New 9 Hole Championship - entries being accepted

New 9 Hole Championship - entries being accepted

 

In 2017, The R&A will run a Nine-Hole Championship which will culminate in a final played over the back 9 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club on the morning of Saturday 15 July 2017.

 

Four lucky pairs from Ireland will play in the final, and will avail of the following:

 

•           R&A will cover the cost of accommodation, excluding extras, in a Southport hotel on the night of Friday 14 July.

 

•           R&A will provide dinner for the finalists in the Royal Birkdale clubhouse on the evening of Friday 14 July.

 

•           R&A will cover all reasonable finalists’ travel costs to and from the venue.

 

•           R&A will provide lunch following golf on Saturday 15 July.

 

The Irish Ladies Golf Union and the Golfing Union of Ireland are fully supportive of this event and encourage clubs affiliated to the ILGU/GUI to enter. The Unions will run four 9-hole Regional finals in June 2017 (dates and venues to be confirmed) with the winning team pair from each regional final qualifying for Royal Birkdale.

 

Entry forms are available from championships@gui.ie

 

Each Golf Club affiliated to both the ILGU and the GUI is eligible to compete in this competition. Participating clubs will run club qualifiers over nine holes, the winners of which will represent their club in one of the four regional finals.

 

The Club may organise the qualifier – at their discretion – in one of the following ways:

 

•           A nine-hole Mixed competition in which players pick their partners (the combined singles stableford scores of both players counting for the team’s score)

 

•           Separate nine-hole Men’s and Ladies’ competitions (the winner of both going forward as a team to represent their Club at the regional final).

 

Please note the following points in relation to the above:

 

1.         Where a club has a nine-hole SSS rating, these competitions must be qualifying for handicapping purposes where competition play conditions prevail. Club handicapping software must be used in any singles format run by the club. A club that does not currently have a CONGU SSS rating for nine holes MUST submit a request for such a rating with their entry.

 

2.         There are no individual upper or lower age limits for this competition; however, a pair may only include one player (male or female) who is under 18 years of age in the year of the event.

 

Please find enclosed an entry form and conditions of the competition. Entries received after Friday 3 March will not be included in the event.

 

“Ready golf” should be encouraged as part of the aim of this 9-hole event is to encourage competitive golf which takes less time to play. Information on “Ready Golf” can be found in The R&A’s Pace of Play manual, available online at http://www.randa.org/Pace-of-Play-Manual/Rules/2-Management-Practices/SubRules/5-Ready-Golf .