Since May until October, every first Saturday of a month, Kiev Golf Club will hold PowerPlay Golf, which is the newest format of the game. While maintaining the basics of golf, its spirit of fair contest, beauty and competitiveness, PowerPlay brought to the game an element that ought to enrich golf in the 21st century, as inventors of the format believe. It means dynamics and appealing sport event, intuition and rationality, which are harmoniously combined in decisions of a player.

The idea of «the alternative» format was born in England, from where classical golf came. Peter McEvoy, winner of British, European and World Amateur Championships, brought together a creative team and chaired it in the process. By the way, he is the only British amateur who was able to go through a qualifying round for the US Masters. McEvoy is also a successful captain and a coach: in 1999 and 2001, he led to victory a team of Great Britain and Ireland in the largest amateur tournament Walker Cup, while setting a record advantage in the history of competitions by British team over US team (15-9 in 1999).

McEvoy became famous also thanks to his original ideas for holding sports events. His company «Sporting Concepts», founded in 1982, collaborates with major business corporations in the world, including Philips, Intel, Cisco Systems and others. Through a sister company «Sporting Projects», McEvoy also took part in designing golf courses, including those on which subsequently many National Championships and the European Tour took place.


But perhaps PowerPlay Golf, «a new way to play golf», became his most original invention. Be it a paradox, but McEvoy acknowledged that a man who does not play golf at all gave him a rough idea of the new format. «Would it not be easier to put two flags on a green?», said that «neophyte», not suspecting even how strange, at least, it sounds for a golfer! But the idea evolved: let players choose between two flags – a simple way or risky that promises advantage by points.

Thus, in 2007, golf was enriched by a new version – PowerPlay Golf, over which a Black Flag with a skull and overlapping bones waves from the very time! This is a flag you need to install on the green in the most «insidious» pin position under provisions of the new game. And in a relatively simple place you set a White Flag.

One plays PowerPlay Golf on 9 holes and on three of them a player must play to «the Black Flag». Golfers choose holes and announce their decision before they tee a ball. If a player get net birdie or better, his points for a hole are doubled (that is for strokeplay system; in a matchplay system that one wins on a hole who, with equal number of points, plays to the Black Flag). However, the main challenge awaits players at the ninth hole. You can play to the Black Flag the fourth time, but if you make a net boggy or worse, you lose two points. In other words, if you want to win – learn to play strategically and know when to risk. And if you took a risk – prepare to do your best!..

The new format has caused a real boom. In 2008, PowerPlay Golf games, including National Championships, were held in more than twenty countries around the world and nearly 350 clubs have an official license to conduct such games. Interest to the novelty was expressed in PGA: the finals among professionals in PowerPlay Golf are expected in the end of 2009. And because such format, firstly, reduces time-length of a game, and, secondly, makes golf more emotional and exciting, sports TV channels are already waiting for final tournaments and foretaste broadcasts they can use to decorate the air!..

By the way, information that Ukraine became the 16th country to adopt PowerPlay Golf at grass roots level, is located on the official site of PowerPlay Golf. A registration form is available there and any citizen of the world can sign up for PowerPlay Golf tournaments in Kiev.


Read also a previous story on this topic:

PowerPlay Golf: the new format will be tested on the Club's course in 2009 already!