1. Name of Club:
The Club shall be called “Pollok Golf Club”.
2. Membership:
The membership shall consist of
The maximum number of Ordinary Members shall be 460 excluding members under 25 years of age who have in terms of article 15 of the Constitution elected to pay 30% of the subscription, whose numbers will be limited to 40.
3. Honorary office Bearers:
An Honorary President and one or more Honorary Vice-Presidents may be elected at an Annual General Meeting.
4. Management:
The management of the Club shall be vested in a Committee of Management consisting of the Captain, the Vice-Captain, the Vice-Captain Designate and twelve Members – six to form a quorum save for the purposes of Article 24.
The Captain, the Vice-Captain and the Vice-Captain Designate shall retire annually but shall be eligible for re-election. The other Members elected to the Committee shall each serve for three years.
A Member shall not be eligible for the Office of Captain or Vice-Captain or Vice-Captain Designate unless that member shall have served as a Member of Committee and have been out of office as a Member of Committee for at least one year.
Four Members of the Committee shall retire annually by rotation, their places being filled at each Annual General Meeting of the Club, but retiring Members of the Committee shall not be eligible for re-election to it until after an interval of one year. The maximum consecutive period of service of a Member on the Committee shall be 3 years save as specifically provided to the contrary in this Constitution.
Nominations for Election to the Committee, signed by two Ordinary Members, shall be in the hands of the Secretary not later than 15th November, in each year, posted on the Notice Board in the Clubhouse when received, and intimated in the circular calling the Annual General Meeting. The election shall take place at the Annual General Meeting, when a vote, if necessary, shall be taken by ballot and the result immediately thereafter declared. Ties shall be decided in the same manner. In the event of two nominees remaining tied after votes taken by ballot then the result shall be decided by lot.
Any vacancy occurring in the Committee of Management during the course of the year shall be filled by the Committee, and any Member of the Committee so appointed shall, if that election is confirmed by the Club at the ensuing Annual
General Meeting, complete the unexpired term of service arising from the vacancy to which the Member was appointed. Such an appointed Member shall thereafter not be eligible for re-election as a Member of Committee until the lapse of one year, except where the unexpired term of service referred to above was less than one year.
The Committee of Management shall meet at least once every two months. All meetings of the Committee shall be called by circular and at least three days notice given except in the case of an Emergency meeting when a Meeting may be called on twenty-four hours notice.
5. Powers of Committee of Management:
The Committee of Management shall have all powers necessary for the full and efficient conduct of the affairs of the Club, including power to liquidate the obligations of the Club and to alter or add to any Bye-Laws or Local Rules as they think proper.
All decisions made and Bye-Laws or Local Rules promulgated by the Committee shall be binding on every Member until set aside at a Meeting duly convened in terms of Article 8 and shall be held as sufficiently intimated to the Members if exhibited in a prominent place in the Clubhouse or on the Course.
The Committee shall have power if and when it sees fit to borrow such sum or sums of money as may in its opinion be necessary for the above purpose upon such terms and conditions as it thinks proper.
The Committee shall have power to appoint for special purposes such Sub-Committees as it deems necessary, and may, when considered desirable, include as members thereof Members of the Club of any class including Junior Associates who are not then serving on the Committee. The Captain and Vice-Captain shall ex-officio serve on all Sub-Committees.
In cases of urgency, the powers of the Committee of Management shall be vested in an Emergency Committee which will comprise the Captain, the Vice Captain and the Vice Captain Designate.
6. Secretary and Treasurer; Secretary/Manager:
An official shall be appointed as Secretary and Treasurer or, at the discretion of the Committee, Secretary/Manager, at such a salary and on such terms as may from time to time be fixed by the Committee. For the purposes of this Constitution the Secretary and Treasurer or the Secretary/Manager shall henceforth be referred to as “the Secretary”. The Secretary shall keep full and correct minutes of all proceedings at meetings of the Club and Committee; shall receive and disburse all monies due to and by the Club; shall keep correct accounts and books showing the financial affairs and intromissions of the Club and shall forward a statement thereof prepared to 30th September to every member at least six days before the date of the Annual General Meeting.
The Secretary shall not be a Member and shall have no vote in any deliberations of the Club.
