What do you Consider a "Tournament Round"?

[Pretzel]

My definition of a "tournament round" would be, obviously, any tournament I play in as well as a Tuesday league I play in that plays for money and is pretty competitive. The pressure is just as great as when you're in a "real" tournament, minus the entry fee each time you play (you pay up front). Would you consider league rounds such as this to be a tournament round if they're set up as a year-long tourney with cash prizes, or is that just a casual round to you?

[iacas]

I consider a tournament round any round in which you're competing against more than the people in your group* and it's serious enough*** that it raises the level of competition in your own mind**.

* In a club match play, you're only playing against the one guy in your group, but if you win that you play the next guy, etc. so you're effectively competing against everyone else, so this qualifies.

** If you play a weekly $5 Nassau with the same guys, that probably doesn't count.

*** To be "serious enough" there's often a committee, scores are posted, etc.

[Pretzel]

Well, we end up playing for around $250 at the end of it, so I would say (at least for me) it's enough to make it feel much more competitive.

[Gunther]

My club has 12 tournaments a year, but only 3 individual stroke play tourneys. Those are the only ones I count as "tournament" on GHIN.

[David in FL]

From the USGA website, factors in designating a tournament round for scoring purposes.....

.......One is whether the score is made in a competition organized and conducted by a Committee in charge of the competition. Another is whether the competition identifies a winner(s) and is played under the principles of the Rules of Golf.

Essentially we are looking to identify significant events where a player would have much more riding on the outcome of the round compared to a casual round of golf.  So a club championship, member-guest, etc. would be the type of event meeting this requirement. In addition, qualifying round(s) for significant events such as local, regional or state championships would all typically meet the requirement for a tournament score.

Regular play days at a club and any non-competitive events such as social outings should not be identified as tournament scores, as they do not carry the same significance as formal events.

I agree with Erik.  My weekly nassau with my buddies, no matter how much we bet, doesn't qualify.  Nor would weekly league play.

[Fourputt]

I see a tournament as any formal competition played under the Rules of Golf.  There should be some sort of committee or oversight to ensure against rules or handicap violations.

Most leagues I've known wouldn't qualify because they often tend to be rather liberal with their interpretation of the rules.  I would also not include a simple wagering round, regardless of whether the rules are rigorously enforced.

[Patch]

To me a tournament round is any round I am playing for a competitive score against the golf course. A score I will be using for handicap purposes. A tournament score to me is not limited to playing against other golfers. When I use to play in tournaments, I never cared what the other golfers were doing anyways.

Now, the opposite of that is when I go out just to have fun. Just to bang some balls around so to speak. Maybe even playing a 600 yard, fiver, using only my 5 iron. If the course is not busy with other golfers, perhaps a little two ball might be in order.

[Fourputt]

To me a tournament round is any round I am playing for a competitive score against the golf course. A score I will be using for handicap purposes. A tournament score to me is not limited to playing against other golfers. When I use to play in tournaments, I never cared what the other golfers were doing anyways.

Now, the opposite of that is when I go out just to have fun. Just to bang some balls around so to speak. Maybe even playing a 600 yard, fiver, using only my 5 iron. If the course is not busy with other golfers, perhaps a little two ball might be in order.

A tournament has to involve competition against other players, not just playing against the course.  Any serious round that you play is played against the course, but that doesn't make it a tournament.  I doubt you could find two other people in the entire world that would agree with your definition for "tournament".  This is Merriam=Webster's definition:

tour·na·ment

noun \ˈtu̇r-nə-mənt also ˈtər- orˈtȯr-\

: a sports competition or series of contests that involves many players or teams and that usually continues for at least several days

: a contest of skill and courage between soldiers or knights in the Middle Ages

[David in FL]

A tournament has to involve competition against other players, not just playing against the course.  Any serious round that you play is played against the course, but that doesn't make it a tournament.  I doubt you could find two other people in the entire world that would agree with your definition for "tournament".  This is Merriam=Webster's definition:

Absolutely right. The USGA is also specific, and adamant that tournament rounds must have significantly more riding on the outcome, than even a competitive social round would.

[mdl]

I agree with Erik's definition.  I would say regular, privately run leagues fall under this definition.  I've got a buddy who runs one of these.  They play 1x per month, have 30-40 members, 20-30 guys play each outing.  I think they all put in $20 to the prize pool each outing with prizes to the top couple guys, net score.  They just call the courses and set it up as a typical group outing as far as the course is concerned, but it's a regular "league" with competition among 5-8 groups, prizes, some level of oversight from group partners, and a league president to settle disputes.  I'd call that "tournament" golf despite it having no official sponsor (men's club, course, *GA, ...).

I also disagree with @Patch golfer is competitive against the course in any round he's planning on posting (i.e., not a practice round where he's explicitly just working on stuff, not optimizing score, hitting multiple balls, or whatever).  Being competitive against the course is (non-practice) golf, not tournament golf.

[kpaulhus]

Absolutely right.

The USGA is also specific, and adamant that tournament rounds must have significantly more riding on the outcome, than even a competitive social round would.

When I was a member of a club in Jacksonville, FL we played 4 cash games a week, yet there were only 6 real tournament rounds in a year. Match Play, (if you advance more than 1 round), two MGA stroke play events and 3 club championship rounds.

The whole point of having a tournament handicap is to see how you really play under pressure. If you record a ton of rounds as "tournament" (+20 a year) it would basically be your normal handicap.

[mvmac]

Obviously for posting purposes it should fit the USGA definition. For me a tournament is pretty similar to what Erik said, competing against a group of golfers and it's serious. "Serious" can have slightly different definitions, for me it involves turning in a scorecard to a committee. Which would indicate that the scores are posted publicly somewhere, there will be an overall winner, no gimmes/no picking up (except match play), one ball rule.

To me a tournament round is any round I am playing for a competitive score against the golf course. A score I will be using for handicap purposes. A tournament score to me is not limited to playing against other golfers. When I use to play in tournaments, I never cared what the other golfers were doing anyways.

That's not a tournament because there is no winner, you can't "beat" the course and there's nothing at stake in your definition.

[Fourputt]

Quote:

Originally Posted by David in FL

Absolutely right.

The USGA is also specific, and adamant that tournament rounds must have significantly more riding on the outcome, than even a competitive social round would.

When I was a member of a club in Jacksonville, FL we played 4 cash games a week, yet there were only 6 real tournament rounds in a year. Match Play, (if you advance more than 1 round), two MGA stroke play events and 3 club championship rounds.

The whole point of having a tournament handicap is to see how you really play under pressure. If you record a ton of rounds as "tournament" (+20 a year) it would basically be your normal handicap.

When I was in the Men's Club at my home course I played 20 tournament rounds in a year more or less, along with 15 or 20 non tournament rounds before I retired, and 60 or 70 non tournament rounds after I retired.  All rounds were submitted for handicap.  I had both good and bad tournament rounds, as well as good and bad non tournament rounds - I was equally capable of good or bad play in tournament and non tournament rounds.  My handicap was always based on a fairly even mix of both, and that is how the USGA  handicap system is supposed to work.

I never tried harder or put more emphasis on competition rounds than I did on casual rounds.  I'm just not wired in a way that I can play sloppy just because it's not a competition.  I play the best I can every time I play.