Eskimo Golf Society

The  first  rule of the Eskimo Golf Society is that golf should be played in the spirit of the game and members should strive to make all of our outings as enjoyable as possible for their fellow members and guests.

When playing in a society competition members should adhere to the rules of the host Golf Club (they will usually be found on the reverse of the scorecard); should they oppose or clash with the rules as set out by the Eskimo Golf Society below, direction should be sought from a committee member prior to commencing play from the first tee. During society golf days and competitions, members are required to comply with the following at all times;

1. Members are requested to wear their Eskimo shirt if possible whilst attending a society golf  day. Failure to comply will result in a ‘fine’  imposed at the discretion of our secretary to a maximum of £5. Gentlemen should wear the Eskimo tie for dinner or risk a similar fine. 

2. All society competitions will be played using the Stableford scoring system utilizing the player’s current society handicap as recorded by the Society’s computerized Handicap system and enforced by the Handicap committee. For a guide on the Stableford scoring please refer to the  Scoring' document below .

3.  During society competitions, players must swap their card with one of their playing partners and record both their opponents score (Player A) and their own score (Markers Score) on the scorecard during the round. Before submission of the cards to the committee immediately at the end of the round, Stableford scores should be recorded on each card and both player and marker are required to sign the respective cards. Incomplete or unsigned cards may be disqualified. Team captains must also keep note of the team score during the round, if a team prize is being played for, failure to provide a complete card could result in disqualification from the team competition.

4.  During society Stableford competitions, a player MUST pick up if they cannot score on a hole. For most players this means that 3 over par on a hole is your maximum.

5. From the tee: if a ball is thought to have gone into trees or out of bounds and might be lost, You must play a  provisional ball,  incurring a stroke and distance penalty, if the ‘ball in play’ cannot be found within five minutes.

6.  When a ball goes into a  hazard it must be dropped within two club lengths at the point of entry but no nearer the hole for a one shot penalty.

7.  Late payment; if a player has not paid annual membership subs by the competition date they have entered – they will be deemed to be guests and will eligible for guest prizes only.

8.  Concessions (Gimmes) on the putting green are not allowed – you must ‘hole out’ or forfeit the hole.

9.  Marking of cards: You must mark someone else's card and NOT your own. You should mark their shots and stableford score on the card as you play the round. Both you and the persons whose card you have marked should sign it at the end of the round to confirm the score is correct.

10.  If a player has an official club handicap and an Eskimo Golf Society handicap, then they must play off the lower of the two in Eskimo Competitions.

11.  Any objections or complaints about the event in which you partake should be raised with a member of the committee on the day of the event or as soon as practicable afterwards. The committee ‘in quorum’ (minimum 3 members) will then investigate and collectively decide on what action, if any, needs to be taken. Committee’s decision will be final.

12.  In the event of a tie, count back of the Stableford score on the back nine will be used, with the higher score winning and if the scores are still tied then the back six, the back three, and back one will be taken into account until a winner can be identified. 

13.  Members  guests will be welcomed and encouraged  to attend and support  Society golf outings, and may play in the Society competition but will not be considered for any member prizes – except nearest the pin and longest drive. Members should also ascertain the playing handicap of their guest/s and advise the Handicap Secretary - prior to the day if possible. 

14 New Members with current club handicaps must play for Guest prizes for the first outing with the Eskimo’s and those with no recognized Handicap must play twice before being eligible for the members prizes.  Existing members must have played in at least two outings from 4 consecutive outings (Including the current outing) to be eligible to win the main prize.

15. The committee reserves the right to enter disciplinary action for any breach of the rules.  Stage 1: Verbal formal warning. Stage 2: Written formal warning Stage 3: Punishment, depending on the seriousness of the breach, could  result in a severe reprimand from the committee, a discretionary fine to the Charity Fund or a  two (2) shot penalty to handicap – or expulsion from the Society.

Rules in Brief

1)      Society Handicaps must not be increased without Eskimo Handicap committee consent.

Dr Stableford was an excellent golfer, and with a handicap of plus 1 in 1907 he won the club championship at Royal Porthcawl. Earlier he had served as a surgeon in the Royal Army Medical Corps, and spent some years in South Africa fighting against the Boers. His medical career eventually brought him to Wallasey and he joined the golf club in 1914. During the 1914-18 War he served as a major with the RAMC. He returned to Wallasey after the war, and records of 1922 show that his handicap had risen to 8.

His unique scoring method was born out of frustration with the bogey system of scoring used at that time, where the player played against the bogey (or par) for the hole. Nowadays we refer to this as ‘strokeplay’, where all shots on the round are counted to give your total over or under par.  The strong winds at Wallasey made nonsense of this system when players were unable to reach the long par-4s in regulation. 

Stableford had experimented with a scoring system when a member of Glamorganshire in 1898, but the system proved unsatisfactory and was not repeated. "I was practising on the 2nd fairway at Wallasey Golf Club one day in the latter part of 1931", he said, "when the thought ran through my mind that many players in competitions got very little fun since they tore up their cards after playing only a few holes and I wondered if anything could be done about it" The result was the Stableford scoring system, and club golfers have been indebted to the good doctor ever since, allowing, as it does, a golfer to have a bad hole and not have it spoil their round.

 Wallasey held the first Stableford competition on 16^th May 1932, and it was an instant success. As an everlasting tribute to Dr Stableford, Wallasey introduced "The Frank Stableford Open Amateur Memorial Trophy" in 1969. Of course, the event is played as a stableford, and it has become a major event in the amateur golfing calendar ever since.  Stableford's portrait by J.A.A. Berrie hangs in the clubhouse, a reminder to the members of the debt owed to the club golfer's greatest benefactor.  Of Dr Stableford, Henry Longhurst said "I doubt whether any single man did more to increase the pleasure of the more humble club golfer".