A non-amateur may be reinstated as an amateur by the applicable national governing body.
Each national governing body has the sole authority to:
The national governing body’s decision on reinstatement is final, subject to any appeal process established by that body.
- Reinstatement Guidance
- Waiting Period Prior to Being Reinstated
- Multiple Reinstatements
- Denying Reinstatement
- Status While Awaiting Reinstatement
A player requesting reinstatement as an amateur golfer should follow the application process for the national governing body of the country where they reside, which may involve submitting an application for reinstatement to that national governing body.
Having an application process ensures the appropriate national governing body has an opportunity to review each application and determine what it considers to be the appropriate outcome based on the circumstances.
Once a player requests reinstatement from the applicable national governing body, that person is considered an applicant for reinstatement, but remains a non-amateur until being reinstated.
Waiting Period Prior to Being Reinstated
It is recommended that the national governing body require a minimum waiting period of at least six months.
In deciding the waiting period for reinstatement, the national governing body can consider whether additional waiting time would be appropriate based on the applicant’s length of time as a non-amateur.
The national governing body should determine when the waiting period starts and the length of the waiting period based on a number of factors:
It is recommended that the waiting period starts on the date of the player’s last action that was not allowed by the Rules, such as the date the player was last employed as a golf professional, last played as a professional, or last accepted payment or compensation for instruction when not allowed. The national governing body retains the discretion to use a different date if it wishes.
A national governing body should consider an applicant’s previous performance and success when determining a waiting period and may decide to extend the waiting period based on that performance and success.
Factors a national governing body may consider include the level at which the applicant competed (such as the strength of tours or fields) and performance in those competitions (such as cuts made, prizes won and high-placed finishes).
The length of time that has passed since the player last competed may also be considered when deciding how long the waiting period should be.
A player can become a non-amateur in multiple ways, so a national governing body may wish to treat these actions equally.
The following examples demonstrate how the waiting period can be applied to multiple actions:
Example 1:
The date of last act is June 30, 2022, and the player should be required to wait a minimum of six months, starting June 30, 2022, and would be eligible for reinstatement no sooner than December 30, 2022.
Example 2:
The date of last act is June 30, 2022, and the player should be required to wait a minimum of six months, starting June 30, 2022, and would be eligible for reinstatement no sooner than December 30, 2022. The player may also be required to wait an additional period of time based on their playing performance.
The Rules allow for a non-amateur to be reinstated more than once.
The national governing body can decide to extend an applicant’s waiting period when they are being reinstated for the second or third time. For example, it might determine that the minimum waiting period for a second reinstatement is increased to at least one year, as opposed to six months for a first reinstatement.
For subsequent reinstatements after a second reinstatement, it would be a matter for the national governing body to decide whether to approve another reinstatement, and if so, what the waiting period should be.
The national governing body can choose to deny an applicant’s reinstatement in limited circumstances. This may be appropriate when a player has attained a certain standard of prominence or achieved a certain level of accomplishments in the game.
Defining a standard to deny reinstatement on a global level is not possible as circumstances vary from country to country. It is a matter for each national governing body to establish its own guidelines for making this decision, but it may also consult The USGA before making a decision.
Status While Awaiting Reinstatement
A non-amateur who has applied for reinstatement must follow the Rules of Amateur Status as if they were an amateur golfer. They must not enter and play in competitions as an amateur golfer until being reinstated.
However, a non-amateur may enter competitions that are not limited to amateur golfers during their waiting period, including among members of a club where they are a member, provided the applicant:
A Committee in charge of an amateur competition may accept an entry from non-amateur who has applied for reinstatement, provided the applicant is scheduled to be reinstated before the start of the competition, including any qualifying rounds.