Entries are now open for the 2024 Inter-Club competitions at All-Ireland and Regional level, after Golf Ireland unveiled the biggest set of changes following a three-year review of the programme.  The 2024 programme includes a number of competitions that will remain largely as they were, as well as new competitions that will take the place of others previously organised at All-Ireland level.  A new Mixed Four-Ball competition at All-Ireland level will be inaugurated, aimed at players currently not participating in the Irish Mixed Foursomes.

Since 2021, Golf Ireland has continued with all of the legacy competitions from the ILGU and GUI,  but they had committed to a review which has led to changes for 2024.  As a result of the review, there will be 12 All-Ireland inter-club competitions (five for men, five for women and two mixed), in addition to a comprehensive series of regional events which will include competitions for a wider range of handicaps than ever before.

New competitions will also be rolled out at regional level for men and women, with the introduction of the first inter-club competition with a nine-hole format for women with handicap indexes over 36 following strong support during the consultation process for such a competition.

Among the changes, the Bruen is moving to four pairs from five and the handicap limit will revert to the 2022 lower limit of 3.5.  The lowest combined limit will be 14.0.   A new women’s event, the intermediate cup will be run like the Bruen with a handicap limit of 13.0/34.0.  This replaces the Junior Foursomes and Intermediate Cup.  A minor foursomes competition is also on the cards catering for players who previously qualified for the Minor and Challenge Cups.

The Purcell also move to four pairs with the 2022 handicap limits of 10.5/25.0 coming into effect.  The Women’s Minor and Challenge Cups are being replaced by a new Minor Foursomes competition.  This again will be made up of four pairs with a handicap limit of 20.0 and 57.0.  In senior golf there are no changes with the Men’s and Women’s Senior Cups, the Barton Shield and Women’s Senior Foursomes all retaining the same playing numbers.  The Mixed Foursomes also reduced to 4 pairs and the handicap range (per pair) is narrowed to 19.0 – 27.0 with dropdowns permitted.

AIG remain the title sponsors for the majority of the competitions, maintaining their strong links with amateur golf in Ireland, and Flogas continue their sponsorship of the Mixed-Foursomes.

In all there are six regional competitions that will be played in Munster.  The Michael Cashman Trophy returns to the schedule in Munster in 2024.  The event was inaugurated 2016 as a qualifying event for the All Ireland Fourball, but following the splitting of Munster into two zones in 2021 it was no longer held.  It returns as a Munster event next year with five fourball pairs and a minimum handicap of 15.0/34.0.  The minimum age has been reduced to 18.

The Fred Perry is now a regional event and has been renamed as the Senior Mens Inter-Club.  The age limit has been reduced from 55 to 50, with an interesting limit of 10.0 between the two players in a pair.  The Munster Country Clubs (for club with less than 18 holes) has been reduced to five pairs.

On the women’s side the Revive Active is now a regional competition, the Munster Trophy has a lower handicap limit of 10.0, and the Women’s Challenge Trophy is a new competition for those with a handicap index of 36.0 or higher.  This will be played as a stableford competition over 9 holes.  Details of the Boys and Girls inter-club competitions for 2024 have yet been released but it appears that the Fred Daly Trophy and Plate, and the Boys inter-club and junior foursomes will take place.

The Golf Ireland Inter-Club competitions remain Europe’s biggest series of matches, taking in 19 national competitions in 2023.  Almost all of the 400 affiliated clubs enter the events which are initially contested in eight regions.  In Munster, the region that most Cork clubs play in, over 400 matches were played from May to August involving close to 40 clubs from Cork, Waterford and Tipperary.  AIG were the title sponsors for 12 of the Men’s and Women’s events with Revive Active sponsoring the Women’s Fourball and Flogas sponsoring the Irish Mixed Foursomes.

There were plenty of Cork winners in Munster East in 2023 with titles for Clonakilty, Cork Douglas and Fota Island and Lee Valley in the Women’s events while in the Men’s events there were wins for Lee Valley, Monkstown and Fota Island.  In the Boys events it was Doulgas who came out on top in the Fred Daly while Monkstown won the Boys Foursomes.  The closing date for entries to the 2024 competitions is Friday 19^th January.