Participant Privacy Policy

We value your data and take your privacy seriously.

This privacy policy describes how we use your personal data when you:

enter and participate in an R&A championship or team event;
are a chaperone for a participant in an R&A championship or team event;
apply for accreditation at an R&A championship or team event; and/or
make a scholarship application or an application for reinstatement to Amateur Status to The R&A.

We have tried to keep it simple, so please take the time to read this policy in full to understand our practices regarding your personal data.

Who are we?

The R&A comprises R&A Championships Limited (SC247047), R&A Group Services Limited (SC247048), R&A Rules Limited (SC247046), R&A Trust Company (No. 1) Limited (SC247045), R&A Trust Company (No.2) Limited (SC247049) and The R&A Foundation (SC247050) (together “The R&A”, “we”, “us” and “our”). This policy applies to any and all of the organisations within The R&A.

I am applying to enter an R&A championship or team event

We collect personal data about you that we need to process your entry to the championship. We collect this information from you via the online entry process or if we ask you to provide further information. This information may include your name, contact details, date of birth, nationality, your handicap (if you are an amateur) and your professional tour, golf club or attachment. We use the personal data that you provide during the entry process to:

contact you to confirm that we have received your entry and to process your entry and assess whether you meet the eligibility criteria for the championship;
process the payment of your entry fee for the championship. We will retain your payment details for such period as may be necessary to allow us to process any refund of your entry fee or to administer prizes or payment that may be due to you (e.g. if you are not affiliated to a professional tour);
group you together with other entrants to determine the starting field and reserve list for the championship; and
contact you if we have any queries about your entry and to notify you if you have been successful or unsuccessful in gaining a place in the starting field or if you have been placed on the reserve list for the championship.

Your personal data may be shared with the suppliers of our championship management software and online entry platform as part of the online entry process. Our legal basis for processing your personal data for the above purposes is that it is necessary for our relationship with you established by your entry to the championship. The R&A cannot process your entry to the championship if you do not provide the information required by the entry process. For entrants under 18 years of age only, we may use your parent/guardian’s details provided during the entry process to contact them to verify the details on your entry. We do this with the parent/guardian’s consent provided on your online entry form. We maintain a historical archive and record of entries to R&A championships and team events. For these purposes, we retain a copy of all entry forms submitted for a championship or team event indefinitely. It is in the legitimate interests of The R&A as the organiser of long-standing, prestigious golf competitions to maintain a historical archive of entries to those competitions. To keep you updated, we may also use information provided on your entry form to provide you with information on Rules updates or similar information regarding the sport of golf including via email. This is not only beneficial for you but it is in the legitimate interests of The R&A, in its governing body role for the sport of golf, to communicate Rules changes and developments in the sport of golf.

I am a competitor in an R&A championship

If you are a competitor in an R&A championship, we collect and use the following personal data about you:

information provided by you as part of the entry process for the championship;
additional information you provide to us during the registration process at the championship by returning the competitor registration form or otherwise;
images and video footage of you taken during your participation in the R&A championship;
scoring, live on-course tracking and performance data collected during your participation in the championship (e.g. greens in regulation and ball position data) for distribution to broadcasters and display on our websites, digital channels, scoring terminals and on-course screens and leaderboards;
scoring and performance data that third parties, including professional tours, provide to us;
occasionally, we may collect information about you from publicly available sources; and
if you submit a Transportation Request Form. For details about information collected via the Transportation Request Form and how it is used, please see the section below on “I have submitted a Transportation Request Form”.

We use your personal data as a competitor:

to process your participation in the championship;
to publish the starting fields and reserve lists and to contact you with further information about your participation in the championship;
to publish the live scoring, on-course statistics (including data collected on the practice range) and final results of the R&A championship;
for the purposes of television, radio, written press and online media coverage and publicity of the R&A championship including as part of television, radio and interviews you may be asked to give as part of your participation in the championship. This may include providing your date and place of birth to broadcasters of the championship;
to promote the R&A championship, other R&A championships and other R&A events, to promote The R&A and its activities and to illustrate The R&A’s work in golf (e.g. golf development activities and education). This includes use of images and footage of you taken at the R&A championship or other R&A championships and events;
to provide your personal data to the golf club hosting the R&A championship as required for the purposes of hosting the championship;
to confirm your participation and provide your scores from the R&A championship to your golf club/attachment;
for internal analysis and research. We use scoring and performance data to inform the content of publications but only in aggregated form so that no individual player is identified;
if applicable, to provide your personal data to the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) to update the rankings and player profiles on www.wagr.com. Please see www.wagr.com for more information;
to contact you following the championship to request that you complete a feedback questionnaire. We will use the information provided in the completed feedback questionnaire for our legitimate interests of improving the operation of our events;
to administer prizes/payments and to deal with other matters related to the staging of the championship. We may share your personal data with national and/or local golf bodies and professional tour(s) for these purposes. If you are a player who is not affiliated with a professional tour we may ask you for payment details so we can facilitate payment; and
to deal with other matters related to the staging of the championship.

We may also share your personal data collected and used as a competitor of the R&A championship with our patrons, sponsors and partners for their use for the above purposes only. Our legal basis for processing your personal data for the above purposes is that it is necessary for our relationship with you established by your participation in the championship unless otherwise specified. For providing your personal data to WAGR®, our legal basis is that it is necessary for the legitimate interests of the operation, improvement and expansion of WAGR® and www.wagr.com. On the competitor registration form, we also collect medical information only for the purposes of allowing medical assistance to be given to you if necessary during the championship. We obtain your explicit consent for this but this personal data is also required to protect your vital interests. For competitors under 18 years of age only, we may use your parent/guardian’s details provided on the competitor registration form to contact them to verify the details on form. Retention periods:

The competitor registration forms and the emergency contacts details and medical information contained on those forms are retained until after the championship and are destroyed no later than 31 December of that year.
The other information shall be retained for as long as it is required for the purposes above.

I am competing in an R&A team event

We collect personal data about you that we need as part of your selection and participation in an R&A team event, such as the Vagliano Trophy. We collect this information from national golf federations, via the team member registration form and from publicly available websites. This information includes your contact details, date of birth, place of birth, nationality and your golf club or attachment. We use your personal data as a team member:

to contact you to inform you that you have been selected as a team member and to confirm this to your national golf federation and golf club;
for the purposes of your travel to and from and participation in the R&A team event including to arrange your travel to and from the R&A team event;
to publish the starting fields and reserve lists and to contact you with further information about your participation in the event;
to publish the team selection, the live scoring and final results of the R&A team event;
for the purposes of television, radio, written press and online media coverage and publicity of the R&A team event including as part of television, radio and other interviews you may be asked to give as part of your participation in the team event. This may include providing your date and place of birth to broadcasters of the event;
to promote the R&A team event, other R&A championships and other R&A events, to promote The R&A and its activities and to illustrate The R&A’s work in golf, e.g. golf development activities and education. This includes use of images and footage of you taken at the R&A team event or other R&A championships and events;
to provide personal data to the golf club hosting the R&A team event as required for the purposes of hosting the event;
if applicable, to provide your personal data to WAGR® to update the rankings and player profiles on www.wagr.com. Please see www.wagr.com for more information;
to contact you following the event to request that you complete a feedback questionnaire. We will use the information provided in the completed feedback questionnaire for our legitimate interests of improving the operation of our events; and
to deal with other matters related to the staging of the event. We may share your personal data with national and/or local golf bodies for these purposes.

We may also share your personal data collected and used as a competitor in an R&A team event with our patrons, sponsors and partners for their use for the above purposes only. Our legal basis for processing your personal data for the above purposes is that it is necessary for our relationship with you established by your participation in the team event unless otherwise specified. For providing your personal data to WAGR®, our legal basis is that it is necessary for the legitimate interests of the operation, improvement and expansion of WAGR® and www.wagr.com. On the team member registration form, we also collect medical information only for the purposes of allowing medical assistance to be given to you if necessary during your travel to and from and for your participation in the team event. We obtain your explicit consent for this but this personal data is also required to protect your vital interests. For competitors under 18 years of age only, we may use your parent/guardian’s details provided on the team member registration form to contact them to verify the details on form. Retention periods:

The team member registration forms and the emergency contacts details and medical and disability information contained on those forms are retained until after the team event and are destroyed no later than 31 December of that year.
The other information shall be retained for as long as it is required for the purposes above.

To keep you updated, we may also use information provided on your team member registration form to provide you with information on Rules updates or similar information regarding the sport of golf including via email. This is not only beneficial for you but it is in the legitimate interests of The R&A in its governing body role for the sport of golf, to communicate Rules changes and developments in the sport of golf.

I am a chaperone of a participant for an R&A championship or team event

We collect personal data about you that we need to process your attendance at the championship or team event in your role as a chaperone. This includes arranging accommodation for you and the provision of R&A branded clothing to you and processing any refund that may be due to you. We collect this information from you via the chaperone form provided to you or if we ask you to provide further information. This information includes your contact details and payment details and your image. We may also use the information to contact you in connection with the R&A championship or team event. Our legal basis for processing your personal data provided on the chaperone form is that it is necessary for our relationship with you established by your role as a chaperone for a competitor in an R&A championship or team event. The R&A cannot make any arrangements for you in connection with your role as a chaperone if you do not provide the information requested in the chaperone form or otherwise. We will retain the information provided on the chaperone form for the duration of the R&A championship or team event and for 12 months after the event. It is in our legitimate interests as the organiser of the event to retain the information for this period to ensure that we can deal with any refunds or enquiries from chaperones following the event. We will retain a record of your attendance at an R&A event as a chaperone indefinitely because this is necessary to meet our legitimate interests of maintaining records and meeting any legal, regulatory and/or governance obligations.

