Q: What exactly is SGA Tour?
A: We are classified as a “traveling mini tour – Type 2” and our tour is the prototype for all such clubs across the country. The SGA Tour plays tournaments all around the Rochester suburbs area. We are a member club of the NYS Golf Association (NYSGA) and the USGA, which qualifies our members for participation in NYSGA and USGA sponsored events (when registering, show affiliation as SGA Tour).
Q: What’s involved?
A: You join as a member, which allows you to play as many or few events as you wish. We offer 40 events in 2024, all on Saturdays, and 3 special events. The season runs from late April through mid-October.
Q: How many events do I have to play?
A: One-third of our Members play only 6–10 events each year. You can play as often as you’d like or as often as your schedule allows. You can play as many events as possible, but only the first 20 events will count the SGA Cup, you need 7 Rounds going into the Year-End to compete in the Club/Flight Championships and 10 for Lowest Gross/NET.
Q: Option A or Option B events, Do I have to play one side?
A: No, the members have a choice to play either course for that week, you may criss-cross and play, or you CAN play the same course twice.,but you would have to wait until Monday for a tee time to give the others first right to schedule.
Q: What does it cost?
A: See https://www.sgatour.com/sga-tour-info/ then you just pay per event. The events are priced at reduced or normal greens fees, plus $3 sweeps for weekly prizes.
Q: Is there a deadline to become a Tour Member?
A: No, we accept membership applications throughout the season until we reach 300 members (minus GHIN-only members), but the earlier you join, the more events you have to choose from.
Q: Can I bring a guest to play?
A: No, with exception – we are a membership mini-tour, only registered members are allowed to play during the event. However, the Summer Sizzler and Fall Classic are open to guests if spots are available and at the discretion of the commissioner.
Q: What are the weekly payouts
A: Events average over 100 players per Saturday. At least 10% – 15% of all golfers in the field will win some purse at each event. The most common form of prize is a Dick’s Sporting goods gift card. We also have hundreds of dollars in sponsor certificates to award as prizes this year. In total, we expect to award more than $15,000 in certificates again in the future. ALL SWEEPS ARE PAID OUT AT THE YEAR-END or FALL CLASSIC, You can have a member pick you your earnings with an email to Jeff@sgatour.com and cc the pickup member. SGA Tour will carry overall winners to the following year and will give them to you directly, NO MAILING of Dicks Sporting Goods cert occur.
Q: How is the Best Ball score calculated?
A: Each player has a Handicap (H) which is derived from a Handicap Index plus the Rating, slope & Par of a course.
The Team of 4 or 3 or 2 players play the course and enter each gross score into an eScorecard, our program will take each handicap of the player and each handicap of each hole for tee box and gender with a 75% reduction of handicap and calculates a NET score of all players and take Lowest of the group per hole and adds up 18 holes for a Best Ball score.
Q: What if I don’t have an official handicap?
A: We are licensed to issue official USGA handicaps to our Members. If you don’t have one, we can start one for you. All you need is to post 5 scores into the GHIN system. A competitor that has not posted five scores prior to a revision date will not have a handicap index. No handicap index renders the competitor NH, no handicap. To establish a handicap for the event, it shall be calculated after the completion of the stipulated round using the following formula: Subtract 18 hole par from the competitor’s gross score. 50% of the difference is used for competition handicaps for that event only. Example: Gross Score 100 – Par 70 = 30 x 50% = 15 Competition Handicap. Note: Team’s best ball score cannot be calculated until the NH player has completed his round.
Q: I have scores from last year. Can I post them now to get a handicap?
A: By USGA Rule, you may not post scores from last year unless last year you were a member of a club authorized to issue handicap indexes, you paid the yearly dues, and you were issued a GHIN number. The SGA Tour issues GHIN numbers to new members that do not have one. This number is used for any club you may join. For questions regarding handicaps email the Handicap Committee. handicaps@sgatour.com
Q: What are the rules of play?
