1. Membership
Membership of the Rees Trophy competition is open to all immediate family of Donald Rees, their partners and offspring.
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2. Frequency and Location
The Rees Trophy is to be played once a year, with a minimum entry of two players. The time and venue of the following year's competition will be decided by majority vote of those playing in the current year's competition.
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3. Appointments
At the start of each competition there is to be elected or appointed: a score-keeper; a treasurer; a Celtic Cross secretary; and (at the end of each competition) a course secretary, who will be responsible for the arrangements for the following year's competition.
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4. Voting
Rules may be amended by a simple majority of Membership Votescast. Membership Votes are allocated according to the number of Rees Trophy competitions completed by each voter. A quorum requires 51% of the total available votes. Where a vote is required in these rules other than for a change in the Rules themselves, this is by simple majority of the votes of those competing for that year; each competitor has one vote.
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5. Prescribed rounds
The Rees Trophy is a Stableford competition played over consecutive days. A set minimum number of competition rounds will count as the prescribed, or scoring, rounds, as set out below:
Up to 5 rounds : All rounds count
6 to 8 rounds : Drop one round
9 to 13 rounds : Drop two rounds
Over 13 rounds : Drop three rounds

6. Order of play
a) The playing format (singles/threeball/fourball) is to be established for each year by agreement of the players and, in the event of a dispute, by vote.
b) Opening round: play is started in order of the previous year's results, with the winner teeing off first.
c) Following rounds: after the first round, the winner of the previous round starts play. Pairings are to be planned to ensure that all players have an opportunity to play against each other on a broadly even number of times during the competition, subject to (d)
d) Final round: the leading players are to play in the same group, and tee off last.

7. Handicapping
a) Official club handicaps do not apply to this competition. Handicaps from the end of the previously played Rees Trophy competition apply unless voluntarily reduced by the player. New entrants may have their nominated handicap reassessed by the other competitors for that year, after the practice rounds. The maximum handicap allowance is 28 for men and 36 for ladies.
b) Handicap adjustments are made after each round, using the formula in Schedule 1. The maximum handicap increase is 1 shot. There is no maximum handicap reduction

 8. Abandonment of round
     a) If one or more rounds has to abandoned (for example because of booking errors, course closure, car breakdown, or the like) and no substitute round can be played that day, then the round(s) will be cancelled and the number of prescribed rounds will be adjusted. All players have to agree to play a substitute round, but the presumption will be in favour a substitute round if a suitable alternative course is available.
     b) If a round is abandoned during play (either by course closure or by the mutual consent of the majority of  players) then:
            i) if fewer than six holes have been completed by any player, the round will be deemed cancelled
            ii) if six or more holes have been completed by all players, the round will be valid in the competition, and the Stableford points will be adjusted pro rata to the number of holes completed by each player. Such a round will not be eligible for the Fionn MacCool Trophy, which is for scores for completed rounds only.
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9. Scoring
    a) It is the responsibility of each player to check their score card on completion of each round. It is also the responsibility of each player to check his starting handicap and game result, as listed by the score-keeper, on completion of each round.
    b) The Stableford target of 36 points may be adjusted (by a majority vote of the players) in exceptional weather conditions. Advice may be sought from the pro-shop on the relevant SSS for the conditions, but such advice is not binding.
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10. Scoring errors
  a) If a scoring error, positive or negative, is corrected before the beginning of the following round, the adjustment, and all relevant financial accruals, shall stand.
 b) If a scoring or reporting error is not noted before the start of the following round, the round result, including any such error, will stand.
 c) An error in the final round's scores must be corrected before prizegiving.
d) However, the statistical records will record the corrected figures, and any adjustments will be taken into account in determining the handicaps for the following year.  

11. Winner of the Rees Trophy
The winner of the Rees Trophy is the player with the best cumulative Stableford score over the prescribed rounds. The winner is responsible for paying for drinks at the celebration dinner at the end of the tournament; the cost of the meal is to be shared by all players.xx