7. Auditor:
At the Annual General Meeting an Accountant shall be elected as Reporting Accountant to examine the books and accounts of the Club (including those maintained by the Secretary) and to provide a report thereon, but no such accountant shall hold office concurrently in the Club.
8. Meetings of the Club:
The Annual General Meeting of the Club shall be held in December in each year, not later than 31st December, when the Captain, Vice-Captain and Members of the Committee shall be elected, a duly audited statement of the Club’s affairs for the year ended 30th September submitted and any other competent business transacted. Should any Member desire to submit a motion at any Annual General Meeting, he shall send written notice thereof to the Secretary together with the names of the proposer and seconder by 15th November before such meeting and the Secretary shall forthwith send a copy to each Member of the Club. The Committee shall have power to call Special General Meetings of the Club and shall be bound to call such a meeting within one calendar month on receiving a written requisition signed by at
least fifteen Ordinary Members and/or Life Members stating the business. All meetings of the Club shall be called by circular giving at least six days notice and stating the business to be discussed.
At all meetings of the Club, thirty Ordinary Members present in person shall form a quorum. At any meeting of the Club or Committee, the Captain, or in the absence of the Captain, the Vice-Captain, shall take the Chair, and when both failing the Members shall elect a Chairperson. The Chairperson for the time being shall have a casting as well as a deliberative vote at all meetings of the Club or Committee.
9. Property:
10. Assessment of Members:
The Club at any Meeting duly convened in terms of Article 8 shall have power by majority of votes of the Ordinary Members and the Life Members cast at such Meeting to require from all or any class of Members payment (either by means of a single payment or by instalments or by way of loan with or without interest or otherwise and generally on such terms and conditions as may be specified in the relative resolution) of such sum as may be considered necessary to finance any expenditure incurred or projected by the Club or generally to liquidate the liabilities or obligations of the Club. The amount and terms of such payment may differ as between the various classes of Members but shall not differ as between Members of the same class. Any Member failing to make payment within one month after the due date thereof of any payment or part thereof due in terms of this provision shall cease to be a Member of the Club and their name shall be removed from the Roll of
Members but such a Member shall nevertheless remain liable for any such payment in so far as it remains outstanding together with any interest payable in terms of Article 15.
11. Alteration of Course:
The layout of the Course shall not be altered without the approval of the Members at a Meeting duly convened in terms of Article 8. “Layout” for these purposes means the sequence of holes as it stood in 2007; the fundamental characteristics of each hole such as the location of the green; and the length of the hole from the Medal Tee as such stood in 2007 (“the 2007 Medal”). Adjustments to bunkering, green shape or
size or teeing ground will not ordinarily constitute a change to the layout of the Course. Further, the permanent variation in the length of any hole from the 2007 Medal shall not be a change in “Layout” if within 10% (either greater or less) of the length of the 2007 Medal.
12. Admission of Ordinary Members:
The name and address of every Candidate for admission as an Ordinary Member of the Club must be filled in on the printed form to be obtained from the Secretary, and signed by the proposer and seconder. The proposer and seconder must have been Ordinary Members of the Club for not less than 5 years and know the applicant personally, but the Committee shall have discretion to waive this condition in special circumstances. Members shall only be entitled to sign either as proposer or seconder two new applications for Ordinary Members in any one financial year.
The application form shall be lodged with, and exhibited by the Secretary in a prominent position in the Clubhouse at least one month before consideration by the Committee.
Applicants must have attained the age of 10 and will not be admitted to Membership before the age of 18. The application shall be considered by the Committee for entry on the waiting list and, if approved, shall be accepted on payment by the applicant of such registration fee as may be fixed by the Committee.
The acceptance of applications for the waiting list and election of all applicants shall rest with the Committee and shall be by ballot. No candidate shall be admitted either to the waiting list or to Membership unless voted for by two thirds of the Members of Committee present.
On election to Membership the registration fee shall be deducted from the Entry Fee. If the application is rejected by the Committee the registration fee shall be refunded, but in the event of the application being withdrawn or the applicant declining election the fee shall be forfeited.
