Does anyone play The AM Tour?

[montru]

I would sooo love to play on the AM Tour, but I think you would have to be single, or have a very understanding wife, not to meantion that I think it cost a lot of money.

Does anyone on here play on the AM Tour and if so how is it?

Just A thought!

[walk18]

Not sure what tour you're talking about.

[Harmonious]

Think he's referring to the Golf Channel Amateur tour.  I personally don't play any tournaments these days.  Too much money.

[DannyB215]

Nah, don't play it myself, but would love to hear from someone who does as well!

[Tugglife2]

Why would you have to be single?  I suppose if you are playing the entire circuit.  Nothing wrong with taking a weekend to play in one tournament though.  I've never played in it(need to get better) but I'm hoping to play the event in Miami at Doral this summer.  I think it's only ~$200 or so.

[tristanhilton85]

It's something that I would love to do once I get a bit better.  It's kinda pricey though... $200 to join plus between $100-300 per tourney.

[596]

I've thought about playing in one of the events this summer in the Phoenix, AZ area.  Sounds like a blast.  I'll join, $199, just before the tourney and then play the one tourney before I decide to play other ones.  You only compete in your flight which are setup in handicapps that are only 4 numbers each.  1-4, 5-9 and so on.  tiny little differences in handicapps in each flight.

[tws1098]

Originally Posted by 596

I've thought about playing in one of the events this summer in the Phoenix, AZ area.  Sounds like a blast.  I'll join, $199, just before the tourney and then play the one tourney before I decide to play other ones.  You only compete in your flight which are setup in handicapps that are only 4 numbers each.  1-4, 5-9 and so on.  tiny little differences in handicapps in each flight.

That set-up seems smart, but I hope as the handicaps go up the range gets a little bigger.  Seems like you can bank on some of the higher handicaps having a career round or two and making it look like a sandbagging issue. I'm kind of hoping someone here has played in one, I would like to know how it is as well.

[596]

Here's the flight setup: Championship 0-3.9 Palmer 4.0-7.9 Hogan 8.0-11.9 Sarazen 12.0-15.9 Jones 16.0-19.9 Snead 20.0 - (+) Tourney's are either 18 or 36 holes.

[Bill Bowman]

For me I would use it to play some of the courses I otherwise would not be able to get on. If you play some of the private clubs for only $100 or so

it would be worth it.

[clubchamp]

I played in a couple of them and they are fun usually you get paired up with nice guys but one time I had the guy who took it as a tour event (I don't have a problem with this by any means). I will say that sandbagging is an issue with these tournaments I know that if you win your flight 2 times playing below your handicap you get moved up a flight. I didn't think it was a serious issue because of them forcing you to move up but some guys were going nuts over it. If you have the money I'd say go for it!

[montru]

Yes, I was reffering to the Golf Channel's Am Tour. I said that you need to be single due to the amount of time spent away at tourny's  etc, the amont of money you need to play/enter the events from what I've seen are a bit pricey!

As I have said, I would love to play on the Am Tour, but was hoping to get an insight into what I would experience at an event.

[SoutherGolfer]

I am single, work at a bank and do nothing but play golf.  I played on the Arkansas State Golf Association for 2 years but got tired of paying 150 bucks to play average golf courses.  I would love to play on the AM Tour.  I enjoy competition but I also meeting new people.  Theirs nothing like a group of guys playing a round of golf together and enjoying a few cold ones on the side!

[TN94z]

I would check for something local to you.  Check and see if there is an egolf tour around you. In my area, the tournaments are closer to once or twice a month and range from 60-135 depending on a one or two day event.  I think it was 85 to become a member. It seemed really reasonable and sounds like it's much cheaper than the GC amateur.

[SoutherGolfer]

Thanks for the advice!

[Chief Broom]

Tournament golf is an aspect of the game that can be a lot fun and brings a level of seriousness that can easily be missing in even a local league format.  But I would advise someone looking to gain experience in this way to look first at local clubs that have tournaments in this format that you can enter.  Usually to play in such club tournaments you have to be a club member, so that is a consideration.  You can also check out your local state golf association which has annual tournaments in the same formats as the USGA national tournaments but on the statewide level.  Those tournamants are quite prestigious and the competition there can be quite strong.  Minimum handicap requirements are usually in place so for mid and higher handicappers not all of those tournaments may be accessable.  Commerical amateur tours also exist like the Golf Channel tour and the eGolf tours (and others).  These tours usually require an annual registration fee and then a per event fee.  Depending on your usual golf expenditures these costs would be in addition to those.  The club I'm a member of has monthly tournaments that include the club championship that accrue points that lead up to a final tournament for top point earners.  It's a fun format and with a $20 per event entry fee I can play in these events without having to incure much in the way of additional fees.  These events are all played at our course, so all I get out of the tournaments is experience playing under the full rules of golf in a year long series of events.

