Competitive amateur golf has a look, and if you've played enough of it you know it well: a folding table at check-in, a cart-path-only afternoon, a sleeve of range balls, and a scorecard in a plastic holder. The golf is real. The experience rarely is.
The Malbon Buckets Cup was built as the answer to that. Stephen Malbon started the series after years of grinding for tee times as a solo player on Los Angeles municipal courses — loving the game, and wondering why the tournament experience around it felt so far behind the culture. So he used his brand to build the event he wished existed: elite venues, real purses, GHIN-verified fields, and a day that feels closer to a tour stop than a member-guest.
This fall, the Buckets Cup Tour closes its season with two stops that show exactly what that vision looks like — and AmateurGolf.com members have a direct way into both.
Stop 1: Maridoe Golf Club — October 6
Maridoe, in Carrollton, Texas, has quietly become one of the most demanding modern tests in the country — a course built specifically for elite competition, with a resume of USGA and top amateur events to prove it. On October 6, it hosts the Buckets Cup for an 18-hole stroke-play championship with a $36,000 purse, bringing together qualified professionals and top amateurs on a venue most golfers never get to see, let alone compete on.
Registration closes October 2. Entry fee is $750.
The Finale: Pinehurst No. 4 — November 17
Then the tour goes to the spiritual home of American golf. On November 17, the season concludes on Pinehurst No. 4, with a 100-player field competing in a single 18-hole stroke-play round for another $36,000 purse — and season points on the line toward Malbon Buckets Cup Championship qualification.
This one is built as a full Sandhills experience, not just a tee time: accommodations at The Carolina Hotel, an awards reception dinner, welcome gifting from Malbon and its brand partners, and access to Pinehurst Resort amenities including the famed Thistle Dhu putting course. Entry fee is $2,195.
The Member Benefit: Skip the $300 Buckets Club Requirement
Normally, playing a Buckets Cup event requires a $300/year Buckets Club membership. Here's the part that matters for our readers: paid AmateurGolf.com members can register for both events with that requirement waived entirely.
That means members get direct access to the same field, same purse, and same experience — no Buckets Club membership needed. Event entry fees still apply, and it's one entry per member.
How it works for members:
Log in to your AmateurGolf.com account
Open the event listing for Maridoe or Pinehurst No. 4
Register through your member registration link on the listing page
Not a member yet? An AmateurGolf.com membership gets you into both fields this fall — plus tournament search, rankings, and coverage of the amateur game all year. Join or upgrade here →
Maridoe is six weeks out. Pinehurst will fill. If you've been waiting for a reason to put a real event on the calendar, this is the fall to do it.
This article is presented in partnership with Malbon Golf and the Buckets Cup Tour.