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To all Golfweek Amateur Tour Members,

 

On behalf of the entire Golfweek organization, I want to thank you for your membership of the Golfweek Amateur Tour.  We are incredibly proud of our relationship with what we feel is the best option for organized amateur competition for folks like you and me. 

 

I am writing to inform you of some changes to our magazine frequency and format for 2021. Our plan is to publish four issues in 2021 including our annual Golfweek’s Best in April and Ultimate Guide in December. In addition to these two issues, we will publish a new issue called Get Equipped in February that will highlight everything new in the game for 2021 including equipment, gear, places to visit and more. The second new issue is titled Golf Life in July and will feature in-depth stories and interviews with the movers, shakers and personalities that drive the business and sport of golf. We are excited about the new schedule and plan to bring the same style of expert, in-depth journalism that you expect from Golfweek..

 

I hope that you also enjoying www.golfweek.usatoday.com as well as our weekly digital newsletter products including: Monday Rewind, Get Equipped, Get Primed, Golf Life and Get Better. You can sign up for these here.

 

Thank you again for being a Golfweek Amateur Tour Member. 

 

Sincerely,

Patrick Leahy
VP of Revenue - USA TODAY Golf
Publisher – Golfweek

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How Our Tournaments Work

When you sign up for the tour, we will place you into a flight based on your current USGA Index or by making a determination based on your average scores. During the tournaments, you will compete against other players from your flight in a true stoke play event. You will compete for Tour Credit or gift cards and also a trophy for the 1st place winner in each flight.  

Prize Pay-Outs are based on the amount of players in your flight. We will take $20 per player for a Standard event and $40 per players for a 2 Day Major event and add it to the prize pool. Please click on the prize matrix button on the Alabama Homepage to view the complete prize pay-out matrixes for both Standard and 2 Day Major events.  

We also have optional cash games at each event. These include Skins Games based on Flight, Super Skins which includes all flights together and Closest to the Pin.  

Depending on memberships, the season long points champion for each flight will either receive a paid membership for next season or part of their entry fee for The National Finals

Listed below are the flight assignments...  

  • Championship Flight: 0 to 3.9 Handicap
  • A Flight: 4.0 to 8.9 Handicap
  • B Flight: 9.0 to 13.9 Handicap
  • C Flight: 14.0 to 18.9 Handicap
  • D Flight: 19.0 and Higher Handicap

Alabama Amateur Golf Tour - Permanent Local Rules


Listed below are the Permanent Local Rules for all Alabama Amateur Golf Tour events unless specifically stated in rules sheets provided at multiple tour majors and regional events. Other than superseded below... the USGA Rules of Golf will govern Tournament Play on the Alabama Golfweek Amateur Tour.



  1. Triple Bogey Max Rule
  2. All Heavily Wooded Areas & Heather or Extreme Long Grass will be considered a Red Penalty Area
  3. Out of Bounds Rule
  4. One Ball Rule in Effect
  5. Embedded Ball Rule Anywhere in General Area
  6. Drop Zones for Par 3s
  7. New Member Probation Period of 2 Calculated Rounds
  8. Guest Policies for Placing in Tournaments
  9. Play Ready Golf!
  10. Pace of Play System in Live Score
  11. GPS and Range Finders Permitted
  12. Putt Out Instead of Marking
  13. Play 2 balls in event of a rules dispute
  14. Score Card
  15. Optional Cash games
  16. Cancellation Policy and Late Fees
    1. Triple Bogey Max Rule 
      The maximum score that a player in A, B, C and D flights can score on a hole is triple bogey. If you are sitting at double bogey, and are not in the hole, pick up your ball and score a triple bogey. Do not continue to play the hole as the whole reason for this rule is to speed up pace of play. If you continue to play past double bogey, you are defeating the purpose. 
    2. All Heavily Wooded Areas & Heather or Extreme Long Grass will be considered a Red Penalty Area For Lost Ball Purposes 
      All Heavily Wooded areas, Heather or Extreme Long Grass areas will be considered a Red Penalty Area For Lost Ball Purposes (only if known, or virtually certain that the ball has entered one of these areas) and players may take relief from these areas whether the ball is lost or not according to the Red Penalty Area rules procedures. The proper drop location is determined just as it would be had the ball gone into a marked Red Penalty Area (think of the whole area of trees or heather/tall grass as if it were a Penalty Area). The drop is where the ball first crossed into this area and is subject to the same regulations as a Red Penalty Area. The drop location is NOT perpendicular to where the ball lies or expected to be. 
    3. Out of Bounds Rule 
      If you hit your ball Out of Bounds and do not hit a provisional ball, you must follow the rules of dropping per the Red Penalty Area Rule where your ball went out of bounds under penalty of 2 STROKES and not just 1 stroke. 