[TN94z]

Originally Posted by Chief Broom

Tournament golf is an aspect of the game that can be a lot fun and brings a level of seriousness that can easily be missing in even a local league format.  But I would advise someone looking to gain experience in this way to look first at local clubs that have tournaments in this format that you can enter.  Usually to play in such club tournaments you have to be a club member, so that is a consideration.  You can also check out your local state golf association which has annual tournaments in the same formats as the USGA national tournaments but on the statewide level.  Those tournamants are quite prestigious and the competition there can be quite strong.  Minimum handicap requirements are usually in place so for mid and higher handicappers not all of those tournaments may be accessable.  Commerical amateur tours also exist like the Golf Channel tour and the eGolf tours (and others).  These tours usually require an annual registration fee and then a per event fee.  Depending on your usual golf expenditures these costs would be in addition to those.  The club I'm a member of has monthly tournaments that include the club championship that accrue points that lead up to a final tournament for top point earners.  It's a fun format and with a $20 per event entry fee I can play in these events without having to incure much in the way of additional fees.  These events are all played at our course, so all I get out of the tournaments is experience playing under the full rules of golf in a year long series of events.

One thing to consider before thinking of the state tournaments are what you shoot under pressure.  I have some friends that were below 10 at most courses.  But when they got under the pressures of the state qualifier, they shot well out of their norm (92 and 93).  A few weeks later they received a letter telling them they could not register for any more state tournaments until they could prove that their handicaps were legit.  That is just one thing to keep in mind.  Make sure you are ready for that before having to go through this trouble of proving your game.

The one thing I hated about being in a club was when they had tournaments, they didn't give any breaks on the entry fees.  So you take your monthly dues of 115.00 (example), then you enter 2 scrambles or tournaments in a month for 50.00 each.  Then your monthly fee goes to 215.00 for the month.  That's how it is in the clubs around here. I feel if you are a member, you should get the tournaments for free and a break on the scrambles.  That is just something else to look out for as well.

[bigwave916]

I know this thread is over a year since last post, but I wanted to share my experience without starting a whole new thread.

I began playing in the Golf Channel Am Tour in North Carolina in April of this year.

Membership for the first year is $199 and that gets you a very nice Antiqua golf shirt, a dozen Bridgestone balls, a discount card for Golf Galaxy, handicap and stats service and a couple of other trinkets (hat, ball marker, bumper stickers, and Golfnow.com)

In my first tournament (entry fee $100, green fees included) I finished in a tie for second and recieved a Golf Galaxy gift card $40. There were only 7 golfers in my flight so not a bad payout. Fairly nice trophies are awarded to the flight winners.

I've played in 7 tournaments including a major. Majors are at least two day events, and the one I played was at The Homestead in Virginia, a 5 hour drive for me. There are majors at some of the most well known courses in the country. Here we have a two day at Pinehurst played on #2 and #4. There is a major at TPC Sawgrass on the stadium course and the Lagoon course.

I have met some great guys and have had a great time. I now have friends from Maryland and Virginia as well as the Carolinas, some that I met at the two day major in Virginia.

For handicapping, they run a pretty tight ship. With a 4 point index spread in flights there is some movement from flight to flight. It is well managed. If you can play to your index you have a chance to pick up a win.  Someone mentioned that if you win your flight twice going under your index and this is not the case. Your tournament index is calculated after your 4th tournament round. Prior to that you are playing off your USGA index. Tournament index only considers GCAMTour tournament scores and they tend to be higher than USGA handicaps. They only use your 12 last rounds instead of 20 so it is more current, but they use 9 of the past 12.

At first it seemed like the same guys were wining every week, but it turned out that there were 7 guys locally who played in my flight regularly and I think everyone got a win this year but me. (not uncommon for it to take a year or two to get your first win)

Every year they have a two 4 day National Championship, one for the open division and one Senior division (over 50 YOA) This year both were held at TPC Sawgrass, 4 rounds over 4 courses to determine national champion in each flight.

Here in the Carolinas, we are fortunate to have a lot of tournaments spread over NC and SC. I was able to pick and choose the tournaments I played in so I could play one every month without driving more than 2 1/2 hours one way. Check their website GCAMTour.com for tournaments near you.

I'm looking forward to another tournament next week and my plan is to play PInehurst major and the nationals next year.

Cost:

One day tournaments are $100 to $115 (includes cart, green fees, range balls, prizes, trophies)

Two day major, depends on the course, but my Homestead tournament was $215 incl. same as above, plus a nice Antiqua golf shirt with event logo.

Pinehurst 2 day $395

National Championship at TPC Sawgrass 4 day $895

If you sign up, I'd appreciate it if you'd list me as referring you:  David Jones, Raleigh NC