Amateur Golf Events in UK, Ireland, and Australia
This was made for 2023. I will not update for dates in 2024, but have made a Google Calendar for 2024 and beyond, in which I post the events and the event details in the descriptions.
Doesn’t seem to be a good website aggregating all the tournaments in the UK, so I’m making a few links for myself.
- https://amateurgolf.com/ is not comprehensive for UK tournaments, it has some but not enough to be useful.
- https://golfbible.co.uk/ is useful as a comprehensive list of tournament results, which actually has all the UK tournaments, but it is not searchable by country or region.
- https://www.golfempire.co.uk/ comes up when searching for UK tournaments, and was recommended by playing partners over there, but is incomplete.
- https://www.wagr.com/ is good for finding top level events, but only those that meet the WAGR criteria (3 rounds minimum).
After that it is probably best to search the local county golf union websites for their order of merit. A few examples.
- Surrey: https://www.surreygolf.org/mens_merit
- Berks, Bucks & Ox: https://www.bbogolf.com/order_of_merits
- Hampshire: https://www.hampshiregolf.org.uk/order_of_merit
- Dorset: https://www.dcgu.org.uk/dorset_order_of_merit_2022
Note many of the tournaments include practice rounds as part of the entry fee. Most entries are determined by a ballot of the lowest indexes at close of entry.
Majors
Judging by the WAGR points distribution, there are a few majors that are worth noting. These are too big of tournaments for me, and Brabazon requires qualifying, which is hard to do from abroad.
- Lytham Trophy (566 WAGR points) - 4th week of April
- Irish Men’s Amateur Open Championship (399 WAGR points) - 2nd week May
- English Men’s Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship (Brabazon Trophy) (467 WAGR points) - 4th week of May
- Scottish Men’s Open Championship (252 WAGR points) - 1st week June
- St Andrews Links Trophy (717 WAGR points) - 2nd week June
Some of the regional Open Championships in Scotland and Ireland look interesting, especially when at a course of note.
England
WAGR Events 2023
Events for 2023 but approximate dates stay the same in the calendar year-to-year. Not exhaustive and biased towards South of England and Links events. Filtered out all closed events such as County Championships and EGU closed competitions where you have to be a member of a club in the county or EGU to qualify.
| Tournament | Course | Dates | holes per day | WAGR Points (2023) | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Berkhamsted Trophy | Berkhamsted Golf Club | 30 Mar ‘23 - 1 Apr ‘23 | 18, 18, (cut) 36 | 88 | same venue each year |
| Hampshire Salver (Selborne Salver, Hampshire Hog) |
Blackmoor Golf Club,North Hants Golf Club | 15 Apr ‘23 - 16 Apr ‘23 | 36, 36 (no cut) | 68 | same venues each year can enter individually or both, need to enter both for WAGR points |
| West of England Strokeplay Championships | Royal North Devon, Saunton | 28 Apr ‘23 - 30 Apr ‘23 | 18, 18, (cut) 36 | 25 | alternates between venues each year, Saunton would be worth the trip but not RND |
| British Mid-Amateur Championship | various: 2023 Woodhall Spa | 30 May ‘23 - 31 May ‘23 | 36, (cut) 18 | 25 | Over-35 mid-am tour, good venues, but not supported by top players, the name over-states it’s importance, it’s not run by the R&A |
| The Lagonda Trophy | The Gog Magog | 31 May ‘23 - 1 Jun ‘23 | 36, (cut) 36 | 43 | |
| Berkshire Trophy | The Berkshire | 17 Jun ‘23 - 18 Jun ‘23 | 36, (cut) 36 | 55 | Over both courses at The Berkshire, requires +0.5 to enter but balloted lower |
| English Men’s Open Mid Amateur Championship (Logan Trophy) | various: 2023 Enville Golf Club | 7 Jul ‘23 - 9 Jul ‘23 | 18, 18, (cut) 18 | 30 | EGU Over 35 Mid-Am |
| The Solent Salver | Stoneham, Brockenhurst Manor | 12 Aug ‘23 - 13 Aug ‘23 | 36, 36 | 27 | Two 36 hole events at different courses with combined 72 prize and hence earns WAGR for being at least 3 rounds |
| North West of England Links Championship | Hillside Golf Club & Royal Birkdale Golf Club | 14 Aug ‘23 - 15 Aug ‘23 | 36, 36 | 61 | Two 36 hole events at each club, no cut, must enter both |
| The South East of England Links Championship | Royal St George’s & Royal Cinque Ports | 31 Aug ‘23 - 2 Sep ‘23 | 18, 18, (cut) 36 | 59 | 18 at each venue over 2 days, then the host venue (alternates each year) has 36 on last day after cut |
| West of England Open Amateur Match Play | Burnham & Berrow Golf Club | 31 Aug ‘23 - 3 Sep ‘23 | 36 (top 32 matchplay 36 per day) | 28 | 36 hole qualifying on a single day followed by top 32 match play |
| Gerald Micklem Cup | Sunningdale New | 15 Sep ‘23 - 16 Sep ‘23 | 36, (cut) 18 | 28 | Mid-Am over 35, balloted at +1.2 |
Non-WAGR Events
Some other events that don’t meet WAGR criteria (mainly because they are less than 3 rounds), but they are at great courses and make good events to pair with WAGR events. Focus on Mid-Am and top venues.
