The CGA has been running golf tournaments since its founding in 1915, when it took over administration of the state amateur match play championship.
The association has added many events to its schedule over the last 94 years, and it will make another addition in 2010 with the formal launching of the CGA Team Interclub, a season-long net match play tournament pitting men’s clubs from various courses against one another. Men’s clubs from public, private, semi-private and resort facilities throughout the state are welcome to participate.
The competition will start in May and conclude Sept. 25 at Aurora’s CommonGround Golf Course, which is owned and operated by the CGA and CWGA.
The CGA held a trial run of the Team Interclub this year with eight men’s clubs participating, and CGA executive director Ed Mate said the response was overwhelmingly positive.
“People said it was a blast to play, that it brought their clubs together, and it was competitive,” noted Mate, who himself played one match for the CommonGround men’s club, of which he’s a member. “Like at the Ryder Cup, players don’t want to let their team down. It was everything we hoped for and more.”
This week, the CGA is sending out information and entry forms to many men’s club presidents, with the hopes of attracting considerable interest by the Dec. 1 entry deadline.
“I’d be thrilled if we got 32 teams (for 2010); that would be more than a home run,” Mate said. “But we hope to build the number over time.”
Each participating men’s club will field a team of 12 golfers, though the players can change match to match. If, for example, CommonGround faces Meadow Hills, six players from each team will play matches at CommonGround and the others will compete at Meadow Hills. Two players from each club will make up a foursome, and they’ll simultaneously play net four-ball (best ball) and net singles matches. Teams will be awarded two points for a win, one for a tie and zero for a loss, so six points will be up for grabs in each foursome.
For the regular season, which lasts from May through July, each men’s club will be placed in a group with three other teams, with those teams playing a round robin among themselves. The team from each group with the most points after playing three matches will advance to the playoffs.
The number of teams making the playoffs will depend on the initial field size, but playoff matches in August will get the field down to two, with those teams squaring off in the championship match Sept. 25 at CommonGround.
To be eligible, a club must be a CGA member and maintain at least one 18-hole course of at least 5,000 yards. The maximum handicap that will be allowed for the event is 18.4. Participants must be amateurs.
The CGA modeled the Team Interclub after successful comparable events run by the Southern California Golf Association and the Golf Association of Philadelphia, taking the best elements of each.
The CGA Team Interclub essentially replaces the Club Team event on the association’s calendar. The Club Team, a scratch tournament, was held from the mid-1990s through 2006, but it didn’t draw a lot of interest by the end of its run. Prior to the Club Team, the CGA held a Public Links Team Championship from 1989 to the mid-90s.
In creating a new team tournament — this one lasting the entire season — Mate said the CGA’s goals were threefold: 1) to run an event that engages more CGA members, and not just scratch players; 2) to encourage men’s clubs to participate in CGA events via interclub competition; and 3) to add to the number of rounds of golf played. (Teams or players will pay greens fees for all rounds leading up to the championship match.)
Even though this year’s Interclub tournament was only a trial run, some teams certainly got into the spirit of the event. The Meadow Hills squad, for instance, showed up for the finals sporting team uniforms, and had a non-playing captain on hand.
“They took it seriously, and there are some bragging rights at stake,” Mate said. “Men’s clubs take a lot of pride in their groups, and we purposely picked eight very strong men’s clubs.”
Clubs that competed in the trial run were CommonGround, Meadow Hills, Hyland Hills, Aurora Hills, Fox Hollow, Foothills, South Suburban and Indian Tree. Mate anticipates that all eight will be in the field again in 2010. The entry fee for each team is $150.
Clubs interested in participating in the 2010 CGA Team Interclub — or those looking for more information — can contact the CGA at 303-366-4653.
