day entries on the closing date, the Standing Sub-Committee will allocate entry acceptance based on 5 tiers of priority: -
1) Current and Past Officers of the Association.
2) Current Committee Members of the Association.
3) Former Winners of the Bank Championship, Venture Cup or Veteran’s Challenge Trophy certifying their attendance for 5 days.
4) New Category A Members.
5) Existing Category A, B, C & D Members.
Individuals within each tier of priority will be ranked according to their attendance history.
a) Highest number of attendances in the last 10 meetings.
b) Highest number of attendances in the last 5 meetings.
c) Highest number of attendances in the last 3 meetings.
d) Attendance at the last meeting.
The above procedure will be used to identify the first 30 Two-Day entries to be accepted.
The final 10 entries will be allocated as follows: -
i) The 3 lowest male handicap golfers remaining and the 3 lowest female handicap golfers remaining.
ii) At least 4 Players drawn randomly from a straight ballot from all those that have entered but subsequently missed out at this stage.
iii) Those who remain unsuccessful will be drawn to determine their order on a 2 Day reserve list.
Note: There is the possibility that the Association will not receive 100 entries for Five-Day attendance. Where this is the case, the Association will be able to accommodate an increase in Two-Day entries. Where a member has entered the meeting but has been subsequently balloted out, their attendance will be counted in line with their intent.
ENTRY FEES
10. The appropriate Entry Fee for the Annual Golf Meeting will be determined by the Standing Sub-Committee and announced at the prior year AGM. The Entry Fee is payable at the time of entry. Refunds for withdrawals after 1st March, will depend of the circumstances of withdrawal and shall be at the discretion of the Standing Sub-Committee.
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
11. The Annual General Meeting shall be held during the period of the Annual Golf Meeting. Any decisions put to the vote shall be decided by a simple majority with the Captain, as Chairman of the meeting, having a second casting vote.
MATCHES AND COMPETITIONS
12. Matches and Competitions shall be held at such times, and under such rules and conditions, as the Committee shall from time to time determine. Members are permitted to use “single seat” buggies, or “buggies” for hire by the host clubs, where available, in competitions during the Annual Golf Meeting, except in the Bank Championship, Venture Cup and Veteran’s Trophy competitions. A “medical certificate” may be required, at the discretion of the Standing Sub-Committee.
REGULATIONS FOR PLAY
13. The regulations for play shall be as follows: -
(a) The rules of the game shall be those of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, together with the local Rules of the Course upon which such matches and competitions are played. The Committee has power to make any special rules which may vary the rules in force.
(b) All members playing in the Annual Golf Meeting must have an official WHS Handicap Index, authorised by the golf club of which they are a member or by the “England i-golf facility”. In all handicap events, members shall use their official WHS Handicap Index, at the start of play to determine their Course and Playing Handicap on each day.
(c) The Committee shall decide the maximum permitted Playing Handicap or WHS Handicap Index for competitions, although there are currently no restrictions.
DISPUTES
14. All disputes shall be referred to the Standing Sub-Committee and / or the Committee, whose decision shall be final.
ALTERATION OF RULES
15. No alteration of the Rules shall be permitted except at a General Meeting of Members
NOTICE OF RESOLUTIONS
16. Any Resolution to alter the Rules of the Association, or the Programme of the Meetings, which the Committee or individual members may wish to submit to the Annual General Meeting, shall be handed to the Hon. Secretary and placed on the Notice Board at least 24 hours prior to the Annual General Meeting
PROVISION FOR REFERENDUM OF MEMBERS
17. As Special General Meetings of the members are not practicable, matters of exceptional importance may be dealt with by postal referendum if it is agreed by at least two-thirds of the Committee or at least twenty members, having firstly signed an appropriate motion. The referendum should be arranged through the Secretary of the Association.
Updated and approved by General Meeting – 14th May 2024