Rules of the Society
The IPA Golf Society was formed in 1927 with the purpose of ‘stimulating acquaintance and friendly relations amongst the golfing fraternity within advertising agencies.’
Since that time, the advertising world has changed significantly. Advertising originally relied on press and posters. Over time many new channels have been introduced and hence the expertise within agencies has expanded to embrace TV, radio and the myriad of opportunities created by the digital world. Whilst the majority of IPA agencies offer expertise in all of these channels, there is now sector of agencies who focus exclusively on the digital world. As a result, the footprint of new member opportunities has been extended to cover 'agencies within the communication business'. Whilst it may be the case that some of these digital specialists are not members of the IPA, the critical mass of the total make-up of the membership of IPAGS must always be drawn from IPA member agencies.
All new nominations for membership must be approved by the committee.
There is a subscription, currently of £40, entitling members to play in society meetings they qualify for. This subscription is payable by recurring payment by the 30th of January of each year to retain membership.
On joining the society members are obliged to pay £35 to cover the cost of a society tie.
Should a member resign or retire from the industry they may continue to play at society events providing their recurring payment is not stopped.
Guests may be allowed to play at the invitation meetings only.
The Committee shall consist of a maximum of 15 members of the IPA golf society which must include the following positions: Chairman, Captain, Vice-Captain, Immediate Past Captain, Treasurer, organiser of the Royds Trophy, Merchandise, Membership (2 people), Tour. IPA Liaison, Handicaps & Website. The remainder should be a mix of past and possible future captains.
One member of the Committee must retire annually by rotation and may offer themselves for re-election.
In the event of a committee member resigning prior to an AGM the Committee has the right to co-opt a replacement. Any such appointee shall be ratified at the next AGM.
All members of the committee shall be elected/re-elected at the AGM.
The Committee can propose the election of Honorary members for the approval of the members at the AGM. In each instance the Committee will decide how long an Honorary membership will last
The Committee may offer life membership to any member who has been a member for a minimum of 25 years and the committee deems that they have supported the society on a regular basis. Life membership is at no cost to the recipient.
All fully paid-up members of the IPA Golf Society may attend the AGM and are eligible to vote.
The IPA Golf Society cannot accept responsibility for players' valuables and their property
Any trophy won by a member at an IPA Golf Society event is the winning member's responsibility until they return it engraved with their name. Any damage that occurs whilst the member is responsible must be reported immediately to the Committee who will decide on a course of action for repair which will be paid by the member.
The society uses the WHS system for handicaps in all competitions. Scores from all society events are automatically posted to the WHS system. To win a trophy, a member must have posted at least 4 (four) scores to the WHS system in the 12 months prior to the event. There is a maximum WHS handicap for joining for both men (18) and women (24). Should a members handicap increase above this after joining the following applies for all IPAGS competitions. Men may only play to a max course handicap of 20 and women For the Royds all participants play off 90% of their allocated shots