Post by parbuster1962 on Apr 25, 2020 23:07:38 GMT -5
The Global Golf Tour (GGT)
Club Profile
I created the Global Golf Tour (GGT) after being a member of the three largest Societies and came to the realization that most of the Societies on The Golf Club 2019 were designed for the fanatical players who shooting in the 50’s and low 60’s every round. To make matters worse most of the courses the events were played on were in excess of 7500 yards with rock hard greens set at the fastest level. Adding to the frustration was that events were played primarily on fantasy courses.
My goal was to create a Society that catered to the casual or lesser skilled player who wanted to play real golf courses and play those courses with realistic conditions. With that the "Global Golf Tour" came to fruition.
Beginning in Season #2 which commences on July 17, 2020 we will have a dual tier Tour. Please see the thread post of July 15, 2020 for a complete explanation on how it will work.
Membership
The club and tournament setup is geared towards players with a handicap between +15 and 0. However those with memberships up to +20 and down to 20 are permitted to participate in club tournaments. If at any time your handicap goes outside those parameters you will still be able to complete the current Tour Event but you will not be able to participate in upcoming events until your handicap falls back between +20 and 20.
Please note the following important changes:
1. If your handicap is frequently fluctuating above +20 and then returning below we are recommending that you consider moving to another club.
2. Players whose handicaps go higher than +25 will be permanently removed from the club.
3. These changes have been made because a review of the winners this season has confirmed that every winner has had a handicap better than +18 at the time of their victory and in the majority of cases their handicap was actually above +20 when they completed the final round of the tournament.
4. The majority of our members have handicaps between +5 and +15 we have decided to make this a society that is competitive for the majority of members.
There are very few Societies in TGC2019 that are actually geared towards the player with a handicap between +15 and 0 yet when you review the membership rosters of most clubs the majority of members fall in this range. These membership changes may effect a few of our members for this I am sorry. I also organize the "2020 World Tour" we have over 2300 members and it is set up to cater to players with handicaps between +20 and +32. I recommend you join this Society as the level of competition is very high and course conditions are extremely challenging.
Fair Play Policy
There are a small number of people on TGC2019 who manipulate their handicaps so that they will be below +20 which makes them eligible for our Society. In the Handicap History page I am able to see the last 20 scores of each member. Some people will purposely shoot quite a few high rounds so that their handicaps will fall below +20 then during our tournament they will "miraculously" shoot amazing rounds of golf that are far lower than their recent scores. After the tournament they will once again play some rounds where they shoot poorly and their handicap will fall back below +20.
In golf this called "sandbagging" and I will not allow our Society to be ruined by these types of players like many other Societies have been.
For those interested please visit this website for a simplified explanation on how he USGA calculates a handicap: www.liveabout.com/handicap-index-calculated-1561058
Course Selection
The Global Golf Tour does in fact tour the world. We will have events all over the world roughly following a realistic type travel schedule. For a course to be selected for inclusion on the GGT it must be facsimile of a real course. We have one tournament each year on a fantasy course all other courses are real.
TGC2019 courses have a serious flaw with their "slope rating" system this is why we see so many players with amazingly low handicaps. These are partially a result of being good players but in most cases it is because they are playing courses with slopes below 60 and/or have a higher than typical course rating.
GGT generally avoids these types of courses, if I do include them you will likely see extremely difficult playing conditions and/or the tournament will only be 1 or 2 rounds.
If you want to stay within the 20 to +20 handicap limit on GGT I strongly advise you not to play courses with low slopes (below 60) your handicap will become very low. Many of you are members of other Societies and I recommend you check the ratings and slopes before you play in a tournament.
Course Conditions
Green speeds will primarily be set at fast with the odd day of very fast greens and in days of rain you will expect green so be slow or very slow. Green firmness will usually be firm but on days of rain they will be soft or very soft. If the tournament is a Championship or Major event you can expect much more challenging conditions.
Wind speeds will vary from round to round in intensity as well as direction. I will have them set at the highest speed if the course location warrants the possibility of high winds (ie. British Open or seaside course) there is the possibility of extreme winds one day of the tournament.
Course length will rarely be over 7500 yards some course designers do not provide a shorter option and in those instances winds will be kept low.
TGC does not have a function which allows us to alter the hole lengths from round to round however we are able to adjust the fairway firmness from very soft to very firm. This will increase or decrease the amount of roll on tee shots thereby effectively changing the length of the hole. Again on rainy days the firmness of the fairway will reflect the weather conditions.
Season Schedule & Handicap Events
Each season will consist of about 30 tournaments with the duration fluctuating between 1 and 3 rounds while Majors and GGT Cup Final will be 4 rounds. Entry into the Majors will be through qualification as will the preliminary rounds for the GGT Cup.
Events & Fees
Fees will be set at a nominal amount, 25% of the fees go into the Society bank account which is used to add to the prize fund.
Member Feedback
I would love to hear from members with suggestions and course recommendations. Please feel free to email me at Parbuster1962@gmail.com