9-hole-challenge – Golf RSA

GOLFRSA RACE TO THE R&A 9 HOLE CHALLENGE

Play Royal Birkdale before the Pros

August 2025 – Have you ever imagined walking the historic fairways of the iconic courses in Great Britain and Ireland where legends and global stars have competed for glory in The Open Championship?

For two lucky South African amateurs, that dream will become a reality with The R&A 9 Hole Challenge.

The victorious South African pair from the fourth GolfRSA Race to The R&A 9 Hole Challenge will represent the country at Royal Birkdale in 2026, competing alongside the winning teams from Great Britain & Ireland, Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and New Zealand – then soak up the drama at the 154th Open from 16–19 July.

2025 NATIONAL FINAL HIGHLIGHTS

“More than 711,000 nine-hole rounds were played across the globe in the hope of qualifying for the R&A 9 Hole Challenge Final, an event that’s growing fast and helping spread the joy of short-format golf worldwide,” said GolfRSA CEO Grant Hepburn. “In South Africa alone, nine-hole rounds increased by 4% in 2025, with more women taking part than ever before.

“Our third edition was highlighted by the growing number of men and women golfers competing for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity from The R&A. More than 150 clubs across South Africa participated and enjoyed a marked increase in their nine-hole rounds. We are excited to launch the 2026 GolfRSA Race to The R&A 9 Hole Challenge, and we extend a big thank you to our partners at The R&A for this incredible opportunity, Paul Adams who manages the project, and our sponsors and partners who support this fantastic concept.”

Winning duo Barend Botha and Daryn Shepherd couldn’t say enough about the 2025 experience at Royal Portrush.

“I don’t think I’ll ever recover from this trip! It was surreal,” said Botha. “From GolfRSA, Paul Adams, Meyer du Toit at my home club, to The R&A – just wow. If anyone’s even thinking about entering next year, I’m telling you: do it!”

Shepherd agreed wholeheartedly. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. From qualifying for the GolfRSA Race to the R&A 9 Hole Challenge right through to the final, everything was expertly organised. The effort put into it was incredible; it was world-class. I’m so grateful to GolfRSA and everyone who made it happen. Just incredible.”

Kevin Barker, Director – Golf Development: GB&I and Africa at The R&A said. “Nine-hole golf is the perfect solution for people to play golf who are time poor because of work, family and other commitments. The concept also allows for golf to be played competitively by people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds.

“Year on year we are seeing more people competing in The R&A 9 Hole Challenge with its popularity spreading all over the world. For all golfers taking part, there is the incredible opportunity to compete on golf’s biggest stage ahead of The Open and I would encourage players to enter a qualifying competition at your local club to give you the chance to play at Royal Birkdale.”

The 2026 GolfRSA Race to The R&A 9 Hole Challenge Format:

Each club in South Africa that registers for the 2026 GolfRSA Race to The R&A 9 Hole Challenge will run their own internal 9 Hole Competitions or Series to identify the two golfers to proceed to the Regional Final
The two golfers must be nominated by the end of February 2026.
The winners of each club will be entered into the Regional Final draw in March for the GolfRSA Race to The R&A 9 Hole Challenge National Final.
The allocation of the National Final places will be in proportion with the number of clubs registered per Union for the 2026 Challenge.
The National Final will be played at Zwartkop Golf Club from 12-14 April 2026.
The top two players from this event will represent GolfRSA at The R&A 9 Hole Challenge at Royal Birkdale.

Eligibility

Players will be eligible for the GolfRSA Race to The R&A 9 Hole Challenge and final prize if they meet all of the following criteria:

GolfRSA affiliated member with a handicap with HNA (no handicap limit)
South African citizen / passport holder
Adult of over 18 years of age
Be in possession of a passport valid for 6 months after return date of travel (end Jan 2027) at the National Final (a copy will be required to be provided).

For information on how to sign up for the 2026 GolfRSA Race to The R&A 9 Hole Challenge, view the documents below, enquire at your golf club or contact Paul Adams on paul@golfnotions.co.za.