player selection at competition

Question
hello, my club has recently changed its stance on how players are grouped for medal competitions ,player used to put their names forward and be drawn into groups out of the hat system, now if 4 players put their names down together they get to play together, therefore if a player is not in a group he tends not to get to play is this within the rules,i have been advised it is not

Answer
Graham,

There are no set rules set in stone for competitions, only guidelines. What you have described doesn't make any sense to me at all. The tournament committee should have have fair guidelines where if you sign up to play, you play. This should be done by handicap if handicaps are used.

You may need to find another club to play your golf games and tournaments.

Thank you,