Thank you to the team captains who have shared feedback on the Inter-Club draw and rules. Your input shaped our annual review, and for 2027 we are making two changes to both the Men’s and Women’s competitions: an extra shot for away players, a rule last used in 2020, and a smarter way of deciding venues in the draw.

Sometimes we hear the similar two themes from captains and players: “we always seem to play away” and “playing at home is a big advantage”. Both are fair points, and we take them seriously.

Following the conclusion of the 2026 competitions, we carried out our annual competition review. We took on board your feedback and used all the data we hold to run a detailed analysis. As a result, we are announcing two changes for 2027 that apply to both the Men’s and Women’s competitions.

What the data shows

Away teams received an extra shot from 2011. It was designed to provide a level playing field, and it did that job well during its run. When the World Handicap System and slope arrived in 2021, it was right to retire it, as handicaps were being calculated in a new way.

We have monitored results year on year since then. Our own competition data now shows that home advantage has been building during this period, and that trend has continued in recent seasons. We have not identified a single cause, and we are not claiming one. But the evidence is clear enough that the time feels right to bring back a rule that the data shows can have a balancing effect.

Change 1: 1 extra shot for away players

From 2027, each away player receives one extra shot, added to their Course Handicap before the full difference is taken.

• Away players are those whose team is playing at its opponent’s course on the day.
• No extra shot is given at a neutral venue course, including ties between teams from the same club.
• It also applies to both legs of Women’s Round 1.
• It is a small adjustment, not a handicap overhaul. Home teams still have the benefit of their own course, and nothing else about how handicaps are applied changes.
• Agreed venue swaps: if the teams agree to play at the course of the team drawn at home, the extra shot goes to whoever is actually playing away on the day. The draw still records the home match for the team that was drawn at home.

This is a rule change, so the wording will be added to the Terms and Rules ahead of the 2027 draw, including how the extra shot works in play-offs.

Change 2: a smarter draw for home and away

The second change is not a rule change. It is a change to the logic behind the draw, and it comes directly from your feedback.

Until now, home venues in later rounds have been decided by the bracket and where a team was first drawn. That is simple and random, but it can leave some teams on a long run of away ties while others host round after round.

We have found a way to improve this, fairly and transparently, without slowing the competition down. From Round 2 onwards, the draw will take account of the home and away matches each team has already had:

1. The team that has had fewer home matches so far hosts the tie.
2. If both teams have had the same number, the tie is decided by each team’s Home Ballot Number, a random number allocated at the Round 1 draw.

Testing it on 2026

To see how it would work in practice, we re-ran the 2026 competitions through the new logic using the same results. In the Men’s, 51 of 109 ties would have been played at the other team’s venue. In the Women’s, it was 9 of 28. That is a lot of home and away runs that would have been broken up, and it shows the change can address the “we keep playing away” feedback. These are modelled figures rather than a promise, as results would have unfolded differently with different venues, but they show the logic does what we want it to.

For each tie, the Draw and Results will show a short plain-English explanation of why the venue was decided as it was, so there is no guesswork. We also aim to publish each team’s home and away record on the website so captains can follow the logic themselves.

A few points on what this does and does not do:

• It is a rebalancing, not a guarantee. It will break up many long runs of home or away draws, but it cannot give every team an even split. Knockout draws will always involve some luck.
• There is no delay. A tie can still be arranged as soon as both opponents are known. The venue is set automatically at that point, with no manual draw step between rounds.
• Arranging matches works as before. Your match, venue and opponent contact details will still appear on My Matches.

What stays the same

Everything else is unchanged, including the knockout format, the Taskers Plate and Ian Burtoft Trophy structures, neutral venues for semi-finals and finals, and how tied matches are settled.

Keeping an eye on the impact

We will keep monitoring both changes as part of our annual competition review, including at the end of 2027, and your feedback will be an important part of that. If something is not working as intended, we will look at adjusting it.

We also want to take a longer-term view. A single season can be a small sample, and it may take a number of competition runs to build up meaningful data on how the extra shot and the new draw logic are working. We will be patient before drawing firm conclusions, and we will report back openly on what we find.

So, as a team captain, what does this mean for you? When the draw comes out, home or away is still the first thing you will look for. From 2027, playing away brings an extra shot for your players, and venues in the draw are worked out with more care, so the answer should feel fairer as your team progresses.

Thank you

These changes exist because captains and players took the time to tell us what they were seeing. Please keep the feedback coming, whether through your club captain or directly to the committee through the website.

Our purpose is to support junior golf in your county, and the Taskers Trophy only does that if clubs keep entering year after year. That is why we want a format that stays engaging and competitive for every team, and why we will keep listening and adjusting as we learn more.

Thank you for your continued support, and good luck in 2027.