A few years ago the Match Committee introduced a by-law covering the non-return of scorecards. This by-law reads as follows:
36.d Non returned scorecards – All scorecards must be returned. If for any reason the round was not completed this must be stated clearly on the card. Failing this, the lowest recorded score over the players previous 20 rounds should be recorded by the starter.
This by-law follows the instruction from New Zealand Golf that all scorecards must be returned after each round.
It has been some time since we audited the return of scorecards at Remuera. An audit carried out yesterday revealed that over 300 cards have not been returned since the beginning of this year. There are nearly 50 members who have not returned over 10 cards already this year - nearly 3 per month. Four members have not returned over 30 cards this year - close to 10 per month. While some non-returned cards may be understandable - incomplete rounds due to a weather or illness/injury abandonment - the card should still be returned with this noted on the card. However this does not satisfactorily explain such high numbers of non-returned cards.
The club will be emailing these members reminding them that they are obliged to complete a card after each round. We will be performing a further audit at the end of May and will implement the by-law as above.
It should also be noted that it is the responsibility of all members to ensure that your playing partners complete and post a card at the end of each round.