Morning Folks, Blessington Lakes GC is now part of the Leinster Central competition area. The following is a summary of the position that will apply with regards to the 2021 Inter-Club competitions, following consideration of this matter by the relevant bodies within the Irish Ladies Golf Union and Golfing Union of Ireland: • To be eligible to compete in all Inter-Club competitions in 2021, a player needs to have a valid Handicap Index on 1 January 2021. This will be the player’s qualifying handicap for the year. • The “four-card” rule currently operated in a number of GUI competitions will no longer apply. • The “three-card” rule currently operated in a number of ILGU competitions will no longer apply. • The specific handicap bands for all Inter-Club competitions will be published at the end of the year, following a detailed consideration of handicap data when it becomes available following the introduction of the WHS in Ireland. • Handicap Allowances: The competitions that currently make up the suite of ILGU Inter-Club competitions (i.e. Senior Foursomes, Junior Foursomes, Junior Cup, Intermediate Cup, Minor Cup and Challenge Cup) will be played off scratch in 2021 (within relevant competition bands). All other competitions will continue to run as they did in the past (i.e. either as scratch events or with shots being given). Information on Foursomes and Four-Ball formats where shot allowance occurred will be forthcoming in due course. It is the intention of Golf Ireland, in publishing this note, to reassure golfers that the regulations of Inter-Club competitions will be as straightforward – and inclusive – as possible in the first year of the World Handicap System. As this system will be very different from the previous CONGU Unified Handicap System, we appreciate golfers’ patience in bearing with us as we strive to ensure its rollout in Ireland is as smooth as possible.
