Irish Golf Desk

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ILGU seeks club feedback on staging Inter-Club events

Noreen Sheridan (Rathcore) holes the winning putt on the 16th green to clinch the AIG Challenge Cup at the 2019 AIG Ladies Cups and Shields East Leinster Finals at the KClub Golf Club. Picture by Pat Cashman

The ILGU has released its modified championship calendar for the remainder of 2020, but it is still seeking feedback from clubs on how it might organise Inter-Club competitions.

Heath and safety remain the No 1 priority but now that they are working from the Republic of Ireland's "Roadmap for Reopening Society and Business" and the Northern Ireland Executive's "Approach to Decision Making", the Union believes it has "a solid basis to understand if it is possible to run some of our inter-club competitions in the remainder of the year."

Proposed conditions for 2020 inter-club competitions to occur (singles only) 

  • Commence after July 20 when the government travel restrictions are lifted. 

  • Include singles competitions, i.e. Senior Cup, AIG Junior Cup, AIG Intermediate Cup, AIG Minor Cup and AIG Challenge Cup. 

  • All be played on a home and away basis (three matches at home and two away). 

  • Team managers would be required to arrange match times (there would be no ILGU involvement). 

  • NOTE: There would be no requirement to have home and away matches played at the same time, and thus the result of the home/away tie could be known prior to the completion of the match. 

There may be some players eligible to play on your Senior and Junior Cup teams. There may be clashing of matches which could result in the unavailability of these players. Unfortunately, due to the limited time-frame, no allowance can be made for this. 

  • A minimum number of entries would be required to make a District final feasible. 

  • It is recognised that some clubs who have entered these events will now not want to enter. 

  • Competitions would run to District final only.

  • The timeline between matches would have to be very tight. It is envisaged that round one would need to be completed by the August 3. 

  • Each subsequent round would be allowed two weeks to play, resulting in District finals being held in mid-October. 

In order for this to work, the following would need to be considered:

  • *The maximum number of entries per competition would be 64 and would result in 6 rounds to be completed to advance to District finals. 

  • *Availability of courses will be limited due to demand of members play. It is unlikely that clubs will be able to facilitate weekend times for all matches and we anticipate a number would be played mid-week. 

  • * Practice time for matches will not be guaranteed. There can also be no extension for matches, and in the event a match is not played the result could, in effect, be made on a flip of a coin.​ This proposal is based on the ILGU being able to secure venues for District Inter-Club finals in October. Club Entry Questionnaire For the reasons stated above, we are asking all clubs to complete an entry questionnaire which has been circulated to all clubs. 

ILGU Championships update

All National Championships up to July 20 have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak and will not be rescheduled. 

Currently, it is proposed that the Irish Senior Women's Open Championship from 9-11 September at Tullamore be played alternatively as a "closed" championship due to restrictions on international travel.

Details and format will be released shortly. The ILGU District Executives are considering the rescheduling of championships currently listed as postponed and this revision will be published when known. It is likely that the format and terms of competition may be altered.

Current ILGU calendar (from July 20)

July

July 22 — Connacht Girls’ U16 (Castlerea)

August

Aug 3 — Daisy Ferguson Trophy (Royal County Down Ladies)

August 10 — Ulster Veteran's Cup (Helen's Bay)

August 12 — Connacht Trophy Qualifier (Donegal & Portumna) 

August 13 — Munster Senior Women's (over 50's) (West Waterford)

Aug 13-14 — Mid Leinster Championship (Women's & Girls) (Athy)

August 17 — Munster Cup (Nenagh) (Nenagh)

August 17 — Eleanor Tivy (Junior Cup) Munster (Adare Manor)

August 23 — Ulster Girls Foursomes (Portstewart)

September

Sept 3 — Nellie Garrett (Ulster) (Knock)

September 3 — Golfstyle Connacht Seniors Competition (Ballinasloe)

September 7 — East Leinster Seniors (over 50's) Competition (Newlands)

September 7 — Eileen Murphy Trophy (Munster) (Cork)

Sept 9-11 — Irish Senior Women's Close Amateur Stroke Play Championship (Tullamore)

Sat 12 — U21 Seapoint Scratch Cup (Seapoint)

October

Oct 28 — ILGU Junior Medal National Final (Seapoint)

List of Cancellations

The following events have been cancelled. Entry fees where applicable, have been refunded accordingly.

March

21 March — Scratch Cup – Mabel Harrison) (Royal Portrush)

March 27 — Ulster Schools Championship (Greenacres)

March 29 — Scratch Salver (Royal County Down Ladies)

April

April 3–5 — Irish Girls' Open Stroke Play Championship (Roganstown)

April 25 — Scratch Cup (Lahinch)

April 7 — Irish Girls Schools' Final (Milltown)

May

May 3 — ​Scratch Cup (Hermitage)

May8-10 — Irish Women's Open Stroke Play Championship (Co. Louth)

May 23 — Scratch Cup (Ballybunion)

May 25-26 — Ulster Amateur Stroke Play Championship (Galgorm and Massereene)

June

June 4-7 — Irish Women's Close Championship (Royal County Down)

June 15 — Munster Senior Women's (Macroom)

June 22 — Australian Spoons (East Leinster) (Killeen & Roganstown)

June 25-26 — Connacht Women's & Girls Championship (Westport) 

June 26 — Team of 3 (Mid Leinster) (Kilkea Castle)

June 28 — Scratch Cup Zara Bolton (Royal Portrush)

July 30-2 — Leinster Girls Championship (Woodbrook)

July 30-3 — Irish Senior Women's Close Championship (Malone) 

July

July 6 — Australian Spoons (Mid Leinster) (Kilkenny)

July7-9 — Women's and Girls Interprovincial Matches (Slieve Russell)

July 15-17 — Irish Girls Close Amateur Championship (Strandhill)

July 15 — Australian Spoons (Munster) (Ballyneety)

July 16 — Australian Spoons (Connacht) (Bearna) 

July 21 — Australian Spoons (Ulster) (Spa)

July 24-26 — Leinster Women's Championship & Duggan Cup (Royal Tara)

August

24 August — Australian Spoons National Finals (Co. Longford)

List of Postponements

The following events have been currently postponed. Updates will be issued in due course.

All Inter-Club match play events (Senior Cup, AIG, Revive Active, Girls Inter-Club) have been postponed until further notice.

April

April 7–9 — Munster Championship (Women's & Girls) (Tralee)

April 9 — Ulster Adult/Girls Foursomes (Holywood)

April 15-17 — Ulster Championship (Women's & Girls) (Massereene)

May 13 — ILGU Silver and Bronze Medals (Headfort)

July 

July 6 — Ria Kenny Girls (East Leinster) (Elm Park)

July 6 — Peggy Nelson (Ulster) (Dunmurry)

July 17 — Joe McLoughlin Trophy (over 50's) (Mid Leinster) (Enniscorthy)