Player Eligibility 

In individual County Competitions (Handicap Meetings, Knockouts, Windfall Trophy) it is the Player's responsibility to ensure they meet the qualifying criteria for EGL Women’s Competitions. Players who do not meet the criteria will be disqualified. 

In Inter-club competitions (Munro Foursomes, Silver Shield, Silver Trophy, Bronze Shield and Harris Bowl) the Team Captain must also ensure that their team players meet the qualifying criteria. Where a player does not meet the criteria the Team will be disqualified from the match and 2 points plus a 5-match win result will be awarded to the innocent team.

Gender & Status

• Must be female, as defined in the  EGL Gender & Fairness in Competition Policy 2025.
• Must hold Amateur status as defined by The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, unless competition conditions state otherwise.

Handicap Requirements

• Must hold an official WHS handicap maintained in accordance with the National Body’s Rules of Handicapping.
• Must have a mature handicap record containing at least 20 scores (any combination of 9- or 18-hole rounds).
• Must have submitted a minimum of 7 competition scores within the 365 days prior to midnight on the day before the competition. (The 7 Card Rule)

Club Affiliation

For County Club Team Competitions, the player’s handicap must be uploaded to WHS by their chosen ‘home’ club by 1st February in the current calendar year.
The player must still be a member of that club on the date of the match. A player may only represent their 'home' club.

*HOW TO CHECK THE '7 CARD RULE' - TEAM CAPTAINS

1.    Your Club Handicap Secretary can verify this at any time through the World Handicap System (WHS):

Ask your Handicap Secretary to run the “Competition vs General Play Scores” report for all women members of their team.

The report shows the total number of competition and general play scores recorded.
Only competition scores count towards the 7-card rule.

2.   Set the date range correctly:
When running the report, set the “From” date to 365 days before the competition date, and the “To” date to the day before the competition.
Example: for a match on 10th May 2026, the report should cover 10th May 2025 to 9th May 2026.
Check that your players have at least 7 competition scores recorded within that period.

3.   Regular reviews:
Ask the Handicap Secretary to run the report in early February to identify any players who need more competition cards and encourage them to enter more competitions.

Then run it again before each match to confirm all selected players remain eligible.

*NB: Club Handicap Secretaries can run the Competition vs General Play Scores report for individuals too.