Anyone Play The Golf Channel Amateur Tour?

[Sean2]

I notice they have a senior bracket. If you have played it, what's it like? Worth the money? Do you know what tee boxes the seniors play from? I'm an 8.9 and 52.

 

Thank you.

[idrive]

I played this year.

Played the senior division. I turned 51 this past August.

In the Vegas area the tees you played from depended on your handicapp/bracket.

I believe the first three hc brackets were the Blue tees (middle) the rest were from the white tees.

I qualified and went to Florida and played in the Tour Championship at Innisbrook. At Innisbrook we played the Tees one in front of the tips.

I enjoyed playing in the tournaments. I thought it was worth the money spent. We played a lot of different courses, some I probably would have not have been able to play without being part of the tour. This included both of the TPC courses here.

You actually do get to play against guys that are matched up to you. No sandbaggers as they keep close track of scores. Your GIR's, Fairways hit, Putts per round, scores, etc. are all kept and you are able to keep track of them thru the Golf Channel website.

I would contact the Tour Director in your area and talk to him personally.

[atlanta golfer]

I know people who play all three of these different amateur tours. Generally speaking I hear good comments about all of them. It is a really good way to get into more of a competitive, tournament type atmosphere for anyone who is serious about the game, regardless of current handicap index.

Personally, I prefer the Amateur Golf Tour - here is a link [url="http://www.amateurgolftour.net/"]http://www.amateurgolftour.net/[/url] . The main difference is that these are all played on weekends, which is better for us 9 to 5 grunts. Twice per month between Feb or March and Sept or Oct. Quality of courses is very good but not at the high level of the Golf Channel Tour. otoh the price is literally about half or even less than half. There are about 20 different states or regions with their own chapters. Some are really large and well organized, while some are smaller and more informal. The prize funds are usually 20 per player plus optional skins and closest to the hole. The nice thing is, the prizes are typically gift cards to local big box golf stores which is a way better value than the typical pro shop spending money where things cost up to twice what they should.

[Sean2]

Thanks for the tips, gentlemen, I appreciate it.

[crew_138]

Good times!

Pretty good prices on most of the tournements. They have side games too if you cant really cant hang, but can birdie.

I thought everything was laid out really professional-ish..

[Pingguy58]

I first joined in 2005, it was the Michelob Light tour at that time. I only got to play in a few tournaments before I got hurt and had to quit for the year. I did join in 2006 thinking I would get to play but the nagging left wrist injury needed more surgery so I didn't get to play. I joined again late in 2007 and got to play a couple of tournaments around Ohio. I am looking foward to a full tournament schedule this year. In fact I will be playing a tournament in Sarasota on Mar. 2nd. That is one of the great things about the tour, you can play in any tournament once you are a member.

It is run very well, very good competition and no sandbaggers. You play in brackets according to your hdcp and if you win you might have to move up a bracket. I am looking forward to the 2008 season, it will be a lot of fun. Get online at the Golf Channel and you can read all about it. Just do it!

[ThaStick]

I signed up this year, even though the closest tour even is a 4 hr drive from the small coastal town i live in. I must say, it is a whole lot of fun, you play on some fantastic courses, the tours i play on our the Sacramento/Stockton TOUR, and the San Jose Tour, (Northern California) They flight you according to handicap, and i would imagine being sponsored by the golf channel they would MAKE sure that the fields are FAIR. I took 2nd place in my last two events. The first of the two was a great finish...i lost by one stroke to a guy who had a great day. In the San Jose Tour on a slope of 136 at Brentwoods Shadow Lakes, i was sure i had won it. In my group was a great golfer i paced myself with and after his 40 on the front, i figured if i could catch him, i could win. Well i beat him with a put on the 18th green for par, to shoot an 84, won of my best rounds on a foreign course. . .The guys in my group congratulated me on the win, thinking i had to have won it. Our flight by the way is the HOGAN flight handicaps 8-12...So when i got to the clubhouse to find a 23 yr old kid had shot a 75... i thought WOW what a round he had to have winds were 15-20mph....come to find out this was his first event and he has NO ESTABLISHED HANDICAP!!!
It was a long 4 hr drive home with no trophy. I am considering not playing in any more events because its just not fair...any thoughts on this folks? I mean WTF? ? ? He would have won the Palmer flight? Thats the flight beneaththe hogan? ? ? ? ? ?
Tha Stick

