The original and many argue the most prestigious VAG Society competition.

First contested in 1989, each year it represented the focal point of The Tour.

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The initial partnerships always remained the same [ Brydon/Dewhirst vs Ingle/Tester ] and history bore witness to the coveted shield being regularly passed from one pair to the other (see Role Of Honour). Like many Society competitions, the format evolved over the years, from matchplay to stableford, from 18 to 36 holes. Latterly, it was contested over 36 holes and a fourball-betterball stableford method used for scoring.

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This competition was characterised by the idiosyncratic tradition of each pair wearing a ‘team uniform’ – which yielded some marvellous outfits over the years (see Photo Gallery). Team Tester/Ingle were particularly imaginative in this area, with humorous garments and even, on one memorable occasion, ever-increasing facial hair arrangements donned for the amusement & entertainment of all and sundry.

In 2004, however, The Society was overcome somewhat by a huge wave of emotion. Two members came down to dinner at Hawkstone Park on the first night of that year's tour with a rather dramatic suggestion that was to fundamentally change the way the VAG operated as an entity.It was felt that too many tours in years gone by had been beset by niggles and gripes between partnerships, as to who had really deserved to win the coveted shield, irrespective of the actual result.To that end, and to reflect the fact that, moving forwards, the VAG wished to operate more as a collective, the competition format changed fundamentally.

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The Society now plays 'against the course' in a competition where 'the best 2 of 4' stableford points scores on each of the 18 holes are attributed to the Society as a whole.The competition is played off scratch, and on that basis, a target of 54 points has been established (ie 1xPar and 1xBogey on each hole). If this target is not reached, then the VAG will not award itself the shield, given it is a hugely illustrious trophy which the Society has to prove itself worthy of winning.

The ‘Texas Takeover’ of 2015 (which is fully documented in the changes to other competitions) has of course rendered the VAG Pairs the only Society competition in which members play their own ball throughout each hole of the event. For that reason, it is particularly highly regarded by the purists who perceive the whole Texas Two format to be a lily-livered cop-out.