About The Shooters Golf Tour - West Division

The Shooters Golf Tour (SGT) is a developmental tour, providing its members with an opportunity to play golf in a competitive and fun environment.  The SGT season begins at various times of the year depending on each specific Division's schedule of tournaments.  The season for each Division culminates with a 2-day SGT Tour Championship and awards dinner.  Players must qualify over the season in order to participate in the Tour Championship.  In 2008, we will play the 2nd annual SGT Ryder Cup in which players from the East, West Divisions will have the opportunity to qualify for based on the Division's World Rankings. The SGT Ryder Cup will pit players from the West Division against competitors from the East Division in a team based competition. The season will start for each Division (except for the Scratch Division) with the SGT Tournament of Champions, which is a tournament for past winners on the SGT. On the same day at same location will also be the first tournament of the season for new players and returning players who haven't won on tour (separate and distinct tournament from the Tournament of Champions).

Division Details:

SGT flights are determined by the number of members and their handicaps.  Flights will be broken down evenly based upon the membership numbers prior to the first tournament.  In 2007, the flights were defined as the following:

• "A" Flight : 0 - 7.9
• "B" Flight : 8.0 - 11.5
• "C" Flight : 11.6 - 14.0
• "D" Flight : 14.1 - 19.0
• Seniors Flight : 50 years or older

The flights will be adjusted once in the middle of the season to equalize the number of players in each flight due to changing handicaps and new members joining up.

Prizes are awarded in each tournament to the overall 1^st, 2^nd  and 3^rd place finishers, plus all flight winners and flight runner-ups. 

SGT members are encouraged to improve their game throughout the year, enjoy the competition in their flight and make a run for the SGT Points Championship!

Tournament tee distances for the 2008 season will be as follows:  We will be playing no longer than 6,800 yards with a course rating of no higher than 73.9.  Tournament tees will be set based on the playing conditions and the difficulty of the course on tournament day and can be changed at the discretion of the SGT.  Also, in order to help with pace of play issues Par 3 tees will be played no longer than 185 yards depending on difficulty of setup.  This distance also represents a fair test for closest to pin for all handicap and age levels.

  Flights will be broken down evenly based upon the membership numbers prior to the first tournament.

The flights will be adjusted once in the middle of the season to equalize the number of players in each flight due to changing handicaps and new members joining up.

Prizes are awarded in each tournament to the overall 1^st, 2^nd  and 3^rd place finishers, plus all flight winners and flight runner-ups. 

SGT members are encouraged to improve their game throughout the year, enjoy the competition in their flight and make a run for the SGT Points Championship!

Tournament tee distances for the 2008 season will be as follows:  We will be playing no longer than 6,800 yards with a course rating of no higher than 73.9.  Tournament tees will be set based on the playing conditions and the difficulty of the course on tournament day and can be changed at the discretion of the SGT.  Also, in order to help with pace of play issues Par 3 tees will be played no longer than 185 yards depending on difficulty of setup.  This distance also represents a fair test for closest to pin for all handicap and age levels.

Prizes are awarded in each tournament to the top 8 places in each tournament. This number may go up depending on the amount of membership entries heading into the season.

Tournament tee distances for the 2008 season will be as follows:  We will be playing no longer than 7,000 yards with a course rating of no higher than 73.9.  Tournament tees will be set based on the playing conditions and the difficulty of the course on tournament day and can be changed at the discretion of the SGT.  Also, in order to help with pace of play issues Par 3 tees will be played no longer than 185 yards depending on difficulty of setup. 

Prizes will be awarded to the top 3 overall placements.

SGT members are encouraged to improve their game throughout the year, enjoy the competition and make a run for the SGT Points Championship!

Tournament tee distances for the 2008 season will be as follows:  Ladies will play from the red tees at each tournament.  Also, in order to help with pace of play issues Par 3 tees will be played no longer than 165 yards depending on difficulty of setup.  This distance also represents a fair test for closest to pin for all handicap and age levels.

Handicaps

ALL DIVISIONS EXCEPT SCRATCH

The SGT uses the USGA formula for calculating handicaps and counts only official SGT rounds as qualifying scores (not including rounds used for new members and returning members with less than 5 rounds played – see below).  Following are examples of how you can acquire your official SGT handicap:

• New players and returning SGT members with less than 5 tournaments played can provide the SGT with an official USGA handicap card prior to the season (this is the preferred method for acquiring an SGT handicap).
• Returning SGT members with less than 5 tournaments played can provide verifiable scorecards from other rounds played within the last year, that total 5 rounds (e.g., an SGT member who has 3 official SGT scores can provide 2 unofficial scores from rounds played elsewhere).
• New players can provide 5 verifiable scorecards from rounds played within the last year. All scorecards must be submitted at least 2 weeks prior to the first tournament.
• Returning SGT members with a minimum of 5 tournaments played will have their handicaps calculated automatically.

All new players regardless of how they submit an official handicap will play at a discounted rate for their first 3 tournament rounds.  After the 3 tournament rounds have been registered on tour, those players will then receive 100% of their index.  This will further insure the integrity of the SGT handicaps and allow for a competitive environment for all of our players.

The Shooters Golf Tour reserves the right to challenge any tournament score that is submitted on the tour. We also reserve the right to disqualify individuals based on our findings.  The SGT Board will review such cases.  This protects the tour from cheating, sandbagging and other manipulations of scores.

At the start of each year the SGT sets a handicap limit based on the player on the tour for the year.  In 2007, the cap was 19.0 strokes for handicaps.  For example, if you are a 26 handicap and you shoot 26 over par for a particular tournament, the maximum number of strokes subtracted from your score will be 19.0, netting a tournament score of +7.0 over par.  This will allow for a fair competition for all skill levels.  The SGT handicap is set each season before the start of the season based on the level of players on the tour prior to the first tournament.

All scorecards or USGA handicap cards must be submitted no later than a week prior to the first tournament in order to have an eligible index for the first tournament.

Membership

Membership fees are Division specific.

Returing member fee: $175
New member fee: $195

Returning Member Fee: $165
New Member Fee: $185

Returning Member Fee: $215
New member fee: $250

In 2008, the Women's Division will not pay a membership fee. Tour members will only be responsible for the per tournament fees.

• USGA Rule Book
• Tournament Eligibility
• Performance Prize Eligibility
• Tour Championship Eligibility
• Golf Course Discount Eligibility
• Closest to the Pin eligibility at each event

Your membership fee for this season and the 1^st tournament fee are due no later than 2 weeks prior to the first tournament in order to be eligible to compete in that first tournament.  Players joining after the season commences will pay a discounted membership rate depending on when the player joins. We will be posting that information as we get closer to the start of the season.

To begin your membership, please visit our registration page where you can register and pay online.  If you prefer to do it through the mail please print out our registration form today and mail it along with payment to the address below:  

Tournament Fees:

Each tournament has an entry fee that must be paid before a player becomes part of the official tournament field.  This amount covers the player's greens fee and cart.  These fees are non-refundable and are due 2 weeks prior to each tournament. This policy will be strictly enforced.  Please see the 2008 tournament schedule for fee due dates. 

The SGT will be placing a premium onto the fees a player pays for each tournament.  This fee will cover Live Scoring Fees and will also go towards ever increasing internet and website costs, and will allow us to continue to bring forth a product that is enjoyable for all of our members.