May 4th will see 22 girls’ and boys’ teams from schools in the south competing at one of the UK’s top nine hole courses for the title and top prizes
To encourage schools golf, raise funds for The Children’s Trust at Tadworth Court and promote the idea of nine holes instead of the traditional 18, on May 4th Reigate Heath Golf Club (www.reigateheathgc.com) is again hosting the unique Southern Schools Invitational, supported by specialist insurer Hiscox.
The driving force behind the event, club treasurer John Warbey said: “With the pressure of modern lifestyles making so many people ‘time-poor’, at Reigate Heath we have the perfect solution: a nine hole course. This tournament is all part of our promoting the idea that golf can be fun for everyone, healthy and most importantly, that it doesn’t have to take all day!”
First played in 2016, the event attracted both a lot of praise from the players and the schools involved, and attention from the world of golf for promoting an officially recognised tournament over nine holes instead of 18.
The format is better ball with teams of two players counting their best score on each hole in a stroke play format over nine holes. With another full set of entries, 22 teams comprising boys and girls will battle it out around Reigate Heath’s nine hole course for the scratch and handicap titles.
The standard of players is again very high, with boys’ handicaps ranging from four to 18, while the girls are from five to 22. In a sport that’s traditionally male-dominated, the event has attracted three girls’ teams from Guildford High, Prior’s Field and Charterhouse, and a further three girls who will represent their schools individually.
The event has also attracted a number of new names like Tonbridge, Kingston Grammar and St. George’s College Weybridge, and while golf has long been supported by the private schools, the event’s organisers are delighted that one of the region’s top state schools, Woking High, is coming with a boys’ team and a girl who will compete for the individual prize.
Club Manager Amanda Godwin said, “For over 100 years Reigate Heath GC has always been a big supporter of junior golf and especially ladies golf. Nowadays with so many of us leading time pressured lifestyles with little time to spare for 18 holes, we’re finding that many more of our members and visitors are coming here simply because they can play nine in an hour and a half.”
Godwin added, “The Southern Schools Invitational celebrates not only junior but ladies golf as well, and the concept of nine holes. Judging by the feedback so far and the enthusiastic support of specialist insurer Hiscox for the second time, it’s going to be another a memorable event.”
For more information, please call 01737 242 610 extension 2 or go to www.reigateheathgc.com