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Hello, Elle!
There are some very good setters going about, too, you'd think Everyman would find an adequate replacement for the usual one.
Though I doubt it'd be the setter's fault for the missing word?
I agree with you about rail/banter.
To me it looks as if "rail" and "raillery" have completely different roots?
Jemma did very well.
She trains with Laura and they have the same coach, Andy Young.
Hope your cousin is to the fore in the North!
The golf has been postponed.
Bad weather in California.
The greens are white with hailstones!

I hope this helps

In Chambers

Rail (definiton 2 ) is to banter - verb

Hello, Cerasus!
Thank you for that!
I only looked up "raillery", wondering why it had two "L's" !

hello rusty
I also found railly -Scottish a jacket
That is new to me

Hello, Cerasus.
It is a new word to me, too!
I see it in the Scots Dictionary and Bradford's.
But not in Chambers or Collins.

Hello rusty
In Chambers I found railly under rail(def5)

Ah, yes, Cerasus, I see it now!
It is certainly a new word to me.

Hi, Rusty!
Yes, all well up north, thank you, but they, like us here, have been having very strong winds.
Local trees are missing a lot of branches!
Although fortunately our own trees in the garden have been undamaged.
But a very good thing that we had our huge copper beech tree docked last year.
I have read Cerasus' comment about "rail"......however, I have never come across its meaning "banter" before ...
And nor can I find that definition anywhere, but seemingly only in Chambers!
Online Collins, as I have already said, does not give that definition....
It says: criticize loudly and angrily.
Merriam Webster gives: : to revile or scold in harsh, insolent, or abusive language
Oxford Dictionary gives: rail against/at/about; Complain or protest strongly and persistently about.
Cambridge gives: to complain angrily
So...unless the compiler specifically used only Chambers, I still say he had no excuse!
I am sorry to hear your gold has been postponed!

Hello, Cerasus!
Thank you for your input!
Chambers , however, seems to stand alone in its viewpoint.....
See online dictionary references above......

Hello, Elle!
You and the North seem to have had stronger winds than we have had.
Well, before I looked at a dictionary, I did have a slight inkling that rail and banter could be verbs meaning the same thing, or close to the same thing.
I wonder is it unusual that one dictionary has a meaning that others do not?
I would suspect not.
Surely we are not expected to have several dictionaries to tackle a simple puzzle?
Why do you say the setter has no excuse?
I don't follow you?
I know Rose Wild has said that The Times uses Collins, but what paper was this puzzle in?
And surely the setters are independent and use their own choice of dictionary, anyway?
Most setters set for more than one newspaper, too.
This is from Pebble Beach.
Greens are unplayable.

https://www.cbssports.com/golf/news/look-hail-forces-stoppage-in-play-at-final-round-of-2019-pebble-beach-pro-am/

Update, Rusty!
I have just checked in Bradford's...
Anne B gives "raillery" for "banter" ….. there is no mention of "rail".