The Official Dacoity Cup Organising Committee (O.D.C.O.C.) have confirmed the schedule for this years event, being held at Marriott St Pierre, Chepstow from 25-27 July.
The team competition takes place over all 3 days, with a 6 man England team defending the Dacoity Cup against a 6 man Rest of the World team.
The individual contest, for the Bandit Trophy, will take place on Saturday 26th July.
The full schedule is as follows:
Friday 25 July
1pm - Lunch and opening ceremony. For the benefit of Mac, the ceremony will be recorded so he can watch it on his arrival at 2.51pm.
2.52pm - 18 holes on The Old Course
9 Dacoity Cup matches - see "How it works" below
After play: Check-in at Marriott St Pierre Hotel and Country Club for 2 nights
9pm - Dinner will be served in Morgan's Restaurant, where you will be eating from a la Carte menu. (During busy periods you may be moved to the Zest Restaurant). You will receive a dinner supplement of £25.00 in your package. If you eat over this allocation, you would simply pay the hotel the difference.
10.30 Explain Dacoity Cup format to Mac11.00 Rest of World team meeting as Mac thinks he has worked out the perfect tactics.
11.10 Take turns explaining the format to Mac again
11.30 Argument about handicaps
11.55 Anyone still awake will be harassed by a representative from Betwhileyouredrunk.com, official bookmaker for this years Bandit Trophy.
Saturday 26th July
8.45am Explain format to Mac.
9:20 - 18 holes on Mathern Course.
The 16th Bandit Trophy - Individual Stableford competition.9 Dacoity Cup matches
Nearest the Pin Competition on the 11th Hole Par 3 112 Yds: Ball must be on green to win.
Longest Drive Competition on the 15th Hole Par 4 394 Yds: Ball must be on fairway to win.
3pm - Mike Dunbar's Magical Trickshot Show - all done using just a 5 iron!
8pm - Dinner at Morgan's Restaurant
Presentation of the Bandit Trophy9pm - Light hearted ribbing of opposition team's chances of winning, with menacing undercurrent of xenophobia and/or celtic superiority (optional, depending on Dacoity Cup scores)
10pm - Same argument about handicaps as last night, only earlier because we have already had a late night and 36 holes in 2 days.
Sunday 27th July
3.45am - Traditional Practice session, sponsored by Derek Ives Late Night Club Hire.
9:16am - 18 holes on The Old Course
9Dacoity Cup matches.
If the Bandit Trophy has been tied on Saturday a play off will be arranged.
By 12:00 - Check-out of Marriott St Pierre Hotel and Country Club
After play, Presentation of the Dacoity Cup to the winning Captain, followed by assorted varieties of gloating, boasting etc.
How the Dacoity Cup works
On each day there will be:
3 Fourball Combined Stableford matches - the pair with the highest combined stableford score wins the match.
6 singles Stableford matches
1 point awarded for each match. Halved matches = 1/2 a point each.
9 points available each day.
For the Fourball/Threeball matches, team captains submit their pairings and order in writing to the organising committee before play. The orders are matched up to determine who plays against who. However, no two players from the same team are permitted to play together more than once during the 3 days.
To create the singles games, each team captain will submit to the organising committee before play, their list of players in order. This draw will not be revealed until after play is completed, when the pairings will be announced, and therefore the results known.
This format is repeated on each day, meaning that a total of 27 points are available, and 14 points are needed for victory. England will retain the Dacoity Cup if they halve the match with 13.5 points.