[Pingguy58]

I'm back......I feel your frustration. I'm getting older and my index is going up. I think that the tournament directors need to use a little more scrutiny when it comes to new members. I have to say that our TD is a very good guy and he keeps his eye on hdcp's. I actually went to Hogan this year because I was playing in the Palmer and I have lost so much distance (I'm closing in on 62) that I can't keep up with the young guys who hit it 300yrds. I tried to get into the Senior Plamer but there aren't enough seniors to have a bracket so they wanted me to play in the regular Palmer. In that group you're playing courses 6600 - 6900 yrds, not for me! So he bumped me back to the Hogan because my tour hdcp was high enough to qualify for the Hogan and I get to play at the shorter yardages. I guess my answer to you is that if you have a good TD he will make the adjustments and if I were him I would move that young lad into at least the Palmer for his next tournament and see what happens.
I have not run into to as many sandbaggers in the GCAT as other places. I'm competitive but not crazy competitive, I just like to play in that format. I have to say, driving 4 hours to a one day tournament is a bit over the top, I don't think I would do that, I have driven 2 hours to play in one tournament. Also, look for other Am tours, there are a few out there, I play in one called E-golf and it is a good group of guys, I've played there for the last 2 yrs, this will be my 3rd. Good luck, I wish you well. Don't be afraid to talk to the TD about your concerns, he should be open to your comments.

[ape.rez]

Hey Stick,

I played my first time this year in the san jose GCAT. I have to say, the TD there, Mike has done a great job keeping players in the appropriate flights. I played in the same tourney at Shadow Lakes and have to say, that I understand where you are coming from. Personally, i think he does a good job of trying to keep people happy and wanting to come back. In your situation, and this is something the Golf Channel needs to make as part of its policy, I think one way they can make it so that people are properly flighted when they join is to have new members be uneligible for prize money in their first tournament to see how they stack up against their peers in that flight. If they win, they can keep the merit points, but at least it avoids what happened to you. The shadow lakes event was my first tourney also, and i ended up winning my flight (Jones), but at least i did so with comparable scores and in the end, after my first season, the TD has decided to move me to Sarazen for next season which i understood and comprehended. Even though I don't feel i can be competitive at that bracket, my HI suggests otherwise (16.5 after the last revision though). However, in the interest of making it fair for everyone i told him that i would be happy with whatever decision he had to do. I think overall, the amtour is a great way to compete for prizes and get a feel for what competitive golf is all about.

[Sooner7x]

what are the typical prizes?

[atlanta golfer]

[quote name='Sooner7x' timestamp='1294677041' post='2886605']
what are the typical prizes?
[/quote]

In the Egolf tour (just changed to Golfweek tour due to sponsor change) the prizes are paid out in gift cards, either big box stores or just Visa debit cards. It is $20 per player and it is all paid back out to first, second, and third places. We also do a skins game and closest to the pin, which is optional but most people do it, at $5 for skins game and $5 for closest to pin game.

On our tour, any sandbagging is carefully watched. Obviously, newbies are the ones to watch, as most of us have been doing this for awhile. If someone scores lower than 4 strokes better than the lowest index in the range, they are subject to a "battlefield promotion" which means they are put into a lower bracket immediately, for that very same tournament. Although in the example cited above, shooting a 75 when the lowest hc index in the range is 8, is not outside the realm of possibility. Although that is right on the edge, and the fact it was a young guy playing his first tournament with you, is shaky.

otoh I have learned that you really can't "expect" to win, or lose, based on your score ------- many of the players are pretty eratic, with very low, and very high, scores, from one tournament to the next. In a larger field, say greater than a dozen in a flight, someone is bound to go low.