      This rule will apply to A, B, C and D Flights only. Champ Flight will be required to follow the USGA Out of Bounds rule under penalty of stroke and distance loss because the Champ Flight does not adhere to the Triple Bogey Max rule. 
    4. One Ball Rule is REQUIRED on the Alabama Tour and REQUIRED at Nationals, Regionals and Combined Majors. 
      Each player must uniquely mark each ball so that it can be certain of ownership. Suggested on the Birmingham Tour and REQUIRED at Nationals, Regionals and Combined Majors: Each player must play the same make AND model ball for the duration of the round, not just the same make. This includes that they must play the same color ball as well even if it is the same make and model. The USGA Approved Ball List lists each color as a separate line item in the list which means it is technically a different ball. 

      If a player does not mark the ball, then there is no way to know if a lost ball is found. If a ball is lost, and presumed found, said player must triple bogey the hole (if a provisional was not played - and marked), as there is no way to be certain that a found ball belongs to the player in question. 
    5. Embedded Ball Rule Anywhere in General Area 
      A ball embedded in its own pitch mark, anywhere in the General Area (this is the whole area of the course except: out of bounds and all penalty areas), may be lifted, cleaned and dropped as close to the original spot, no nearer the hole, without penalty.
    6. Drop Zones for Par 3s 
      If a drop zone is not specifically designated for Par 3s on a local Alabama Golfweek Amatuer event, the player has the choice of playing from the ladies teeing ground or proceeding under the procedures for lateral (red stakes) penalty areas.
    7. New Member Probation Period
      We do our very best to try to make sure that all new members are placed in the proper flight to begin with. This is not an exact science especially if the new member does not have an established USGA Index. This is not meant to punish new members, but to protect our established members and ensure we have everyone flighted correctly.

      The new member probation period will last for the first tournament played on tour.

      Any new player shooting an out of flight score their first event will receive an immediate battlefield promotion to the flight that the event index places them in. If that player played from the same tees as the higher flight their index places them then they will be allowed to win and collect prize money if that places them above the money cut line. They will collect the points from their place in the higher flight less a deduction for the flight movement. If they played from a different set of tees they will not be allowed to collect any prize money and will be moved to the position they would have finished in the next flight. So, it is important to place yourself in the correct flight when you join.

      The likelihood that a new member that is in the proper flight would win their flight before they have an established tour index is extremely low due to being new to tournament play. If a new member were to card a score that would win in a particular flight, after their index was calculated based on the winning score, they will most likely be moved up into the next flight anyway.
    8. Guest Policies for Placing in Tournaments 
      To be sure that we keep the full integrity of our flights in all of our tournaments, we are implementing a set of policies revolving around guests playing in our tournaments. 

      As a guest, guests will not be allowed to place any higher than 3rd Place in any event for all flights with the exception of the Champ Flight. If a guest posts a score that is higher than 3rd place, they will be moved to 3rd place and those that were in 2nd and 3rd place will be moved up to 1st and 2nd place provided that they are not guests and have met the minimum 2 round rule for New Members. 

      Although guests may participate in the side games offered at an event, guests are not eligible to earn points in the standings or win prizes for placing unless they join the Tour before the tournament is finalized and prizes are awarded.

    A guest may decide to join the Tour at the conclusion of their round by simply informing the Tour Director and immediately paying the membership fee at the course. This on-site membership process (completed online) enables the local Tour Director to correctly submit the results to the National Office.

    Guests who participate and do not join in this manner will not be permitted to earn points for the event should they join later in the season. The AGT point standings will only reflect paid tour members. For example, if a guest finishes a tournament in 3rd place but does not join, the 4th place paid tour member would receive 3rd place points and prizes.

    1. Play Ready Golf! 
      Ready Golf will be played at all of our events, and at all times, tee to green! If you are waiting on the group in front of you, then you may observe turn etiquette, otherwise there should be NO ONE waiting to hit - not on the tee, fairway, rough, hazards or greens. If you are ready, and it's clear, then go ahead and hit! Keep the play moving forward. Play should never be at a standstill. Even if waiting for the group ahead, there are things you can be doing to ensure you will be ready to hit when it is clear such as getting yardage, making club selection, etc... 

      Honors is exactly that, an honor and there is no rule about hitting rotation in Stroke Play. If the player with honors in not ready, and you are, please announce to that player that you are ready and you are going to hit. If you have the honors and are not ready, you must not get upset if someone wants to hit first if they are ready. If you are not ready, announce that you are not ready and invite anyone that is ready to hit to go ahead and hit. Do NOT use this rule as an excuse to make yourself 'not ready' so that you don't have to go first! 
    2. Pace of Play System in Live Score 
      In the Live Scoring System, there is a Pace of Play monitoring system. Your status is displayed on the top of the Main Scoring Page after you enter each score in. The time that you enter each score in is logged and compared to the group in front of you and is what is the determining factor on if you are on pace or behind pace. The system will understand how far behind the group in front of you that your group is and if you are an entire hole behind or more then you will be given warnings and possibly even penalty strokes if you do not catch up after a hole or 2. The system will display this very clearly. 

      Your job is to keep up with the group in front of you at all times. We understand that there are holes that you will fall behind but your job is to then catch up if you do fall behind. 

