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Scratch Golf Tournaments On The Rise
What do you do when you’re a low handicapper hungering for real competition? You’re too good for the usual sandbagging club events, but don’t have an opportunity to play in USGA Amateur and Open events, which are dominated by pros or by college level pros-in-training. Chances are, you have a 9-5 job and can’t dedicate your life to the game.
The answer: You play in specifically designated third-party (non USGA) scratch tournaments. According to Golf World’s Jamie Diaz, there is a growing movement of scratch tournaments across the country, in which very good, and serious amateurs gather to compete. These events could someday return top amateur golf to the point where it was some fifty years ago, when people with real jobs and real lives actually had a role in competition golf.
That era passed for a lot of reasons. Good amateurs lost the run of the courses as facilities grew more crowded and expensive to play. The pro game became more emphasized, enticing the best amateurs at a younger age and taking some of the mystique away from homegrown hotshots. Local events lost their importance, and the amateur scene became centered on a few national and statewide events. Most of all, top college players began to dominate elite amateur events. In last year’s U.S. Amateur Public Links (a championship specifically designed for the blue-collar amateur) only one non-high school player or collegian reached the round of 16.
I can’t help but think that these days, there would be no place for Bobby Jones. In today’s environment, he would have to satisfy his desire for competition with club championships. Or given, the lack of opportunity for real competition, he might lose interest altogether. These new high level competitions offer something the USGA doesn’t.
I hope these organizations succeed. In fact, what I’d like to see is that twenty years from now, one of these has gone national and is challenging the USGA for the hearts and minds of America’s true amateur golfers.
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Yeah this is an issue I have. Handi is too low to play “net” and the sandbaggers kill me by 10 shots. But the handi isn’t low enough to compete with the flat bellies who shoot 65 on a bad day…
Posted by Tony @ thegolfspace.com on 07/12
There’s also the issue that I have. I carry a legit 12 - 15 handicap. But I have a hard time competing in net events when other 12-15 handicappers are suddenly shooting the “round of their life” in the upper 70s. No way a 12-15 shoots 70s in an event. The club where I play watches things pretty closely, but ...
Posted by The Original Golf Blogger on 07/12
Quoting from “How To Quit Golf - a 12-Step Program” :
“You have stumbled upon upon the golfer’s conundrum: Do you want to play consistantly good golf, or do you want to win matches?
You scream, “Both-I want both, damn it. I’ve earned both, and I bloody well demand both.”
You can’t have both.
Though they sound synonymous, the two are polar opposites. ... You want to shoot low scores and win matches, but you can’t. Why? Because as good as you have become, you still suck. You are a problem golfer, not a professional golfer.”
Here endeth the lesson.
(the aforementioned book is quite funny. The author has a website at www.howtoquitgolf.com. Disclaimer: I have no connection with the book or website other than enjoying reading it)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0452283639/sr=8-1/qid=1152824606/ref=sr_1_1/104-0586303-7228707?ie=UTF8
Posted by Bruce E on 07/13
I’m not sure if this thread is still alive but I wanted to talk about a tour that I’m currently involved with. I currently run and participate in net tournaments for the International Players Tour in the Chicago, IL area. The International Players Tour currently operates tournaments in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona and Illinois. We will are scheduled to open Western Pennsylvania and Virginia in 2009.
You can take a look at our scoring averages for 2007 and so far in 2008. As you can see we have a good track record of fair competition for the net and scratch golfers.
I think that you’ll be surprised by this “net” tour that is fair and competitive. We have higher than normal payouts on our one and two day tournaments. The average payout is around $980 for our one day and around $5,200 for our two day payouts this year. This year’s Tour Champion will be taking home a guaranteed $20,000 first place check.
Go to www.ipgtour.com and see what we have to offer.
Posted by Glen on 10/08
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