As vacancies occur a list of applicants shall be submitted to the Committee for election according to priority of application except that preference shall be given to Junior Associate Members attaining 18 years of age and applicants who are children of Members of five years standing, and also, at the discretion of the Committee, former Ordinary Members seeking re-admission as such. In this latter category preference shall be given to present Non-Playing, Country, or Restricted Members seeking reinstatement in terms of articles 18, 19 and 20.
On the election of Member, the Secretary shall notify that Member in writing and request that Member to pay the balance of the Entry Fee and the Subscription. Such Member shall not be entitled to the privileges of the Club until the Entry Fee and Subscription be paid when the Member shall be furnished with a copy of the Constitution and Bye-Laws. Subscription be paid when the Member shall be furnished with a copy of the Constitution and Bye-Laws.
13. Resignation of Members:
Any Member wishing to resign from the Club must intimate, in writing, their resignation to the Secretary before 1st January following the Annual General Meeting. Any Member failing to give such intimation shall be held liable for their subscription for the ensuing year.
14. Entry Fee:
The Entry Fee shall be such sum as the Club at any Meeting duly convened in terms of Article 8 shall decide. New Members have the option of paying the Entry Fee in Five equal instalments, one-fifth in each of the first five years of membership and payable no later than the 15th February in each such year. New Members who are 25 years and under who are children of deceased Members pay half the current entry fee.
The Committee may at their discretion implement a scheme whereby applicants for membership aged 60 or over will have their entry fee reduced by one-tenth for each year of their age over 60 (up to a maximum reduction equivalent to seven tenths of the entry fee) at the date of their admission to the Club.
Any former Member re-admitted shall pay half the Entry Fee charged to new Members at the time of re-admission together with payment of the current year’s subscription. This provision can be waived in exceptional cases by the Committee.
The Entry Fee for a person who has been a Junior Associate Member and is admitted to Ordinary Membership in the first year in which a vacancy has occurred immediately following the year in which that Member ceased by reason of age to be a Junior Associate Member shall without prejudice to the application of the foregoing provision of this Article, be reduced by one seventh for each year of Junior membership. Otherwise on admission as a Member over 25 to the Club within seven years of ceasing to be a Junior Associate Member, the Entry Fee paid as a Junior Associate Member shall be deducted from the Entry Fee or first instalment thereof. A new Member under the age of 25 shall not be required to pay the entry fee until 1st January in the year following their 25th Birthday. Such new Member may elect to pay the balance of the entry fee due in 5 Annual instalments payable in each of the first 5 years and payable no later than the 15th February in each such year.
15. Annual Subscription:
The financial year of the Club shall end on 30th September. The Annual Subscription for the financial year shall be such as the Club shall decide at the Annual General Meeting and can be any amount decided upon at such meeting. Any proposal stipulated in the Circular convening the Annual General Meeting can therefore be varied by the Members at the Annual General Meeting in their entire discretion. The Annual Subscription shall be due and payable in a single amount on 1st January or, if the Committee from time to time determines that such options shall be available: (i) in the option of the Member in two equal instalments on 15th January and 1st May, such option being exercisable only if the Member pays the first instalment of his Subscription not later than 31st January (failing which the full amount of the Annual
Subscription shall become due and payable) or (ii) in the option of the Member in up to twelve instalments paid by means of a direct debit from an account held by the Member in a Bank or Building Society.
Any Member who has not validly exercised their option to pay the Annual Subscription by instalments and is accordingly liable to pay such subscription in a single amount and has failed to do so before 15th February; any Member who has validly exercised their option to pay the Annual Subscription by instalments but has failed to pay the second instalment thereof before 1st May; and any Member who has validly elected to pay the Subscription by direct debit but who withdraws the instructions or otherwise prevents the agreed debits being implemented on at least two successive occasions and who has not otherwise arranged to pay any outstanding balance due within 7 days of the due date for payment of the second overdue instalment, shall without prejudice to any other provision of this Constitution be considered to be in arrears and shall (i) be held to have resigned from the Club but nevertheless will remain liable for the Subscription in so far as unpaid and (ii) shall therefore not be allowed to vote at any General Meeting of the Club or take part in any Club Competition.
The Secretary shall send a written notice with a copy of this Article to every Member in arrears addressed to such Member at that Member’s last address in the Books of the Club. The Committee shall have the option in its absolute discretion to reinstate such Member on good cause being shown and on payment of all arrears of the Annual Subscription, together with any interest payable in terms of Article 15.
