Even the turn of the year and the winter season did not interrupt golf life in the Czech Republic. On the contrary – on many courses the New Year’s drive took place, which in many ways strengthens the bond in golf clubs. There are currently 183 clubs in the CGF.

Club life has always been a part of golf, and the diversity of the clubs is one of the reasons why aspiring golfers can choose where to play. The vast majority of golfers are registered in clubs that not only give their members the opportunity to play on their home courses, but also to participate in a number of events.

The New Year’s tee-off is a typical event that members look forward to well in advance, as they want to show their commitment to golf on the first day of the New Year. But club life is far from being limited to this visible event; there are also barbecue evenings or memorials to former members and perhaps special events for women.
This includes, of course, an emphasis on the education of children, which are often grandchildren who have been introduced to golf by long-time members.

Many clubs make sure to have a rich life throughout the year, as happy members like to get together and play together often. This is why local club tournaments are so important, with dozens of them played every weekend during the high season in the Czech Republic. That’s also why everyone is so excited about the highlights of the season, the club championships for shots or holes.

However, many clubs do not stop with internal events only, but can also rightly boast of rich and successful sporting activities within the organized competitions of the Czech Golf Federation. And the fact that the interest in team competitions is enormous is evidenced by the large number of teams that participated last year in both the adult (250) and junior (155) categories.

However, the official competitions are not the end of the team competition. As part of a healthy inter-club rivalry, various forms of “Ryder Cup” are organised at the end of the season, sometimes going back several decades. Believe me, they have more appeal than an individual game of whack-a-mole.

Often a richer programme is arranged by smaller clubs in the regions, which also offer quite unusual tournament formats, including hickory golf. Attending such events and regularly meeting friends who profess the same activity is still an important part of many golfers’ love of their sport and life in general. The equation holds true that where club life works, golfers do not diminish.

Petr Halaburda (CGF)