IAPS Golf Championships
The IAPS Golf Championships have been hosted at MacDonald Hill Valley Golf Course in Shropshire for many years. They are moving to a new venue at Minchinhampton Golf Course in 2021. The competition takes place over 2 days in June.
The event has around 40 schools enter annually with almost 100 male and female competitors. There are competitions running simultaneously for U10’s, U11’s, U12’s and U13’s throughout the tournament.
Competitors are invited to play a practice round on the first day to familiarise themselves with the course. Minchinhampton also have a driving range and putting green so the competitors will be able to practice on these before the championships next year.
Day 2, the competition day, sees the first round of competitors tee off early at 8am. Competitors are allocated into groups of three along with other competitors in their age group. They play 9 holes (either the front or back 9) in the morning, then come in for a break to have some food and relax. They finish their second 9 (the other 9 on the course they haven’t played) in the afternoon before returning for presentations.
Each group is allocated a marker who walks the course with them, scores and makes sure all rules are abided by. IAPS works with England Golf who helps to source markers and officials for the event.
Over the years the competitors have experienced all sorts of weather. Sunshine, rain, flash flooding, hail, thunderstorms – sometimes all in one day! However, with the right clothing and equipment, they often carry on playing! Only occasionally have they had to rush into shelter! The venue green keepers always do a fantastic job to brush the greens and ensure that they are in tip top condition for our competitors to carry on playing.
Golf is a sport where you can see the drive and determination on the competitors faces, especially when they have hit a fantastic shot and are watching their ball meticulously to see where it lands!
Over the years it is fantastic to see the girls competition growing as more girls take up the sport.
Recently IAPS has promoted a new initiative by England Golf to schools where staff are offered training, resources and support to deliver golf in schools. If your school offers golf, why not give it a go and you could be taking part at the next IAPS golf championships!
The 2020 Championships were cancelled due to Covid-19 but the results from 2019 are below:
