The Golf Channel Amateur Tour

[GHIN0011458]

It looks like there is definitely a market in So Cal- someone should be starting up a series of events on their own.

[3putter]

5 of my friends play this tour. They held one of their majors at my club last year, and a few months later, I played a round with one of the tour winners (Dude had game). All that got me very interested, so I played as a guest once last year. It was a very nice competitive experience, and I could definitely see why my friends are hooked on it.

I'm contemplating joining this year, but I'm holding back as I already have a golf club and I travel to play all the time. Not sure if I should be shelling out more coin out for golf. If I don't join, I'll definitely play as a guest again this year. I believe you can play twice as a guest each year (no majors & no prizes for guests)

[GHIN0011458]

5 of my friends play this tour. They held one of their majors at my club last year, and a few months later, I played a round with one of the tour winners (Dude had game). All that got me very interested, so I played as a guest once last year. It was a very nice competitive experience, and I could definitely see why my friends are hooked on it.

I'm contemplating joining this year, but I'm holding back as I already have a golf club and I travel to play all the time. Not sure if I should be shelling out more coin out for golf. If I don't join, I'll definitely play as a guest again this year. I believe you can play twice as a guest each year (no majors & no prizes for guests)

Do you have to pay the full fee still if you don't receive any of the gift certificates?

[3putter]

Do you have to pay the full fee still if you don't receive any of the gift certificates?

Yea, you pay full price. I believe the price was like $140, and that was about $30 more that I would have payed to play that course on a weekend. Similar to what @Golfingdad said earlier in the thread.

[ScottyDawg]

I can answer any and all questions in regards to the Golf channel Amtour. Been a member since 2007.

I play more events across the nation than 95% of the tour members. Just got back from Myrtle Beach/Pawley Island major this past weekend.

Let me just say this tour grew and became what it is today by the players...not the Golf Channel. And right now the Golf Channel is cutting winning and adding margins and profits to their pockets. If there was another to compete with them their empire would come crumbling down. Just a matter of time.

I play on it to compete and play the courses they offer. But a lot of guys who helped grow this tour have left. And many are in the process to follow. Golf Channel Amtour is all about making money right now and screwing the members. Again they are the only game in town so they have a monopoly on the industry nationwide. And laughing all the way to the bank.

It is just a matter of time before the players like me wise up and leave.

[Golfingdad]

I can answer any and all questions in regards to the Golf channel Amtour. Been a member since 2007.

I play more events across the nation than 95% of the tour members. Just got back from Myrtle Beach/Pawley Island major this past weekend.

Let me just say this tour grew and became what it is today by the players...not the Golf Channel. And right now the Golf Channel is cutting winning and adding margins and profits to their pockets. If there was another to compete with them their empire would come crumbling down. Just a matter of time.

I play on it to compete and play the courses they offer. But a lot of guys who helped grow this tour have left. And many are in the process to follow. Golf Channel Amtour is all about making money right now and screwing the members. Again they are the only game in town so they have a monopoly on the industry nationwide. And laughing all the way to the bank.

It is just a matter of time before the players like me wise up and leave.

Hi @ScottyDawg , welcome to the forum!  If you don't mind my asking, what is your home tour?  I know of a few guys here in LA who travel to a lot of the big majors across the country and I wish I could do that as well, just don't have the time!

[GHIN0011458]

Thesandtrap.com am tour Coming soon?

[ScottyDawg]

Hi @ScottyDawg , welcome to the forum!  If you don't mind my asking, what is your home tour?  I know of a few guys here in LA who travel to a lot of the big majors across the country and I wish I could do that as well, just don't have the time!

Houston...one of the largest. Played on the Seattle tour when I was on a project in Bellingham.

Keep in mind about rates they charge. Golf Channel gets a sizable discount on rates at courses...or they don't play that course. Trust me. The big word with the Golf Channel to the Tour Directors is "MARGINS". They feel like they bring 96 golfers to the course and they want a discount or they will go to another course. I am very good friends with a current Tour Director and a former Tour Director. It is all about margins and profit for them right now. Strike why it's hot. Keep in mind the players built this tour...not the Golf Channel..they have only provided the platform.

This past year was the first time I didn't play in the Nationals since I joined. Why..?? Let me explain.

Nationals were in Scottsdale at Grayhawk and Talking Stick. Both courses had 2 courses to make up the 4 round rotation. We played the major in May at Grayhawk. After the Saturday round we go to Talking Stick to play and check the course out. It was dead...less than 3 groups on the whole course. They charged us $25.00. When we walked off the course me and my budy who has been a member longer than me laughed and said "I'm out for Nationals".

Talking Stick is a below average course. You are paying $800.00 to play in the Nationals.The courses should be first class...not average at best. Think about this for a second.

2 courses(Talking Stick) charge the GCAT $40.00 per round and 2 Grayhawk courses charged GCAT $60.00 per round for Nationals.

So for Nationals that is over 800 players the first week and over 800 players for the second week for the Sr. Nationals. They only paid 5 places and no winners of their flight get more than $400.00. Let that sink in. So over 1600 players play at $800.00 a pop. Rounds cost the GCAT $200.00.

They take in $1,280,00.00 + charging players to play the Nationals. Courses charged them $320,000.00 for the rounds.......So where is the rest of that money...???

Most tournaments pay 2 maybe 3 spots. Winner NEVER gets his entry fee back in gift card winnings(regardless the size of flights). Where does that money go..??

Trust me I know more about this tour than most..........and right now the word of the day from the Golf Channel to the Tour Directors is "MARGINS". If a Tour Director says otherwise...he just lied to you and hopefully he didn't say it in person where he lied to your face.

[GHIN0011458]

So let's all be ambassadors and run our territories

[David in FL]

Houston...one of the largest. Played on the Seattle tour when I was on a project in Bellingham. Keep in mind about rates they charge. Golf Channel gets a sizable discount on rates at courses...or they don't play that course. Trust me. The big word with the Golf Channel to the Tour Directors is "MARGINS". They feel like they bring 96 golfers to the course and they want a discount or they will go to another course. I am very good friends with a current Tour Director and a former Tour Director. It is all about margins and profit for them right now. Strike why it's hot. Keep in mind the players built this tour...not the Golf Channel..they have only provided the platform. This past year was the first time I didn't play in the Nationals since I joined. Why..?? Let me explain. Nationals were in Scottsdale at Grayhawk and Talking Stick. Both courses had 2 courses to make up the 4 round rotation. We played the major in May at Grayhawk. After the Saturday round we go to Talking Stick to play and check the course out. It was dead...less than 3 groups on the whole course. They charged us $25.00. When we walked off the course me and my budy who has been a member longer than me laughed and said "I'm out for Nationals". Talking Stick is a below average course. You are paying $800.00 to play in the Nationals.The courses should be first class...not average at best. Think about this for a second. 2 courses(Talking Stick) charge the GCAT $40.00 per round and 2 Grayhawk courses charged GCAT $60.00 per round for Nationals.  So for Nationals that is over 800 players the first week and over 800 players for the second week for the Sr. Nationals. They only paid 5 places and no winners of their flight get more than $400.00. Let that sink in. So over 1600 players play at $800.00 a pop. Rounds cost the GCAT $200.00. They take in $1,280,00.00 + charging players to play the Nationals. Courses charged them $320,000.00 for the rounds.......So where is the rest of that money...??? Most tournaments pay 2 maybe 3 spots. Winner NEVER gets his entry fee back in gift card winnings(regardless the size of flights). Where does that money go..?? Trust me I know more about this tour than most..........and right now the word of the day from the Golf Channel to the Tour Directors is "MARGINS". If a Tour Director says otherwise...he just lied to you and hopefully he didn't say it in person where he lied to your face.

Sounds similar to my GolfNow experience.... [CONTENTEMBED=/t/79237/golfnow-rewards-and-loyalty-what-a-difference-a-year-makes layout=block][/CONTENTEMBED] At least they're consistent.....

[ScottyDawg]

So let's all be ambassadors and run our territories

It would be awesome to try.

Keep one other thing in mind...they now send you a 1099 at the end of the year on your winnings. You get a gift card that you pay taxes when used and the Golf Channel sends you a 1099 on your winnings.

Also the Golf Galaxy cards you are issued when you win.....Golf Channel paid 80 cents on the dollar for them. And then they send you a 1099 at the end of the year.