A: We abide by USGA rules (link above). No gimmes, mulligans, or “winter rules.” We do our best to protect the field and the integrity of the game. We also have a Rules Committee which we use as a resource for establishing SGA Tour local rules to govern our events. We follow the USGA policy, play it forward.
Q: How large is the membership?
A: In the past 10 years, Membership has averaged around 300. Women, juniors, and seniors are welcome.
Q: Do you have Club championship?
A: Yes, but you need to have at least 7 rounds going into the YEAR END (or commissioner exception) during the tour to qualify. It’s a two-day total of gross scores. All Club Champion players will play together on Friday and Saturday from the back tees.
Q: What’s the level of competition?
A: We always have gross and net prizes, and the whole field is always eligible for both. About 10% of the members have a single-digit handicap. Another 30% is higher than 20. If you like scratch competition, you’ll find it. If you usually shoot the high 90s and 100s, you’ll find friends at that level too. The average handicap index is 14. It’s always a tournament when you play—and it’s only as competitive as you want to make it.
Q: What are your cancellation policies?
A: You may cancel any time up until the registration deadline (usually the Wednesday by noon, before an event), without penalty. A clawback from your weekly winnings ($25) will occur for each “no show.”, this is be deducted from the Year-End payout. The golf course hosting the event lost revenue for an open booked spot.
Q: Does the SGA have a Code of Conduct
A: The SGA has adopted the NYSGA Code of Conduct. We are all here to have a good time. When members are teamed up with other members that do not conduct themselves within the spirit of the SGA the round is no longer enjoyable. Improper conduct on the course will not be tolerated and will lead to DQ for first offense and SUSPENSION FROM THE SGA ON THE SECOND OFFENSE. Improper conduct of the course where a member represents the SGA (District Events, meetings, etc.) will also have consequences that could lead to suspension.
Q: When players are competing from a different USGA Course Rating or tees, why do you make a Course Handicap™ adjustment? What if players are competing from more than two sets of tees? Can a Committee ignore this adjustment?
A: A Course Handicap represents the number of strokes needed from a specific set of tees to play to the level of a scratch golfer; i.e., to the USGA Course Rating. The calculation of a Course Handicap only includes a player’s Handicap Index® and the Slope Rating® of the tees being played. When a USGA Course Rating difference exists among competitors, they are playing to different benchmarks, and an adjustment equal to the full difference in USGA Course Rating must be made in order for the competition to be equitable Please visit Section 3-5 and 9-3c of The USGA Handicap System for further reference
Q: How are ties broken?
A: In the event of a tie between individuals in a gross or net score, or between teams in team Best Ball, the winner will be determined by the following USGA procedure:
USGA RECOMMENDED CARD PLAYOFF PROCEDURE
Appendix I – Local Rules; Conditions of the Competition
Part C, 10
(c) If a play-off of any type is not feasible, matching scorecards is recommended. The method of matching cards should be announced in advance and should also provide what will happen if this procedure does not produce a winner. An acceptable method of matching cards is to determine the winner on the basis of the best score for the last nine holes. If the tying players have the same score for the last nine, determine the winner on the basis of the last six holes, the last three holes, and finally the 18th hole. If this method is used in a competition with a multiple tee start, it is recommended that the “last nine holes, last six holes, etc.” is considered to be holes 10-18, 13-18, etc.
For competitions where the handicap stroke table is not relevant, such as individual stroke play, if the last nine, last six, last three holes scenario is used, one-half, one-third, one-sixth, etc. of the handicaps should be deducted from the score for those holes. In terms of the use of fractions in such deductions, the Committee should act in accordance with the recommendations of the relevant handicapping authority.
In competitions where the handicap stroke table is relevant, such as four-ball stroke play and bogey, par, and Stableford competitions, handicap strokes should be taken as they were assigned for the competition, using the players’ respective stroke allocation table(s).”