NORTON, Massachusetts – As the second year of the new Mass Golf takes shapes and the beginning of the active golf season inches closer, all signs point to another milestone year for the organization, evident by the number of entries received for the 2019 Championships and Women’s Championships in the first 24 hours of open registration.
Between 10 a.m. Thursday, February 7, when registration for the 20 Championship and Women’s Championship events kicked off, and Friday, February 8, at 10:00 a.m., the first 24-hour cycle, nearly 900 entries were received by 494 unique Mass Golf competitors, an astonishing 84% increase compared to the same 24-hour period one year ago. In addition, registration for 12 of the respective Championship and Women’s Championship events saw an increase of at least 50% in the number of entries compared to the first 24-hour period of the 2018 registration one year ago.
“For a second straight year, we are extremely happy with the number of sign ups we received for our championship and women’s championship events in the first 24 hours of open registration,” said Kevin Eldridge, Mass Golf Director of Rules & Competitions. “Having the numbers to compare this year’s registration to last year’s, it is evident that the word is spreading about the championship quality events we host for both men and women here in Massachusetts and that individuals know the importance of signing up early to ensure their spot in respective events. We look forward to continue welcoming competitors to the registration process as the 2019 season gets underway.”
While the registration process remained mostly the same from what competitors have experienced in past years, extra emphasis was put on communications efforts detailing the step-by-step process competitors could expect when they began the process. Additional efforts in email notifications, including those sent directly to competitors of specific events from 2018, as well as increased social media postings and updates to MassGolf.org were all key to the increase in the amount of entries received during the 2019 registration opening.
As of 10 a.m. on Friday, February 8, exactly 24 hours after registration went live for all individuals with an active handicap index, Mass Golf received registration for all open championship and women’s championship events.
The 111th Massachusetts Amateur Championship, making its return to The Country Club for the first time since 2009, as well as the Massachusetts Four-Ball at The International, the Open Championship at Vesper and the Women’s Senior Amateur Championship at Renaissance were among the events to see the highest increase in the number of entries received in the first 24 hours. In that time frame, the Amateur Championship saw a 154% increase in registration entries, while the Four-Ball (114%), the Open (200%) and Women’s Senior Amateur (89%) also topped the charts for the increase amongst 2019 registration.
For those who have not registered yet, Mass Golf recommends all interested competitors sign up as soon as possible. Registration close dates can be found under each respective event at MassGolf.org while registration for all women’s tournaments, mixed team tournaments, parent/child tournaments and member days goes live on Thursday, March 7, at 10 a.m.
Instruction on how to register can be found in the infographic below.