Any Member admitted after the beginning of a financial year shall be liable for such proportion of the current Annual Subscription payable at such times and in such amounts as the Committee may decide.
MODIFIED SUBSCRIPTIONS
(i)Any Member who is under 25 years of age on 1st January in any year may elect to pay for any part of such year 30% only of the subscription which would otherwise be payable by him in respect of such year.
(ii)Any Member who is under 30 years of age on 1st January in any year may elect to pay for any part of such year 50% only of the subscription which would otherwise be payable by him in respect of such year.
(iii)Any Member who is under 35 years of age on 1st January in any year may elect to pay for any part of such year 75% only of the subscription which would otherwise be payable by him in respect of such year.
Any Member who if eligible elects to pay a modified subscription of less than 75% shall have no voice in the management of the Club’s affairs during the period in respect of which he has elected to pay a modified subscription and such period will not be taken into account in calculating the period of Membership to qualify for Life Membership under Article 16. Otherwise such Members shall have the same rights and privileges as an Ordinary Member, and the foregoing provisions of this Article for payment of Annual Subscription by instalments shall apply to such Member.
The Committee shall have power:
(a) to levy interest at the rate of 4% above the base rate of the Royal Bank of Scotland plc from time to time to accrue on a daily basis on all amounts of the Annual Subscription in arrears and any arrears of any Assessment levied in terms of Article 10 and the Members concerned shall be required to pay such amount of interest as shall be certified by the Secretary (save in the case of manifest error); and
(b) to identify any Member in arrears in respect of the Annual Subscription or of any Assessment by public notice within the precincts of the Club and on its website all in the discretion of the Committee.
16. Life Members:
(a) Any Member who, by 31st December 2014, has been an Ordinary Member of the Club for a period of not less than 40 years, and who has paid 40 Annual Subscriptions as an Ordinary Member, shall be a Life Member (Category 1) without further payment of Annual Subscriptions.
(b) With effect from 1st January 2015, any Member who has been an Ordinary Member of the Club for a period of not less than 40 years, and who has paid 40 Annual Subscriptions as an Ordinary Member, shall be a Life Member (Category 2), subject to payment of a modified Annual Subscription as follows:
a Life Member (Category 2) who is under 80 years of age on 1st January 2015 in any year shall pay 40% of the Annual Subscription; and a Life Member (Category 2) who is over 80 years of age on 1st January in any year shall pay 25% of the Annual Subscription.
(c) Any Member who joined the Club after 1st January 2006 shall not be entitled to become a Life Member.
(d) Life Members shall have the same rights and privileges as Ordinary Members.
17. Honorary Members:
It shall be competent for a majority of the Members present at a General Meeting of the Club on the recommendation of the Committee to confer on any person who has rendered outstanding service to the Club or is otherwise deemed worthy the distinction of Honorary Membership.
Honorary Members shall have the same rights and privileges as Ordinary Members, except that they shall not be entitled to share in the ownership, effects and monies of the Club nor shall they be liable for the debts and obligations of the Club.
18. Non-Playing Members:
The Committee may at its discretion admit Ordinary, Country or Restricted Members who have paid not less than five annual subscriptions to Non-Playing Membership. The Committee may also at its discretion admit the cohabiting spouse/partner of a current Ordinary/Life/Restricted Member to Non-Playing Membership with the rights and privileges set out below but without any right of re instatement.
Non-Playing Members shall pay a modified annual subscription which shall be such sum as shall be fixed at the Annual General meeting.
Non-Playing Members shall have the same rights and privileges as Ordinary Members except that they shall not be entitled to make use of the facilities of the Course, have locker accommodation or have any voice in the management of the Club’s affairs.
This category of Member is not entitled to introduce playing visitors.
Any Non-Playing Member may, on application to the Committee be re-instated as an Ordinary, Country or Restricted Member without payment of further entry fee but subject to the payment of the current annual subscription or such proportion thereof in the year of re-instatement as the Committee may deem appropriate, and such application shall have preference over all other applications on the waiting list.
