New golf event comes to St Albans, but why is it important?

GolfSixes was held at the Centurion Club in St Albans and saw teams from countries all over the world competing for the inaugural title.

But what is GolfSixes? Here’s a step by step guide to the game and why it’s taken the golfing world by storm.

Group stage

This works similarly to major football tournaments like the Champions League; there are four pairs to a group, with each pair going head-to-head over the course of six holes until they have played everyone in their group.

The pair who wins the most holes will gain three points, and one point if there is a tie.

The two teams with the most points go through to the knockout stage, with any ties settled by playing another hole.

Knockout stage

The knockout stage does exactly what is says on the tin – each pair faces off against another pair, and the losing team is knocked out of the tournament.

There are four quarter finals, two semi finals, one match to decide third and fourth places and a match to decide who become the champions.

If there’s a tie, the pairs “play-off”, meaning they play one shortened hole to find the winner.

If there is still no winner, a player will try to hit one shot as close to the flag (or pin) as possible without if ending up out of bounds or in a hazard ie. a bunker or lake.

What is greensomes format?

Both rounds and tie-breaks are played in greensomes – which is when players take turns to strike the ball. As a result, different players get to tee off at the start of a hole, unlike in foursomes.

Why is this tournament so important?

GolfSixes aims to make a shorter, more accessible form of golf for people to get involved in, as many young faces went along to the Centurion to see it in action.

There’s even a “shot clock” on the fourth hole, meaning teams only have a certain amount of time to complete it, otherwise they gain a penalty.

Andy Sullivan and Chris Wood, taking part for England, praised the tournament in their post-match interview.