2026 Tournament Chairman's Message

Welcome to the 2026 Season!

We had a very successful 2025 season, averaging 181 players per regular-season tournament. Our online sign-up system was improved and will continue to be the primary method for tournament registration in 2026.

If you are unable to complete the web form, please contact Doug Kearsley (iesgawebmaster@gmail.com, 509-994-9254) or Brad Berg (iesgagolf@gmail.com, 509-589-1725) for assistance.

We look forward to playing 15 outstanding courses this season. As in the past, you may choose one preferred playing partner when registering. A key emphasis again this year will be maintaining a pace of play under 4 hours and 20 minutes. No one enjoys waiting on slow groups, so please do your part—pace of play will continue to be strictly enforced.

The D Flight will continue to play from the forward tees, a popular and successful approach. In 2025, players in the A, B, and C Flights were also given the option to play from the forward tees, which proved fair due to the handicap adjustments applied. Please note, however, that players choosing the forward tees are not eligible for the honey pot, gross skins, KP, Club Championship competitions.

Entry deadlines will be strictly enforced. Late entries will be placed on the waitlist—we’ll do our best to accommodate you, but you may not receive your preferred partner or tee time.

As always, we play by USGA Rules of Golf, with two additional IESGA local rules (see Tournament Information → Tournament Rules → IESGA Rule for Lost or OB Balls). If you witness a rules infraction, please bring it to the player’s attention, even if he’s your friend. We all share the responsibility of protecting the field.

This is a great organization, and I’ve truly enjoyed being a part of it for the past 30 years. I’m pleased to have Doug Kearsleyas my assistant this season. If there’s anything we can do to improve your experience, please let us know.

Good luck in 2026!

John Hanke
Tournament & Handicap Chairman
📧john_hanke@msn.com
📱509-434-9988 (Text only, please—do not call)

Enter the 2026 OLD GOAT Competition

Your IESGA Board of Directors approved the continuation of the Old Goat Cup for 2026. It is modeled after the FedEx Cup competition where points are awarded throughout the year depending on how well you place in each tournament played.

We had good participation in 2025 with payout to 34 players in the amount of $3,765 over the four flights of A, B, C, and D flights.

We expect even greater payouts and participation for 2026. Pay outs are based upon the contribution of the participating players. Results of the accumulated points and payouts are posted on the IESGA website.

Points are based on the top 20 players by net score in each flight. The player with the best net score in each flight will get 20 points. The 2nd best net score will get 19 points and so on down to the 20th place, which will get 1 point. Points will be accumulated even if you play in more than one flight. Your final point total will be based on the flight most played but will also include all points from the other flights played.

Points will be accumulated for the 12 local Spokane and Inland Empire tournaments. The two-day “over-night” tournament at the beginning of the IESGA season will not be included because there are a number of members that are not retired and are unable to participate, and there are snowbird members that aren’t here in the spring and fall, and we want to make the competition equitable and available to as many members as possible.

Players will be awarded double points for the two-day club championship tournaments and the year-end tournament at Liberty Lake. The year-end tournament will be a shotgun start and limited to 144 players. Old Goat players will have a first chance to enter the tournament and then the tournament will be open to the rest of the players until we reach 144 players.

If you missed a couple of regular tournaments during the year, points could be made up in the year-end tournament at Liberty Lake.

The top 15 competitors, or 25%, whichever is the lesser, in each flight will receive cash payouts at the end of the year.

There is a one-time entry fee of $25 to participate in this competition and it must be paid on or before June 13, 2026.

Again, this is a voluntary competition. It is separate from the other tournament games: skins, deuce pot, honey pot, net score, etc.

The idea here is to encourage you to play in as many tournaments as possible and give you an opportunity to win more money.

In previous years there were a few people that missed some tournaments and still scored high in points so don't decide to not enter the competition because you might miss a tournament or two.

The entry form is included as part of the 2026 Web Entry Forms.