Green light for Cups and Shields

LAST we I touched on the return of the Cups and Shields and indeed had all the facts, figures and information as to how exactly they would be implemented, but there was something of a moratorium in place about publishing them until all the I’s were dotted and the T’s crossed by the GUI , so to speak.

We got the green light during the week to go ahead and by now most of you know that each affiliated club was asked to complete asurvey.

I’m not going to go into specific poll results for each of the returning events but it is safe to say that the male golfers of Ireland voted by roughly 80% for the return of inter-club action, albeit under a different format for this year alone.

So what happens now ? News draws are being made for the Senior Cup, Junior Cup, Jimmy Bruen Shield and Pierce Purcell Shield (the Barton Shield which is not being played) and these will be available on Monday next June 29th.

Matches will not be commenced until after July 20th, the date of which will also be confirmed on Monday next, subject of course to public health restrictions and everything going right for the implementation of the next phase of the government’s road map to recovery.

At present it not yet known if any of these competitions will be run to All-Ireland completion or whether they will conclude at the provincial stages, but that is also set to be confirmed along with the draws.

Accompanying all draws will be a guidance checklist that all participating clubs must adhere to in order to prioritise the safety of all participants during matches and this will be circulated to all participating clubs.

There are several different sets of parameters concerning the various competitions and here are the main points:

* Not that it affects us here in Munster, but one of the main changes is that there will be no stroke play qualifiers and each event will be run the same in each province on a home/away basis with the team drawn at home hosting three matches and the team drawn away hosting two.

* Strict deadlines for the completion of matches will be in place to ensure completion, with each round being run off within a fortnight of the next.

* Host clubs will NOT be required to provide after-match sit-down meals and caddies are strictly prohibited in every event

* Host clubs are not required to provide complimentary practice rounds prior to matches and practice will be discretionary and subject to each club’s capabilities and availability

* If indeed complimentary practice is agreed, it should always be reciprocal.

* To facilitate social distancing, the Jimmy Bruen and Pierce Purcell Shields will be played as four-ball competitions instead of foursomes

What I would like to know is why is the Barton Shield not being played this year? If the golfers of Ireland are so hell bent on playing inter-club events and in order to facilitate them the GUI are going against tradition by playing the Bruen and Purcell shields as fourballs, then why not play the Barton Shield as aggregate fourball?

Perhaps because of its age (74) it is sacrosanct but the younger events like the Purcell (50 years old) and the Bruen (41 years old) are not?