How to Run a Club Championship

The club championship is the one event where the club crowns its best player, and members notice when it's run loosely. Knowing how to run a club championship comes down to decisions made well before the first tee time: the format, eligibility, the terms of the competition, how ties are settled and how the bracket is managed. This guide walks through each decision and gives a planning timeline, a bracket seeding table and a checklist for the golf committee.

Choose the format

Stroke play

Players compete on total gross score over 36, 54 or 72 holes. Stroke play identifies the best player over several rounds and is simple to administer across a single weekend. It's the natural format for a championship flight of strong players and for clubs where members can commit to consecutive days.

Match play

Players compete head to head in a bracket, and the winner of each match advances. Match play produces drama and upsets and is the traditional championship format at many clubs. It usually takes several weekends, or one long weekend of 36-hole days.

Stroke play qualifier into match play

The most common design at private clubs: an 18- or 36-hole stroke play qualifier seeds a match play bracket of 8, 16 or 32 players. It rewards good play in qualifying with a better seed and still gives the event its match play finish.

Gross, net or both

The club championship itself is traditionally a gross event. Many clubs run a net championship alongside it so more members have something to play for, using each player's Course Handicap calculated from their Handicap Index® and the Course Rating™ and Slope Rating® of the championship tees.

Divisions and flights

Most clubs run several championships at once or through the season:

• Men's and women's club championships, often from different tees
• Senior and super-senior championships, by age
• Junior championship
• Net championship
• Flights below the championship flight, by handicap (first flight, second flight), each with its own winner

Each needs its own eligibility, tees and format.

Set eligibility

Write down who may enter:

• Membership. Members in good standing in golf-eligible categories. Decide about non-resident, junior and social members.
• Handicap. A current Handicap Index® with the club, and a maximum index for the championship flight if needed.
• Scoring record. Some clubs require a minimum number of scores posted at the club during the season, so indexes reflect actual play. See USGA handicap posting at private clubs.
• Age, for senior and junior divisions, as of a fixed date.
• Account status. Some clubs require the member's account to be current.

Write the terms of the competition

The terms of the competition are the committee's rules for this specific event. Publish them with the entry form. They should cover:

1. Format, number of holes and schedule
2. Eligibility and entry deadline
3. Tees for each division
4. Handicap basis for net divisions, including the date indexes are taken
5. How ties are decided for qualifying, advancing, and winning
6. Match deadlines, if matches are played over several weeks
7. Pace of play policy and penalties
8. Use of carts, caddies and distance-measuring devices
9. Local Rules in effect
10. When the competition closes and results become final
11. Entry fees and prizes

The USGA publishes Model Local Rules and guidance on committee procedures with the Rules of Golf at usga.org. Use those as the starting point rather than drafting Local Rules from scratch.

Seed the bracket

For a match play bracket of 16 qualifiers, standard seeding keeps the top two seeds apart until the final:

Winners of matches 1 and 2 meet, then 3 and 4, and so on. For 32 qualifiers, the same principle extends: 1 v 32, 16 v 17, and so on. For a field that doesn't fill a bracket, top seeds receive byes in the first round.

Settle ties in advance

Ties happen in qualifying, in matches and at the finish. The terms of the competition should say how each is resolved:

• Qualifying ties for the last bracket spots: a hole-by-hole playoff is fairest; a card-off (best score over the last 9, 6, 3 and final hole of the round) is quicker. Many clubs use a card-off for seeding and a playoff for the last spot.
• Tied matches: play continues hole by hole until a winner is decided, starting from the first hole or a hole the committee names.
• Tied stroke play championships: a playoff (hole by hole or over a set number of holes) for the championship; card-offs for lower places.

Card-off rules should also say how handicap strokes apply in net events, typically as a proportion of the handicap for each segment.

Matches over several weeks

If matches are played on the players' schedules rather than set days, publish a deadline for each round and a rule for matches not played by the deadline (for example, the committee decides, or the higher seed advances). Record results as soon as matches finish and keep the bracket visible so members can follow it.

Tees, set-up and pace

• Tees: set for each division in the terms. Championship tees for the gross championship flight; forward sets for senior and net divisions as appropriate.
• Course set-up: championship conditions are appropriate, but hole locations should be fair.
• Pace: set a target and a pace policy, and monitor it. Championship golf tends to run slower, so allow for it in starting intervals. See pace of play at private clubs.

Officials and rulings

Name the committee members and rules officials for the event. Officials should be reachable on the course during play so rulings happen at the time, not afterwards in the grill room. Record rulings in writing. For disputes in match play, the Rules of Golf set a process for making a request for a ruling before either player tees off on the next hole.

Pairings, starting times and scoring

For stroke play rounds, pair players by division and, after the first round, by position. Publish starting times on the tee sheet as a block, so members see why times are unavailable. For scoring:

• Use official scorecards or live scoring with attestation.
• Publish a scoring area and a time when each score becomes final.
• Post leaderboards after each round.

Scores from both stroke play and match play rounds are generally acceptable for handicap purposes under the Rules of Handicapping; each player should post their score.

Communicate the championship

Announce the championship early in the season with dates, format, eligibility and entry deadline. Send pairings and starting times ahead of each round, post the bracket as it progresses, and publish results and the champion's name. The champion's name on the board is a big part of what makes the event matter.

Planning timeline

Championship checklist

• Format and divisions chosen
• Eligibility written, including handicap and scoring record
• Terms of the competition published with the entry form
• Local Rules adopted from the USGA's Model Local Rules
• Tee sheet blocked for qualifying and match days
• Tie procedures for qualifying, matches and the final written
• Bracket seeding method published
• Match deadlines set, if matches are self-scheduled
• Officials named and reachable on the course
• Scoring method set; results published after each round

For other club events, see member-guest tournament formats and golf league management for clubs.

How Bubs handles club championships

Bubs tournaments run stroke play qualifiers, match play brackets with seeding and byes, and multiple divisions and flights at once, with the tee sheet blocked automatically for each round. Players score live hole by hole, leaderboards and brackets update as results come in, and tie-break rules are set when the event is built. Every player's Handicap Index® comes from the USGA, and course handicaps come from the tees they play; see handicaps.