      This system is designed to be as fair as possible for everyone. There is no possibility of favoritism or excuses. Everyone will follow the exact same rules and time restrictions. We understand that there are always situations where your group can fall behind, but that is what the warning is for. 

      In total, a group can be assessed 2 Penalty Strokes for a round that the group was continuously behind without any attempt to catch up. This may seem like a lot, but that means that said group was behind for the entire round, which means that every group behind them ended up playing a longer round than they should have. Slow play affects EVERYONE and event PGA players are put on the clock if they are too far behind the group in front of them and assessed penalties if they do not catch up. 

      If you are worried that you may be unfairly penalized due to a particularly slow player in your group then make sure that player knows they are slow (believe it or not, some players are just that oblivious and some also know very well they are slow.) Keep everyone moving, including yourself. We will be tracking every single player that receives penalty strokes. We will be able to track trends of individuals. If a particular individual is tagged as a problem then that person can be addressed and asked to leave the tour if it needs to come to that. This is an AMATEUR tour. There isn't thousands or millions of dollars on the line. 

      Please let us know if you have any questions on this system or pace of play expectations. 
    3. GPS and Range Finders Permitted 
      Only USGA approved GPS and Range Finder devices are permitted for play. Use of illegal devices, such that measure slope, windage, etc..., will result in disqualification from the event. 

      Smartphone GPS apps that are used only to measure distance will be allowed during play, provided user is not also using a compass, weather app, club suggestions, or any other app/info that can be used as a benefit/advantage to the game. Any person caught using any of the additional functions other than distance measurements will be disqualified from that event. The app may be used to keep score and stats as well. 
    4. Putt Out Instead of Marking 
      If you have a ball that is only a few feet away from the hole, do not mark the ball but rather continue to putt out, provided this will not cause you to step in someone's line. 

      We have seen numerous players mark their balls when only a couple a foot away from the hole that could have been tapped in. This adds significant amount of time to the round. On average, if marking and then coming back to finish were to add 30 seconds each time, and is done by 2 people on each green, this would add 18 extra minutes to the round for no good reason. Most of the time the return putt is not missed due to having to have to putt out, but rather using the time to think too much about it. Usually having more time to think about it causes more misses than putting out at the time. If you watch, the PGA will usually finish the putt instead of marking. 
    5. Play 2 balls in event of a rules dispute 
      If there is ever any dispute amongst the group about a ruling, the player should play 2 balls from the point of the dispute. The player MUST announce to the other players which ball / rule they would prefer providing the ruling is made prior to taking a stroke at either of the 2 balls. Take note of both scores for that hole and move on with the round. After the round is done, and before signing the scorecard, seek out the Tour Directors (Rules Committee) for a final ruling. The proper score will be circled on the card and used for the official score. 
    6. Score Card 
      There will only be 1 official score card per group. 1 player needs to keep score on the official scorecard provided and another player keep score in the live scoring system throughout the round. Compare the live score system and the scorecard to ensure the two match and then all players must sign and turn in the card. The group may keep score on more than 1 card, but only the official scorecard should be signed and turned in. If there is a discrepancy between the official scorecard and the Live Score then the higher of the 2 scores will be used and can not be contested. Please make sure when the group is confirming the scorecard and Live Score that all players in the group follow along to verify all scores are accurate before signing the paper scorecard. Please write the scores for each nine and the total, live scoring does the math for you.
    7. Optional Cash games 
      At each event, players are able to enter into the optional CASH games. Games MUST be entered with cash as the money gets paid to the winners in cash the same day. 

      Players can pay $20 to get into flight skins, the closest to the pin contest for the par 3's, and $500 hole-in-one pot. Only players that get into the flight skins are eligible for the hole-in-one prize. 

      Outright low score on a hole, amongst the players in the skins game, will win their share of the flight skins pot. Flights may be combined based on the amount of flight players for each event. For instance, Champ and A could be 1 group, B have enough players to be in it's own group and then C and D are the 3rd group. 

      Additionally, players can enter the super skins game for $10. These players compete against all the flights and players that entered super skins. Outright low score on a hole, amongst the players in the super skins game, will win their share of the super skins pot. 

      Any player can enter in either or both of these events as they wish. In the case of a 2 day event, players must enter the games each day. 1st day entries go towards day 1 results and 2nd day entries go towards day 2 results. 
    8. Cancellation Policy and Late Fees:                                                                                                             Registration and payment is due no later than Friday, a week before the tournaments.  I have to give the courses a final count 1 week in advance.  There will be a $20 late fee for payment after the registration for a tournament has been closed.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        In the event you need to cancel, a 100% refund will be issued if you cancel before the registration closes.  After the registration closes, a 75% refund will be issued before tee times have been posted.  After Tee times have been posted, a 50% refund will be issued.  If you have to cancel within 24 hours of the event, there will be no refund issued.      

 

 

 

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Where Amateurs Play Like Pro's!

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