New Wales Golf handicapping event to go ahead this month
The first Official Wales Golf Championship event using the new World Handicap System will now go ahead in December, after the new classifications came into play at all Welsh clubs from 2nd November.
The Curtis Cup Legacy Mixed Medal will allow golfers to play off any tee with adjusted handicaps, in the event being run on Sunday, December 13th, on the Montgomerie Course at Ryder Cup venue Celtic Manor. Originally scheduled for October this event was postponed due to the Welsh Firebreak Lockdown but is now set to go ahead.
The event for men and women to compete equally was initially scheduled to be a key part of the first ever Wales Golf Festival this summer, which has had to be cancelled because of the Coronavirus crisis.
It is part of the Legacy Programme for the Curtis Cup and the AIG Ladies British Open, two of the major events for ladies’ golf at amateur and professional level respectively, which are being held in Wales next year in Conwy and Royal Porthcawl.
“The introduction of the World Handicapping System will be a big step forward for club members in Wales and we are running this event to show how it works in a competition setting,” said Wales Golf Championships Manager David Wilson.
“After extensive consultation by golf’s governing bodies, the R&A and the USGA, the aim is to bring in a system which will allow as many golfers as possible to obtain and maintain a handicap, use that handicap on any course in the world and play with anyone else on a fair and equal basis.
“Work on this has been going on behind the scenes for a decade at golf’s governing bodies, but we are ready to launch in Wales early in November.
“This is a trial event for the new system, and this year it is only open to Celtic Manor members because of the wider Welsh Government restrictions in place.”