| Tournament | Course | Date | holes per day | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Cross Bowl | Worplesdon | 21 Apr ‘23 | 36 | |
| Wimborne Cup | Parkstone | 24 Jun ‘23 | 36 | |
| Walton Heath Mid Amateur | Walton Heath | 5 Jul ‘23 | 36 | Mid-Am |
| Silver Trophy | St Georges Hill | 26 Jul ‘23 | 36 | |
| Blackmoor Bowl | Blackmoor | 25 Aug ‘23 | 36 | |
| Andy Nicholas Memorial Scratch Open | Knighton Heath | 3 Sep ‘23 | 36 | |
| Devil’s Punch Bowl | Hindhead | 10 Sep ‘23 | 36 | Strong field, 66 players with ballot at 0.5 |
| Justin Rose Mid Amateur | North Hants | 6 Oct ‘23 | 36 | Mid-Am |
Ireland
Can get to play some great Irish Links courses through tournaments. Lahinch and Royal Portrush are definitely worth a trip over.
| Date | Tournament | Course | WAGR Points 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Apr ‘23 - 11 Apr ‘23 | West of Ireland Men’s Amateur Open Championship | County Sligo | 179 |
| 29 Apr ‘23 - 1 May ‘23 | Munster Men’s Amateur Open Championship | Cork | 60 |
| 11 May ‘23 - 14 May ‘23 | Irish Men’s Amateur Open Championship | The Island | 399 |
| 29 May ‘23 - 30 May ‘23 | Ulster Men’s Open Stroke Play Championship | Clandeboye-Dufferin | 102 |
| 3 Jun ‘23 - 5 Jun ‘23 | East of Ireland Men’s Amateur Open Championship | County Louth | 156 |
| 10 Jun ‘23 - 11 Jun ‘23 | Connacht Men’s Stroke Play Championship | Portumna | 54 |
| 16 Jun ‘23 - 17 Jun ‘23 | Leinster Mid-Amateur Open Championship | Courstown | 23 |
| 26 Jul ‘23 - 30 Jul ‘23 | South of Ireland Men’s Amateur Open Championship | Lahinch (Old Course) | 133 |
| 6 Aug ‘23 - 7 Aug ‘23 | Mullingar Scratch Trophy | Mullingar | 74 |
| 10 Aug ‘23 - 11 Aug ‘23 | Munster Mid-Amateur Open Championship | Kanturk | 25 |
| 20 Sep ‘23 - 22 Sep ‘23 | North of Ireland Men’s Amateur Open Championship | Royal Portrush | 181 |
| 6 Oct ‘23 - 8 Oct ‘23 | Irish Men’s Mid-Amateur Open Championship | Portsalon | 24 |
Australia
Australia has a few big tournaments played at world top 100 courses that are worth a trip down under. Similar to the UK, entries are determined by handicap ballot, with no qualifying so simple to enter from abroad. Good for a wrap around season as their summer is our winter. Tournaments usually include a free practice round in the entry. Unlike the UK, they usually have only 1 round a day.
Events are well organized by Golf Australia with a full calendar available.
While NSW events are listed on this calendar, sometimes need to go to the NSW calendar for NSW events.
Tournaments on my radar.
| Tournament | Course | Date | WAGR Points 2023 | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Amateur | Various | 10 Jan ‘23 - 13 Jan ‘23 | 580 | 4 rounds with a 36 hole cut. High ranking event but ballot was around 1 for NSWGC with no qualifying |
| The Avondale Amateur | Avondale GC | 17 Jan ‘23 - 20 Jan ‘23 | 415 | 4 rounds with 36 cut, ballot around +2 |
| NSW Amateur | Various | 23 Jan ‘23 - 27 Jan ‘23 | 267 | Strokeplay qualifying with top 32 matchplay |
| South Australia Amateur Classic | Royal Adelaide | 21 Mar ‘23 - 24 Mar ‘23 | 302 | 4 rounds with 36 cut |
| NSW Mid-Amateur | various | 21 May ‘23 - 23 May ‘23 | 23 | 3 rounds |
| Australian Mid-Amateur | various | Nov | 24 | 3 rounds |
| Port Phillip Amateur | Kingston Heath & Commonwealth | Dec | 151 | 4 rounds with 36 hole cut, 2 rounds after cut on same day |
| Victorian Amateur | Commonwealth | Dec | top 16 from Port Phillip Am qualify for match play |
Have seen Port Phillip and Victorian Amateur played at other Melbourne Sandbelt courses including Royal Melbourne. The 2023 Port Phillip and Victorian Amateurs postponed to April 2024.
Australian Am, Avondale Am, and NSW Am make a nice long trip with back to back tournaments where several top England players come for winter golf.
2024 Australian Amateur at Yarra Yarra GC.
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