[Golfingdad]

It would be awesome to try. Keep one other thing in mind...they now send you a 1099 at the end of the year on your winnings. You get a gift card that you pay taxes when used and the Golf Channel sends you a 1099 on your winnings. Also the Golf Galaxy cards you are issued when you win.....Golf Channel paid 80 cents on the dollar for them. And then they send you a 1099 at the end of the year.

I appreciate all of the info, it's quite interesting. However, I'm not sure how relevant it is that Golf Channel gets the gift cards cheap? Many tournaments get prizes donated for free but they aren't any less valuable because of it. Same thing with the deal you mentioned they get from courses. The Talking Stick example notwithstanding, it makes no difference to me how much they paid for the tee time, it only matters how much I pay. And when I play a course on the tour for $145 that I could play at the same time the following week for $180, then that is a good deal no matter how you look at it. All that said, the rest of your info was enlightening and I do wish there were more options around here like the ones you mentioned for those of us that aren't quite ready for scratch level tournaments.

[RFKFREAK]

I had been thinking a week or two ago about how cool it would be to play in a tournament. With my HC I wouldn't have any notion about winning but just thought it'd be cool. After reading this thread I poked around yet internet and found this about the North East New York Capital Region Amateur Golf Association which is affiliated in some way with the PGA: http://neny.pga.com/lagolf/ They don't have anything on the website for 2015 which is interesting, though. @colin007 have you ever heard of this?

[David in FL]

I had been thinking a week or two ago about how cool it would be to play in a tournament. With my HC I wouldn't have any notion about winning but just thought it'd be cool . After reading this thread I poked around yet internet and found this about the North East New York Capital Region Amateur Golf Association which is affiliated in some way with the PGA: http://neny.pga.com/lagolf/ They don't have anything on the website for 2015 which is interesting, though. @colin007 have you ever heard of this?

You might be surprised. Most of these tournaments are flighted by handicap, so you're competing against people of similar abilities. Go out and have some fun! :beer:

[RFKFREAK]

You might be surprised. Most of these tournaments are flighted by handicap, so you're competing against people of similar abilities. Go out and have some fun! :beer:

Oh, I'd have fun. I'm just saying if my group was people with 20+ HC's, being that my HC is north of 30, I'd expect not to win. That would also put less pressure on me on my first tournament which might not be such a bad thing, haha.

[Lihu]

[quote name="David in FL" url="/t/5024/the-golf-channel-amateur-tour/100_100#post_1111618"] You might be surprised. Most of these tournaments are flighted by handicap, so you're competing against people of similar abilities. Go out and have some fun! :beer:

Oh, I'd have fun. I'm just saying if my group was people with 20+ HC's, being that my HC is north of 30, I'd expect not to win. That would also put less pressure on me on my first tournament which might not be such a bad thing, haha.[/quote] You wouldn't come in last according to the leader board of the one I posted. ;-)

[RFKFREAK]

You wouldn't come in last according to the leader board of the one I posted. ;-)

Sweet! I might make myself a trophy if I don't come in last. :)

[mdaugherty24]

I played on the Golf Weekly AM Tour which is basically the same as the Golf Channel AM tour. We had a 16 tournament schedule for my region and it cost around $75 per tournament. The courses were all of great caliber with a few private courses on the list as well. Most courses were local for me around the Pinehurst, NC area but some were just over an hour drive. The tour was a flighted format (Championship flight 0-4 handicap, A flight 4.5-8 handicap, B flight 8.5-12 handicap, C flight 12.5-16 handicap and D flight 16.5 and up handicap). After 2 tournaments your handicap fluctuates depending on how well you play to prevent sandbagging. So if u lie on your handicap coming in, it wont take long before you are automatically moved up or down. We had 4 majors on the schedule which were bigger fields and tougher course conditions. There was also a point system awarded for each tournament and was just like the Fedex Cup point system. At the end of the season if you finished in the top 5 in points for your flight, you were eligible to go play in a national 3 round event at Hilton Head Island SC. Players came from all over the country from other tours just like ours. Money was also awarded every tournament for top 3 finishers in every flight which made it much more funner.

Basically, its a way for us weekend golfers to play just like the pros do but with people of the same skill level. We played normal USGA rules and played in a foursome with 3 other players from the same flight. Overall, most guys were just like me and loved to play competitive golf. Some would drink all round and some would be all serious in the zone like Tiger LOL. Competitive golf is a different beast, its fun to get nervous and really test your game in that atmosphere.