19. Country Members:
The Committee may on application and subject to a modified Annual Subscription admit any Member or former Member as a Country Member, provided such Member does not reside within a radius of 40 miles of the Clubhouse, and does not have a place of business within a radius of 15 miles of the Clubhouse. The modified Annual Subscription shall be such sum as shall be fixed at the Annual General Meeting.
Country Members shall have the same rights and privileges as Ordinary Members except that they shall not be entitled to play in Club competitions, have locker accommodation within the Clubhouse or have any voice in the management of the Club’s affairs.
Any Country Member may, on application to the Committee, be re-instated as an Ordinary Member without paying any further Entry Fee but subject to the payment of the current Annual Subscription or such proportion thereof in the year of re-instatement as the Committee may deem appropriate, and such application shall, subject to the priority of Non-Playing Members, have precedence over all other
applications on the waiting list.
20. Restricted Members:
Members who have attained the age of 75 years and members who have (i) paid not less than 15 annual subscriptions or, for those entitled to a Family Discount whose spouse/partner has paid not less than 15 annual subscriptions, and (ii) are 65 years of age and over, may on application be transferred to a list of Restricted Members. The number of Restricted Members will not at any time exceed 65 or such greater number
as the Committee may decide.
They shall pay an annual subscription that is set at the AGM and which will be no greater than 70% of the current Ordinary Annual Subscription.
Such Restricted Members shall have the same rights and privileges as Ordinary Members except that they shall not play in Competitions (except Tuesday Stroke Competitions at a starting time of not later than 16.00 hours, Ladies Day, the Member Guest Event and the Dr. R L Cormie Cup) nor shall they have any voice in the management of the Club’s affairs, and then the following restrictions apply to play:-
Play is permissible every weekday, Monday to Friday inclusive, with a starting time of not later than 16.00 hours. Playing visitors shall only be introduced by Members of this category during the hours of play during which they themselves are permitted to play.
If there is a shortage of lockers, Restricted Members may be required to give up their lockers.
Any Restricted Members may on application to the Committee be re-instated as an Ordinary Member without payment of further Entry Fee but subject to the payment of the Annual Subscription or such proportion thereof in the year of re-instatement as the Committee may deem appropriate and such application, subject to the priorities of Non-Playing and Country Members, shall have precedence over all other applications on the waiting list.
Members who apply for and accept Restricted Membership shall not be eligible for Life Membership unless they are re-instated as Ordinary Members and thereafter qualify for Life Membership in terms of Article 16.
21. Temporary Members:
The Committee shall have the power to admit Temporary Members with or without payment to all the privileges of the Clubhouse and Course. The names and addresses of all persons or courtesy parties so admitted shall be posted in the Clubhouse for three days prior to the admission and attested by the Secretary.
Temporary Members shall have no voice in the management of the Club affairs nor shall they play in Club Competitions nor have the right of introducing playing visitors.
22. Corporate Members:
The Committee shall have the power to admit annually to Corporate Membership of the Club for a period of one year only but renewable on a year to year basis such number of Companies, Firms or other bodies as they decide. The number of such Members shall not exceed 20 in any one year and they shall have no voice in the Club’s affairs, nor be entitled to attend any General Meeting of the Club. No entry money shall be payable in respect of Corporate Membership and the annual subscription shall be payable in one amount on 1st January and shall be such sum as the Club shall from time to time decide at the Annual General Meeting.
Corporate Members shall
(a) be entitled to play on the Course during Mondays to Fridays inclusive starting no later than 16.30 hours and on Sundays starting after 14.00 hours unless otherwise expressly approved by the Committee
(b) be entitled to use the Clubhouse facilities on Mondays to Fridays and Sundays during the normal hours of opening but
(c) shall not be entitled to participate in any of the Club competitions.
23. Junior Associate Members:
The Committee shall have the power to admit as Junior Associate Members young persons between the ages of 8 and 18.
The name and address of every applicant for admission as a Junior Associate Member of the Club must be filled in on the printed form to be obtained from the Secretary and signed by the Proposer and Seconder. The Proposer and Seconder must have been Ordinary Members of the Club for not less than five years and must know the applicant personally. The Committee shall have discretion to waive this condition in special circumstances. Members shall only be entitled to sign two new applications for Junior Associate Membership as Proposer or Seconder in any one financial year. The application form shall be lodged with and exhibited by the Secretary in a prominent position in the Clubhouse at least one month before consideration by the Committee. As vacancies occur a list of candidates shall be submitted for admission according to priority of application except that children of members of five years standing shall be given precedence.
