I love being a nomadic golfer and it suits me more than golf club membership at this moment in time, but there are definitely elements of club life that I really miss: building up an intimate knowledge of a course, having a place to call home, developing friendships and competing in competitions on a regular basis.
Since I reluctantly stepped away from membership at the age of 19, I haven’t competed in many competitions and I’ve only really taken part in card-in-hand events at a handful of charity golf days, most of which have prioritised fun over serious competition.
My handicap index has been attained exclusively from the submission of general play rounds and I’m almost always with friends or colleagues on the golf course.
I was pondering signing up for an open competition when an email came through from England Golf about a series of iGolf Opens – events for non-club members with official handicaps tracked via the organisation’s popular nomadic golf scheme.
I’m a huge fan of iGolf and I thought it was about time to get my competitive juices flowing, so I signed up for the regional event at Abridge GC.
As a side note, open competitions often offer excellent value. In this instance, the price of the day was less than the regular visitor green fee, plus a two-course meal was included (as well as a post-round pint). The top eight on the leaderboard would also be invited to the Grand Final at prestigious Woodhall Spa Golf Club.
The pre-event communication was excellent and sign in on the day was as smooth as it gets. As I headed to the range and putting green to prepare, I felt different – I wasn’t necessarily nervous, but I was aware there was something on the line. It occurred to me I’d missed that feeling.
The branding and banners near the first tee, the presence of a starter introducing everyone on the tee by microphone and the physical scorecards added to the excitement. There’s nothing I love more than a round with friends, but this was different. It was proper. I was really looking forward to getting started.
Nick thoroughly enjoyed the iGolf event at Abridge
(Image credit: England Golf)
A different challenge
With a photographer and videographer on the 1st tee, I was eager to find the fairway. Fortunately, I managed to hit the short…
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