I am applying for accreditation at an R&A championship or team event

We collect personal data from you when you apply for accreditation at an R&A championship or team event, including your name, date of birth, postal address, email address, telephone number, company, job title and photograph. We use this information to administer accreditation for the relevant event and to contact you about your application, including to inform you of the outcome. Our legal basis for processing this personal data is that it is necessary for our relationship with you established by the accreditation application and to comply with our legal obligations. We will not be able to provide you with accreditation if you do not provide us with the information requested, which means you may not be permitted to participate in the championship or team event or enter the host venue. In some cases, this may lead to your accreditation being de-activated. If we grant you accreditation, your personal data may be passed to the following third parties as part of the accreditation process:

our accreditation technology supplier;
our ticketing system supplier; and
our access control technology supplier.

We retain accreditation information for up to 10 years after submission of your application.

I have submitted a Transportation Request Form

If you submit a Transportation Request Form to request permission to ride or use a form of transportation during an R&A championship or team event, we will use the information provided on that Form and in any supporting documentation to assess and process your request in accordance with that Form. Our legal basis for processing this information is your explicit consent and this information will be held until after the R&A championship or team event and will be destroyed no later than three months after the R&A championship or team event.

I am applying for a scholarship from The R&A

We use the personal data provided on a scholarship application form to process your application, to contact you in connection with your application and, if you are successful, to provide you with the award. Our legal basis for processing your personal data provided on a scholarship application is that it is necessary for our relationship with you established by your scholarship application. The R&A cannot process your application if you do not provide the information required by the form. After we receive your application, we will contact the administrator specified on your application form to discuss your application. If your application is successful, we may provide your personal data to your administrator to facilitate payment of the award to you. We retain unsuccessful scholarship applications for a period of five years and we retain successful applications for a period of seven years from the last date of payment of the award of the scholarship.

I am applying to be reinstated to Amateur Status

We use the personal data provided on an application form to process your application in accordance with Procedure for Reinstatement of Amateur Status and to contact you about your application including to inform you of the outcome. Our legal basis for processing your personal data provided on an application form is that it is necessary for our relationship with you established by your application. The R&A cannot process your application if you do not provide the information required by the form. We provide details of your application to your home union and the professional association that you are a member of to allow them to support your application. We retain successful and unsuccessful applications indefinitely in order to monitor your changes in professional status. We will share your personal data with our suppliers and service providers and group companies of The R&A for the purposes set out in this privacy policy only. We may also share your personal data with our insurers, professional advisers, relevant regulators, police and other law enforcement agencies or where the disclosure is required by law. Otherwise, we will not share your personal data with third parties without your consent.

Where we hold your data internationally

Your personal data may be transferred to, and stored in, countries outside of the UK and EU for the above purposes. We take steps to ensure your personal data is adequately protected in countries outside of the UK and EU. Please contact us if you would like more details on safeguards used by The R&A to protect personal data for these transfers.

Your rights

Data protection legislation in the EU and UK provides individuals with certain rights regarding the use of their personal data. If you would like to contact us to exercise your rights, please contact us using the contact details at the beginning of this privacy policy. You have the right to:

access the personal data that we hold about you in many circumstances;
ask us to delete or correct any personal data that we hold about you;
prevent us processing your personal data;
port your personal data in certain circumstances;
not be subject to a solely automated decision;
withdraw any consent that you have given. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before withdrawal; and
lodge a complaint with the UK regulator, the Information Commissioner’s Office, if you have concerns about how we use your personal data. Please see https://ico.org.uk/concerns/ to find out more.

Contact information

If you would like to contact us about this policy, you can do so by:

emailing us at privacy@randa.org; or
writing to us at Data Privacy Manager, The R&A, Beach House, Golf Place, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JA.

Changes to our privacy policy

We keep this privacy policy under regular review and will place any updates on our website. This privacy policy was last updated in August 2023.

EU Representative

We have appointed Saltire Data Protection Services Limited to act as our representative in the European Union as required under Article 27 EU GDPR. You can always contact us directly if you are located in the EU and wish to raise any issues or queries you may have relating to the processing of your personal data. However, if you wish to contact Saltire Data Protection Services Limited you can do so by clicking this link to a contact form https://app.saltiredataprotection.eu/enquiry/rs/randa.