The acceptance of applications for the Junior Associate Member waiting list and election of all applicants shall rest with the Committee and shall be by ballot. No candidate shall be admitted unless voted for by two thirds of the Members of Committee present vote for him.
The Entry Fee and Annual Subscription for (a) Primary School Junior Associate Members (b) Junior Associate Members aged 12-14 years (c) Junior Associate Members aged 15-18 years shall be such sums as shall be decided at the Annual General Meeting and shall be payable in terms of Article 14 and 15 of the Constitution.
The hours of play and other regulations applicable to Junior Associate Members shall be as the Committee shall decide from time to time and shall be displayed on the Notice Board.
Junior Associate Members shall have no voice in the management of the Club’s
affairs
24. Suspension and Expulsion:
(a) Suspension:
The Committee shall have power on a vote by ballot by a majority of a quorate meeting to suspend for a period not exceeding three months any Member whose conduct appears to them to endanger the character, interests or good order of the Club, or who acts in defiance or in breach of the Constitution and Bye-Laws. For these purposes, a quorum shall be 12 members of the Committee.
(b) Expulsion:
At a Meeting of the Club duly convened in terms of Article 8, the Club shall have the power on a vote by ballot and by a majority of two thirds of those voting to expel any Member whose conduct appears to them to endanger the character, interests, or good order of the Club, or who acts in defiance or in breach of the Constitution and Bye-Laws. The Members eligible to vote for this purpose shall be the Ordinary Members and the Life Members. No other category of Member shall be eligible to vote. At least seven days before calling such a Meeting the Committee shall communicate with the allegedly offending Member to give that Member an opportunity of resigning from the Club. Should that Member decline such opportunity, the allegedly offending Member shall have the right to make representations on their own behalf at the General Meeting and to be accompanied by a non member of the Club who shall have the right to observe proceedings but not to represent the allegedly offending Member nor to speak on behalf of that Member.
25. Clubhouse and Course – Hours:
The Clubhouse and Course shall be open at such times and on such conditions as may be prescribed by the Committee from time to time.
26. Restrictions as to Sale of Liquor:
1. No Member of the Committee and no Manager or Employee of the Club shall have any personal interest in the sale of excisable liquors therein, or in the profits arising from such sale.
2. No excisable liquor shall be sold or supplied for consumption outside the premises of the Club except to a Member on the premises and for his own consumption
3. No excisable liquor shall be sold or supplied to any person under the legal age limit.
4. No visitor shall be supplied with excisable liquor in the Club premises unless on the invitation and in the company of a Member and that Member shall, upon the admission of such visitor to the Club premises or immediately upon that visitor his being supplied with such liquor, enter the Member’s own name and the name and address of the visitor in a Book which shall be kept for the purpose and which shall show the date of each visit.
27. Compliance with Constitution:
Any Member, on payment of the Entrance Fee and Subscription, thereby submits to the Constitution of the Club, both as to restrictions enjoined and penalties imposed and on these conditions alone is entitled to the advantages and privileges of the Club. A copy of the Constitution and Bye-Laws shall be delivered to every Member or transmitted to their address but no Member shall be absolved from their effect on allegation of not having received them. All Members are deemed to accept the authority of the Committee provided it is acting within the provisions of the Constitution.
28. Constitution, Bye-Laws, Local Rules and List of Members:
A copy of the Constitution, Bye-Laws, Local Rules and alphabetical list of the Members with their addresses shall be exhibited in the Clubhouse Bye-Laws and Local Rules made by the Committee from time to time become and remain binding on the Members.
29. Alteration of Constitution:
No alteration shall be made in the foregoing Constitution except at a Meeting of the Club duly convened in terms of Article 8 and the notice calling such Meeting shall state the alterations proposed to be made but no such alteration shall take effect unless it is affirmed by at least two-thirds of those present and voting at such Meeting.
* The current Bye-Laws and Local Rules are printed in the Membership Diary.
