I hope this message finds you well and looking forward to the upcoming golfing season. As Competition Secretary, I would like to outline some important information regarding this year’s competition schedule, along with a number of updates to competition formats and handicap calculations.

Competition Calendar 2026

The competition calendar for the year ahead is attached to this email.

This calendar will also be published on the club website and will continue to be refined to include additional detail such as competition formats, tees in use, and other relevant information for each event. A more user-friendly and enhanced version will follow in due course.

Please note that this version is being circulated to provide members with an early overview of the competition schedule, including the key dates and major events for the season ahead.

As requested at the Men’s AGM, there will be greater variation in competition formats throughout the season. While Stableford off the White Tees will remain the most common format, members can also expect a mix of:
Versus Par, Fourball, Stableford (Blue Tees), Strokeplay (Yellow Tees)

This variation has been introduced to keep competitions fresh and engaging each weekend, while reducing the repetitiveness of recent years.

Monthly Medals

The 6 Monthly Medals are scheduled to take place at the end of each month.

Each Monthly Medal will run alongside a Stableford competition off the White Tees, giving members the option of:
Playing Strokeplay (Monthly Medal) off the Blue Tees, or Playing Stableford off the White Tees

In recent years, participation in Monthly Medals has been lower than desired. However, with Monthly Medals now forming part of the Golfer of the Year, this provides an added incentive for members to take part.

Golfer of the Year 2026 – Format

We are delighted to introduce the Men’s Golfer of the Year (GOTY) for the 2026 season, designed to reward consistent performance across the year’s key competitions.

How it Works
The GOTY will be contested across a number of designated competitions throughout the season, including our Major competitions, Monthly Medals, and Matchplay events.

Majors
The following competitions will be classed as GOTY Majors:
Matchplay Qualifiers
Captain’s Prize
President’s Prize
Scratch Cups
Stack Memorial
Professional’s Prize
Karl O’ Connell Memorial
Other Counting Competitions

In addition to the Majors, the following will also contribute to GOTY:
Monthly Medals: April, May, June, July, August, September
Matchplay Competitions:
Men’s Singles Matchplay
Donnachie Cup (Foursomes)

Dates for all of the above competitions can be found in the below competition calendar.

Calendar Key
Key weekends in the calendar are colour-coded for ease of reference:
Majors – Green
Monthly Medals – Blue
Captain’s & President’s Prize – Gold
Matchplay Finals – Yellow

Points System

Points are awarded based on net finishing position:
1st place – 100 points
2nd – 83 points
3rd – 67 points
4th – 52 points
5th – 41 points
Points continue to reduce down to 3 points for 50th place and beyond

For Matchplay competitions:
Winner – 100 points
Runner-up – 80 points
Semi-final – 60 points
Quarter-final – 45 points
Last 16 – 30 points
Last 32 – 20 points

Monthly Medal Rule
There will be 6 Monthly Medals throughout the season
A player’s best 3 medal scores will count toward their GOY total
Best 8 Scores Count
Each player’s best 8 results across all GOTY competitions will count toward their final total
Leaderboard

A live GOY leaderboard will be maintained and updated after each Major and Monthly Medal, allowing members to track their progress throughout the season.

Matchplay Competitions

The Matchplay season begins with the Matchplay Qualifiers scheduled to take place this coming weekend (17th – 19th April).

In the event of fog or frost delays (as experienced last year), any players who had booked tee times on BRS and were unable to play due to delays will be given the opportunity to qualify the following week.
If the course is closed on either Saturday or Sunday, or if play is delayed beyond 11:00am on either day due to weather, the qualifier will be postponed in full to the following week.
Please note that the following week is currently scheduled for the April Monthly Medal, and any adjustments will be communicated to members if required.
Should there be any changes in the weather forecast that may impact the qualifiers, members will be kept informed of any updates.

The top 62 net scores will qualify, along with last year’s finalists, with the draw taking place on 27th April.

For the Donnachie Cup (Foursomes), sign-up sheets will be available in the Pro Shop, with a deadline of Sunday 26th April, and the draw will also take place on Monday 27th April.

Players will have:
4 weeks to complete Round 1
3 weeks for each subsequent round

Round deadlines are as follows:
Round 1 – 25th May
Round 2 – 15th June
Round 3 – 6th July
Quarter Finals – 27th July
Semi Finals – 17th August
Finals Day – 5th September

We are aiming to make Finals Day a major event this year, with both the Men’s Singles Matchplay Final and Donnachie Cup Final, alongside other club matchplay finals.

With 3-week intervals, these timelines are considered generous. If no result is recorded by the deadline, and no names are written on the sheet, both players/pairs will be eliminated. No extensions will be granted.
If you do not intend to participate, please clearly mark “No Matchplay” on your scorecard during the qualifier weekend.

Handicap Categories & Playing Handicap Update

As requested at the Men’s AGM, handicap ranges have been reviewed.

The handicap indexes of active (competition-playing) adult male golfers were analysed, and their course handicap (White Tees) was calculated. From this, the new 85% playing handicap allowance was applied.

As, during the main competition season, there is 1 prize in Category 1 and 2 prizes in Categories 2-4, the categories were structured proportionally as follows:
Top 1/7 of players – Category 1
Next 2/7 – Category 2
Next 2/7 – Category 3
Final 2/7 – Category 4

This ensures a fairer spread of players and prizes across all categories.

The resulting categories, which will be used in conjunction with the 85% playing handicap, are:
Category 1: 0 – 7
Category 2: 8 – 13
Category 3: 14 – 17
Category 4: 18 – 54

Scorecard Returns & Competition Compliance
It is crucial that all scorecards are returned and entered into the computer following competitions.
No Returns (NRs) will not be tolerated this year, in line with Golf Ireland guidelines.
Failure to return a scorecard or record your score will result in the appropriate penalties being applied.

If you have any questions on any of the above, please feel free to contact the Pro Shop or a member of the Competition Committee.

We look forward to a great season ahead and wish all members the very best of luck for 2026.

Kind regards,
Adam Donnachie, Competition Secretary, Cobh Golf Club