Cheeky9, the newest social golf craze is about to hit Manawatu.

It is a team-based twilight competition once a week aimed at getting people knocking off work early to play nine holes and Palmerston North Golf Club is the club in Manawatu on board.

It is aimed at bringing younger people into the sport and newcomers may think about joining clubs once they’ve played the shortened version.

Mike Lowe and Nick White have been touring New Zealand promoting the new competition.

“It’s a fun, relaxed take on the standard twilight golf for Gen Y characters who don’t play so much golf,” White said. “It’s more about getting people into the game.”

Lowe said clubs have been battling to get younger people into the sport and felt golf is lacking on the social sport scene, which is where Cheeky9 comes into play.

It is played on an ambrose format of best ball. The team of four splits into pairs and you play with a pair from a different team.

The winners from Palmerston North will go to the national finals at the end of the season, with scores tallied nationally on an app.

There is a big focus on the social side, with nearly as much time to be spent at the 19th hole afterwards.

Last year, they had a pilot season in Auckland with two clubs, but this summer there are 16 clubs with 100 teams entered so far.

There is a $200 registration fee, then it costs $15 per player each week.

It runs for 10 weeks on Thursday nights at Palmerston North, starting next week.

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