12. Additional trophies
In addition to the Rees Trophy, there are the following additional trophies:
    a) The Welsh Mug, awarded to second place in thecompetition.
    b) The Irish Mug, awarded to third place.
    c) The Wooden Spoon, awarded to last place, when there are four or more players.
    d) The Wooden Chap, awarded for the best gross score.
    e) The Fionn MacCool, awarded for best single Stableford round.
    f) The Dunlop 65, awarded to the player with the fewest lost balls in all competition rounds; 'lost' includes any ball struck out of bounds,
       or not retrieved from a hazard..
    g) The Hologram Man, awarded to the player with the highest aggregate Stableford points on all par-3 holes played in competition
        rounds.
    h) The Fanny, awarded to the player with most tee shots short of the ladies' tee in competgition rounds; and
    i) The Celtic Cross, awarded to the player with the most points in Celtic Cross games.
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13. Celtic Cross games
The games which will comprise the Celtic Cross trophy each year are to be established at the start of the competition, taking account wherever possible of local customs and available sports. The total number of games will not exceed 14 without the unanimous agreement of the players involved. The games selected should represent a fair balance of different skills, but should exclude golf skills. The final game is to be completed on the last day of  the competition.
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14.  Responsibility for the trophies
All designated trophies are to be held by the winner until the next Rees Trophy competition. The holder is responsible for the safety, engraving (when required) and arrival of their trophy the following year.
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15.  Resolving ties
    a) Rees Trophy, Welsh Mug, Irish Mug and Wooden Spoon: ties are to be decided by sudden death play-off, starting from the first tee and continuing in sequence. The handicap shots applied to the final round will continue to apply to the play-off.
    b) Wooden Chap: ties are to be decided as follows:
            i) if the tied scores were scored on different courses, the score on the course with the highest SSS for the relevant tee will win. No weather adjustments for the SSS will be accepted in such cases.
            ii) if the tied scores are on the same course, or on different courses with the same SSS, then the winner will be decided by count-back against par.
            iii) count-back will be by gross scores on the following holes (in order until there is a winner): the last nine, the last six, the last three, the last twelve, the last fifteen.
            iv) if the scores are still tied, the trophy will be decided by sudden-death play-off.
    c) Fionn MacCool: the trophy will be shared between tied scores, with all winners' names to be engraved on the trophy. The trophy will be held by the person who in that year wins fewest of the other major trophies, namely the Rees Trophy, Wooden Chap and Celtic Cross, ranked in that order in the event of the joint winners holding an equal number of each.
    d) Dunlop 65: ties are to be settled by count-back, the player of the last lost or out-of-bounds ball being the loser.
    e) Hologram Man: ties are to be settled by the best Stableford score on par 3's on the last round. If these are level, then by count-back of the total par 3 Stableford scores on each previous round until a winner is determined.
    f) Fanny: ties will be settled on countback, with the Fanny being awarded to the last player to have played a fanny shot.
    g) Celtic Cross: tied scores are to be decided by the majority winner of five hands of 3-card brag, dealt for non-betting turn-up.
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16. Prize money
    a) The table in Schedule 1 sets out the standard prize (and default) money for each round, based on gross scores.
    b) The payment for the match winner is obligatory. A player may, before the start of each round, opt-out of any other on-course payments.
    c) Winnings are to be paid in the currency of the country in which the competition is being played. The table shows the standard bets in sterlin units.
    d) Any winner of the hole-in-one is not entitles to any other benefits from that hole, and is responsible for buying drinks to a value of £20.

17. Buggies
Buggies may be used at any time

18. Withdrawal, retirement, and part-completed rounds
a) A player may withdraw from any round without penalty, scoring no Stableford points.
b) A player may retire at any time during a round without penalty; the Stableford score for the holes completed at the time of retirement count as his total score for that round.
c) If a player arrives too late to start a round, he may join the round part way through, but he only scores the Stableford points for the holes he completes. He may complete his round by playing the missed holes at the end of his round, but only with the agreement of all other competitors and only if the timing for the rest of the day’s programme is not prejudiced. This should be discussed as soon as the delayed player joins play, and not left until the end of the round.
d) In the case of part-completed rounds under (b) and (c) above, the handicap adjustment at the end of the round will be based on: actual score; multiplied by 18; divided by the number of holes completed.
e) If, through withdrawal, a player cannot play the prescribed number of rounds, then:

1. He is still eligible to compete for the Wooden Chap and Fionn MacCool trophies
   
2. If he has completed more than half of the prescribed rounds, he is eligible to compete for the Dunlop 65 and Hologram Man trophies; his score for the rounds he has played will be adjusted pro rata to the total number of competition rounds played that year
   
3. he is also eligible to win the Fanny, but with no such pro rata adjustment
4. the unplayed rounds score nil Stableford points in the competition for the Rees Trophy, Welsh Mug, Guinness Mug and Wooden Spoon, but there is no increase in handicap for these nil scores.

19. Rules of golf
    a) Except as elsewhere set out in this Rule, the standard rules of golf apply. Any disputes are to be settled by vote, and the spirit of the Rees Trophy should be applied.
    b) In the event of a dispute, the rules of golf may be overturned if the players not deemed to have infringed the rules unanimously agree that the standard penalty should not apply. Any such decision should be taken before the start of the subsequent round. In the case of a decision required in the final round, it must be given before prize-giving.
    c) Specific Rules of Golf which have already been disapplied are:
            i. A player has relief from green-side water-sprinkler heads where the ball lies the green or fairway (but not in rough or semi-rough) ), even though the ball may be more than 2-clubs' length away from the sprinkler head.
            ii. there is no penalty applied if a player, his partner, or opponent, treads on his ball while searching for it.
            iii. relief is given for a plugged ball in the rough
            iv. if a player declares his ball lost, it cannot subsequently be found
            v. a player playing from the wrong tee may be asked to replay the shot, without penalty
            vi. there is no penalty for playing out of turn.

Additional Rules voted September 1995
Rules revised  November 1995
Additional rules voted September 1995
Rules revised November 1995
Additional rules voted August 1996
Betting revised January 1998
Resolving ties revised October1998
Betting revised and Buggies voted August 2000
Betting and rules of golf revised August 2001
Rules reformatted February 2003
Rules revised and reformatted August 2007 
Rules revised August 2009

Schedule 1. Handicap adjustments

Grass ferret = holing from off the green. Golden ferret = holing from a bunker, with any club, on any attempt.
Sandy = up-and-down from a bunker, on any attempt. Fanny = driving short of the ladies' tee markers

Texas Scramble Handicaps

A maxium 10 stroke spread is allowed between team memebers. The team handicap is determined from the table below.

Handicap difference	Strokes received	Handicap difference	Strokes received
80.0-83.9	20	36.0-39.9	9
76.0-79.9	19	32.0-35.9	8
72.0-75.9	18	28.0-31.9	7
68.0-71.9	17	24.0-27.9	6
64.0-67.9	16	20.0-23.9	5
60.0-63.9	15	16.0-19.9	4
56.0-59.9	14	12.0-15.9	3
52.0-55.9	13	8.0-11.9	2
48.0-51.9	12	4.0-7.9	1
44.0-47.9	11	< 4.0	0
40.0-43.9	10