The Four Nations Golf Challenge - Easy Guide - experience a "Ryder Cup" moment!

Concept

The Championship enables you to play with your golfing partner and enter as a ‘Pair’. You and your partner will try to qualify to represent your chosen Nation (England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales), and join five other pairs in a team of twelve which will compete in The Grand Final against the teams from the other three Home Nations.

To Qualify

You and your partner will play a maximum of four knock-out matches against other Pairs in your regional bracket. If you win through these four knock-out matches, you may either have qualified directly for your Nation’s team or depending upon the number of competitors, be invited to attend a one day Final Qualifying event to determine the successful Pairs for each team. In addition, if an Affiliated Golf Club hosts a FNGC ‘Club Qualifier’ in your region between April and August, 2012, you may attempt to qualify through this route.

The Grand Final

Forty-eight qualifiers (4 teams of 6 Pairs each) will be invited to a premier golfing resort. The Grand Final will be scheduled to be held during September or October, 2012. The Grand Final venue and dates will be published in due course.

Typical Grand Final outline itinerary:

Day 1 – Registration, Practise, Draw for Grand Final Semi-Finals and Welcome Reception

Day 2 – National Team Semi-Finals

Day 3 – National Grand Final and Play-Off for Third and Fourth Places. Presentation Dinner

Day 4 – Breakfast, Check-Out and depart

All competitors will enjoy three nights accommodation inclusive of all meals.

All competitors will be awarded an ‘International Cap’, International Team shirts and sweater and receive a host of other’goodies’.

Format

Regional Qualifying will commence in May, 2012 and will be Fourball Betterball Matchplay, played on the basis of three-quarters of handicap over 18 holes.

If a Final Qualifying event is required, it will be played at a venue to be confirmed and will consist of an 18 holes Betterball Stableford competition, played on the basis of three-quarters of handicap.

Four National teams of twelve will contest the FNGC Grand Final to decide the Champion Nation of the Year. The format for the Grand Final will be fourball betterball matchplay and will consist of two 18 holes semi-finals followed by an 18 holes Play-Off for third and fourth place and of course, the 18 holes Final itself.

Can I Enter?

You and your partner may enter the FNGC if you each possess a handicap issued by a CONGU affiliated golf club and have submitted a minimum of three qualifying scores to your club during 2011.

Pairs may be male, female or mixed.

If you are under the age of 18 as at 30th April, 2012, you may enter only if your playing partner is over the age of 18 on that date.

You or your partner does not have to reside in the Country you choose to represent. For example; A Scotsman living and playing his golf in England can enter a Regional Qualifier for Scottish golfers in England). However, it is expected that competitors have the ‘birth right’ to represent their selected country.

Simply click on the ‘FNGC Entry’ or ‘Enter Here’ tab to register.

Register NOW to secure your place in a Regional Qualifying Bracket. Entry Fees for 2012 are just £44 per pair.

Where are the Regional Qualifying matches played?

Following the closure of Entries on 23 April, 2012, a draw will be made on a regional basis to minimise travelling. Each region will consist of a maximum of 16 Pairs.

Each Pair will receive a copy of their Regional Draw complete with contact details of their opponents. The ‘home’ Pair, as indicated by the Pair drawn at the top of each pairing, will be responsible for making contact with their opponents and the arrangements required to play the match at their designated ‘home club’ within the required timeline.

If the ‘home club’ does not offer courtesy of the course for the match, green fees payable will be charged at the members guest rate and shared equally between each competitor. In this way, the Regional Qualifying matches offer competitors the opportunity to play different courses at a fraction of the normal cost.

A period of four weeks is allowed for each Regional Qualifying match to be played.

How are the handicap strokes calculated?

For Regional Qualifying, strokes will be taken on the basis of three-quarters of the handicap difference, taken from the lowest handicap of the fourball. The maximum permitted handicap is 28 for men and 36 for ladies. In addition to their normal handicap allowance, ladies will also receive the difference between the mens and ladies standard scratch score from the tees to be used. These extra strokes are added to the lady’s handicap before the three-quarters of the difference is calculated. Mixed matches will then be played against the Mens Card.