Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Guidelines

  • All active golf courses are eligible to submit for the awards, but the golf course must be located in the UK or Ireland

  • All submissions should be made by an employee or authorised third party representative of the relevant golf course/company

  • All golf courses should upload their submissions document using the online portal

All submissions should primarily make reference to initiatives, developments or activity that took place or were completed between July 1st 2024 and June 31st 2025. However, judges will also consider ongoing activity, or activity that was completed within the last five years as part of a bank of evidence.

Category-Specific Eligibility Guidelines (where applicable)

Modern Classic Award

  • The course must have opened after January 1st 2000, either as a stand-alone course, or as an additional course attached to an already established golf club.

Short Course of the Year

  • All par 3 courses, 6, 9 & 12 hole courses of any kind are eligible. Short or executive courses of 18 holes or otherwise are eligible, where par is less than 65. Any course with a par of 66 or higher will not be eligible for this category.

Practice Facility of the Year

  • Eligible facilities include all indoor golf facilities, including but not limited to golf simulator venues, driving ranges or instruction centres. 

  • Entrants do not need to be affiliated to an official golf club in order to be eligible.

Affordable Excellence Award (NEW for 2025)

  • All golf courses that have a peak time summer visitor fee of less than £100 are eligible for consideration.

Golf Club of the Year (NEW for 2025)

  • All golf clubs located in GB & Ireland with a formal membership structure are eligible, regardless of size or type.

Additional Guidelines & Finalist Conditions

  • If, for any reason, a category is withdrawn ahead of the finalists announcement, you may be reallocated to an alternative category if deemed appropriate; however, as the finalist levy will still apply, you will be contacted to check you are happy with the reallocation before being confirmed as a finalist.

  • Should your golf course, club or facility be selected as a finalist, there will be a one-off levy of £595 + VAT. This fee is to cover a portion of the administration and campaign costs, including: project management, awards/judging administration, design, marketing, publicity and production.

  • For golf courses that reach the finalists stage, we may ask for additional evidence or ask further questions to better assess your submission. At this point, we will also outline the confirmation procedure for the finalist stage. 

  • All participating golf courses should be prepared to allocate a small number of tee times to GCA judges, should they be confirmed as a finalist. However, while a judge may decide to visit a course to support their personal interpretation of a course’s submission or to distinguish between the leading contenders, their personal experiences will not be a key element of the panel’s deliberations.

  • For the National golf course awards, as well as the Modern Classic, Short Course & Affordable Excellence awards, an individual course is being recognised. However, the judges take into account the full experience offered by the golf club in arriving at a decision.

  • The Sustainability Award, Golf Resort, Indoor Golf Facility, Junior Programme and Golf Club of the Year will be awarded to the golf club or organisation, not an individual course.