The European Urban Golf Cup stops this year in Budapest. The Hungarian capital will host teams from across Europe with some notable absentees like the Netherlands. With a course mixing urban obstacles, cobblestones and also grass, the teams will have to produce a high level game of street golf to win the title. The organizers of the competition Urbangolf Hungary, helped by Urban Golf Collective, shared with BogeyMag the guide for this 2023 edition. Review of the course and the rules. Small bonus for readers, the guide is downloadable at the bottom of the page.
The course
The course is composed of 12 holes (but I would rather say 14) with the 2 extras.
At first glance the course is compact and the holes seem to follow one another if you refer to the map provided.
Regarding the other holes, there is a good balance between cobblestones and grass. I counted 7 holes to be played on cobblestones and 4 on grass. Only hole 10 is a mixture of cobblestones and grass.
Bonus holes to reduce the score.
CH1 comes in as a bonus. Your ball must stay inside the square. No positive score here. You have 3 tries. Each successful attempt makes you score – 1. On the same principle, CH2 allows you to deduct a few hits from your score card.
The rules to take into account
- No wood or hybrid!
- Tee allowed on the 1st shot only
- Free drop from the length of a grip
- 9 is the maximum score
Here are the main rules of the event which I must admit have not changed too much since the last edition. On the other hand, some rules still have a “legal void” such as the free drop of a grip length. Already thank you for having put away the plastic plate of 13 cm, but to make the most of this rule, I will add in the bag, a putter with a long grip or a wedge with a 48cm (19 inches) grip. instead of the standard 15 inches.
Game format and formula
3 formats are available depending on the holes; Greensmen, Scramble and Individual. On hole 5, the formula is Texas Scramble. Here a small difference. Each player on the same team each plays a ball off the tee and after deciding which is best, they take turns playing a ball, until the ball is in the hole.
| Hole | Greensome | Scramble | Individual |
| 1 | X | ||
| 2 | X | ||
| 3 | X | ||
| 4 | X | ||
| 5 | X (texas) | ||
| 6 | X | ||
| 7 | X | ||
| 8 | X | ||
| ch1 | X | ||
| 9 | X | ||
| 10 | X | ||
| 11 | X | ||
| 12 | X | ||
| CH2 | X |
The Program
The event takes place on Saturday August 26 but the organisers, as usual, have planned a warm welcome from Friday evening.
Friday August 25
19:00 Meet & greet – A Grund (Budapest, 30 Nagy Templom street)
Saturday August 26
- 8:00 Meet & Breakfast – Bölcső Bar & Food (Budapest, 3 Zenta street) –
- 9:00 Opening Ceremony
- 9:30 Start of the tournament
- 17:00 Fin du tournoi
- ~18:00 Reward and after-party – Bölcső Bar & Food
A program similar to the World Urban Golf Cup in Luxembourg last year. Hoping that the organizers have fixed the problems related to playing time. In Luxembourg, it took 8 hours to complete 12 holes instead of the 14 planned. This was partly due to the fact that a course marshal had to witness every shots of each player in order to count them. No confidence was placed in the players of the competition. On some holes, players could wait 1 hour or more! It was not uncommon to wait for two whole groups to play on the tee box. A very long method which made the experience quite unpleasant. In Budapest, with a fairly compact course, waiting times should be limited and progress more fluid.
Download the complete guide to the European Urban Golf Cup 2023
For those who want to know more you can download the guide by clicking on the button below or consult it directly on this page.
For the competitors, I wish you good luck. Besides, if some people want to share their experience in writing or via photos, do not hesitate to contact me.
