What does your golf club do differently for competitions?
There’s not much I’d rather do than tee it up.
But, as we move towards the end of the season, even I must admit that – sometimes – the prospect of turning up at the club on a Saturday morning and handing over £4 for yet another medal or stableford does occasionally stretch my patience.
How many of you feel the same way?
It’s a tough dilemma for clubs, who are trying to put on a varied mix of competitions, while also recognising that we members can be notoriously sniffy when it comes to trying anything different.
I was talked down from a ledge when I expressed an interest in holding a modified stableford for Captain’s Day at Sandburn Hall and it proved to be sage advice – the traditional betterball version was a great success.
But we are branching out this year and away from just holding a Texas Scramble as an exotic event. Last month, we staged a Yellow Peril and it was a fantastic tournament for so many reasons.
I’m sure many of you are already familiar with the format but, for those who aren’t, we played it as a team of four. Two scores counted, as well as the ‘yellow’ ball, which swapped between each individual on every hole.
So player ‘A’, for example, must score on hole 1, ‘B’ on hole 2, and so on.
That’s a tough ask in handicap golf, as is three out of four going on the card, but what was brilliant about the competition was that no one had any idea what was going to win.
Sometimes, you play a betterball and you know you’re going to need 46 points or more to get among the prizes. So, if you have a bad start, the motivation levels can drop pretty quickly.
Here, there wasn’t any pre-determination so everyone fought on to the last. It was a really refreshing change.
We’ve got a bogey competition coming up in the near future, which will inevitably produce the same excitement and fevered calculations.
I’m sure we’re not re-inventing the wheel here but, with competition calendars soon to be arranged for 2018, I want to find out what some of your clubs do to liven things up.
Drop me a line at s.carroll@sportspub. co.uk. We might even nick the best!
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Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
