A brand-new Stud & Dud team tournament built for everyday golfers. Choose your local qualifier and register your team.
Pick the qualifier that works best for your team.
Every qualifier supports local hunger relief and the people who make Canadian golf possible.
We partner with 18 local food banks and food hubs across Ontario including Feed Ontario (which supports over 1,200 local food banks and hubs) to fight hunger and food insecurity across the province and in the communities where our qualifiers take place. Through food drives and charitable giving, 25% of net proceeds from ticket sales + 25% of gross proceeds from sponsor revenue from each qualifying tournament will support a local food bank and help feed those in need. 25% of gross sponsor revenue from the Regional and Provincial Finals and the Big Win Skills Challenge will go directly to Feed Ontario.
We also donate 10% of the full event's net proceeds, split equally between the NGCOA Canada Foundation and the PGA of Canada Foundation. These organizations support the golf course employees and professionals who make Canadian golf possible.
Select a local Ace Cup qualifier below and complete registration on the tournament page.
The Ace Cup Challenge is a new amateur golf tournament built around a simple idea: One Stud. One Dud. One unforgettable team experience.
Together, teams compete in an alt-shot, combined handicap format designed to make competitive golf more accessible, more social, and more entertaining for everyday golfers.
This isn’t built for just scratch golfers and club champions. It’s built for the players who make up the vast majority of the game.
Teams enter local qualifying events hosted at golf courses across Ontario within a 30–60 minute drive of major population centres.
Winning teams advance to regional finals in Southwest, Central, and Eastern Ontario.
Top teams advance to the championship experience and the Big Win Pure Skills Showcase.
We have secured the following qualifying host club locations.
To compete, you’ll need a Stud & Dud team. On the waitlist, you can tell us whether you already have a partner or need help finding one.
This helps us understand how teams might form across Ontario and where golfers may need matching help.
The Ace Cup Challenge grew out of the Zero To Ace Golf media concept and the Stud & Dud dynamic that made those matches so entertaining.
The goal is bigger than one event: build a new format, a new community, and a more inclusive amateur golf experience.
The Ace Cup Challenge didn’t begin as a tournament idea. It started as a social media golf series called Zero To Ace Golf, where PGA of Canada Professional Brad Milligan taught complete beginner Clayton Elliott how to play golf from scratch—at 41 years old!
The first episode was filmed on July 4th, 2025 at Caledon Country Club using nothing more than Clay’s phone. To keep the experiment authentic, Clay made one promise: no practicing off camera. Every swing, mistake, and improvement happened during filmed rounds.
In less than four months and roughly 20 rounds, Clay dropped nearly 80 strokes from his game, proving how quickly total beginners can improve with consistent play and by embracing and enjoying the learning process. After wanting to play golf for over 20 years, it took just over three months to make massive improvement and become a golfer for life.
The Season 1 finale took place at Keystone Links Golf & Country Club, where Brad and Clay played a 2-on-2, matchplay scramble against two Trent University golfers. What made the match so entertaining was the dynamic: a strong player paired with a beginner.
That round sparked the idea for The Ace Cup Challenge — a two-man team tournament built around the same concept.
Each team includes a Stud and a Dud: a lower-handicap golfer and a higher-handicap golfer competing together in alternate-shot play with a combined team handicap.
The result is a unique tournament where everyday golfers can improve their game, compete seriously, have fun, win big, and be part of a bigger story.
The Ace Cup Challenge is proudly sponsored by Clay & Brad's software company, AceCall.ai, and supported by the Zero To Ace Golf media platform: all working together to serve courses and players, grow the game, and create unforgettable golf experiences for the everyman golfer.
Choose your local Ace Cup qualifier and register your team.
Register for a Qualifier
