Event rules

At every event

These apply on both tours, at every venue.

• Register at least 30 minutes before your tee time, and be with the starter on the first tee at least 10 minutes before it.
• Players with a WHS Handicap Index must be able to prove it, using the MyEG app, a handicap certificate or the equivalent Home Union app.
• Every event follows the R&A Rules of Golf and any local rules of the host club.
• Every event uses a maximum score of five over par on each hole – an 8 on a par 3, a 9 on a par 4 and a 10 on a par 5. Once a player reaches the maximum they pick up, record that score and move to the next tee. It is there to keep play moving.
• Scoring is done in the Golf Genius app. One person in each group is responsible for scoring the group accurately using the event’s GGID code.
• Every player is responsible for their own scorecard. It must be signed and handed in at the registration desk straight after the round.
• Caddies are allowed, but caddying means carrying the bag or pushing the trolley. Players choose their own clubs, read their own putts and make their own decisions.
• A parent or guardian must stay at the golf club for the whole event, unless another parent has agreed to take responsibility for the player.
• Family and friends are welcome to walk the course and support, but must not give advice and must keep off the greens.
• Any dispute between players should be sorted out between them before the card is signed and handed in. The Tournament Director’s decision is final.

Masters Tour rules

1. Entries

• Open to boys and girls aged 21 and under on 1 January 2027.
• Players need a WHS Handicap Index of 28.4 or better (boys) or 36.4 or better (girls).
• Entry is £41.99 including VAT per event. PJGT members enter first.

2. Divisions

The Masters Tour is split into a Gross and a Nett Order of Merit, each with six divisions:

• Categories and handicap bandings can change depending on entries, but they are fixed before the first event.
• A player stays in the division they play their first event in for the rest of the season, including the Grand Final, unless there is a valid reason to change.
• If a player does change division mid-season, their Order of Merit points do not carry over.

3. Format

• 18 holes, individual stroke play. Nett divisions play off 95% of handicap.
• Maximum score of five over par on every hole, as above.

4. Prizes and trophies

• Prizes go to the best Gross and best Nett score in each category.
• Presentations happen once a full division has finished its round, so there is a series of short presentations through the day. Everyone is encouraged to stay, and a winner who cannot should let us know.
• A player who wins both Gross and Nett receives one prize. The two prizes are of equal value and the Nett prize is awarded, as the tour has always put the Nett format first.
• Ties for the win are settled on countback – best back 9, then 6, 3 and 1 holes.

5. Order of Merit

• Every player competes in an Order of Merit for their division. A player’s best five scores of the season count towards their final standing.
• The top four players in each Gross and Nett division qualify for the Grand Final.
• If two players finish level on points, the one with the higher finish in any single event places higher. If that is the same too, it goes to the second-best finish, and so on.

Rookies Tour rules

1. Entries

• Open to boys and girls aged 6 to 12 on 1 January 2027.
• No handicap needed. Players who do have a WHS Handicap Index and membership number are welcome too.
• Entry is £29.99 including VAT per event. PJGT members enter first.

2. Divisions

Rookies are placed in a division by age only:

• A player with a handicap may choose to play in the division above their age, and use the round as a handicap qualifier. Players cannot move down a division.
• A player stays in the division they play their first event in for the rest of the season, including the Grand Final, unless there is a valid reason to change. Points do not carry over between divisions.

3. Format

• 9 holes, stroke play, at every venue.
• Every Rookies division is a Gross competition, with a maximum of five over par on each hole. When a player reaches the maximum they must pick up and write the five-over score on the card.
• Blue tee players also use the beginner rules below.
• Boys 10–12 and Girls 10–12 play to the full R&A Rules of Golf, and their scores go on their handicap record.

4. Prizes and trophies

• Prizes and Order of Merit points go to the best gross score in each category, and to second place.
• Presentations happen after play at every event. Everyone is encouraged to stay, and a winner who cannot should let us know.

5. Order of Merit

• Every player competes in an Order of Merit for their division. A player’s best five scores of the season count towards their final standing.
• The top eight players in each Rookies division qualify for the Grand Final.
• Ties in an event are settled on countback – last 9, 6, 3 and 1 holes. Ties in the Order of Merit go to the player with the higher single finish, then the second-best finish, and so on.

Beginner rules – blue tee players only

These apply to Boys 6–7, Boys 8–9 and Girls 6–9. They are there so that a young player’s round keeps moving and stays enjoyable.

• Bunkers. If a player cannot get out after two attempts, they pick up and take a free drop at the nearest side of the bunker, within two club lengths.
• Water hazards. Players must not try to retrieve a ball. Drop a ball a safe distance to the side of the hazard for a one-stroke penalty.
• Staked trees. Must not be damaged. Pick up and take a free drop away from the tree. Staked trees only.
• Lost ball or out of bounds. Drop a ball as near as possible to where the ball went, for a one-stroke penalty.
• Air shots. Nobody wants one, so if the club does not touch the ball, the stroke does not count.

Order of Merit points

Points are awarded to each placed player in their own category, Gross and Nett. Only a player’s best five results of the season count, and Golf Genius works that out automatically as the season goes on. So a player who plays eight events and finishes 1st, 2nd, 6th, 2nd, 5th, 3rd, 4th and 10th is scored on the best five of those.

Where two or more players finish an event on the same score, countback decides the placings – last 9 holes, then 6, 3 and 1. There are 17 divisions across the two tours, so players of every age and ability have a fair chance of winning. Current standings are on the Order of Merit page.

Refunds and transfers

• A full refund is given if the request reaches us through the Golf Genius portal at least 21 days before the event.
• Withdrawals inside 21 days are not refunded, unless there is a confirmed waiting list and we can fill the place.
• All refund requests must come through Golf Genius.
• Where there is space, an entry can be transferred to another event in the same calendar year instead.
• If a player simply does not turn up to an event they have entered, without telling us, they cannot win a prize at the next event they play in that division. Barring an emergency, of course. They can still earn Order of Merit points and qualify for the Grand Final.

Weather cancellations are handled differently – see the adverse weather policy.

Grand Final 2027

• Saturday 11 September 2027 at Thonock Park, The Belt Road, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, DN21 1PZ, on the Parks Course.
• Free to play for every qualifier.
• Each player competes in an individual event and a team event.
• Qualifiers are told their place within a week of the last qualifying event, where possible.
• A player who knows they cannot make the Grand Final should tell the Tournament Director. They are still very welcome at the qualifying events and in the Order of Merit.

These rules sit alongside our event terms and conditions and the code of conduct. Where the two differ, the terms and conditions apply.