FAQ

Golf Channel Amateur Tour is the preeminent amateur golf tour in the world. The mission of the Tour is to provide the most professional Tour and tournament experience to players of all ages and abilities, while providing customer service and hospitality comparable to that of the PGA TOUR.

Membership to the Golf Channel Amateur Tour is open to all amateur golfers. With 12 flights, including 6 Senior flights, there’s a place for everyone on Tour. Whether you are an accomplished scratch player or a beginner, there is a flight and a Tour experience just for you.

• 1-Year Membership (365 days) to your local tour
• Ability to play in events on ANY Local Tour Across the Country & National event
• Opportunity to compete in 36-hole Major Championships
• Opportunity to qualify for and compete in the 72-hole National Championship at PGA West in 201
• Player’s Club Account
• Official Am Tour Logoed Golf Shirt
• Official Am Tour Logoed Hat
• USGA Handicap Index ®
• USGA® Rules of Golf Book
• Two Sleeves of Premium Callaway Golf Balls
• $20 Callaway Gift Card
• Special member only pricing on SkyCaddie rangefinders
• Member-Only Am Tour Logoed Membership Card with 10% Golf Galaxy Discount
• Member-Only Am Tour Bag Tag
• Member-Only Am Tour Logoed Hat Clip
• Member-Only Am Tour Logoed Sharpie
• Member-Only Am Tour Logoed Decal
• GolfNow Koozie
• Golf Galaxy Tip Book
• Golf Galaxy $10 Cash Card

New membership packs typically ship within 4-6 weeks from the day a member registers. An email is automatically generated to the member with a tracking number for reference purposes (No tracking numbers will be sent if being shipped to a PO Box). If you experience any issues with receiving your items, please contact customer service at gcatsupport@golfchannel.com

The entry fee for each Tour event varies depending on tournament location, venue, etc. Typically, an entry fee on Tour includes green fees, cart fees, taxes, range balls, scoring, prize fund, and trophies. Please check your Local Tour schedule.

Yes, golf carts are included in the published price of all tournament entry fees at no additional cost to the competitors. Certain facilities will permit competitors to walk, depending on the layout of the golf course. Please contact the local tournament director with specific questions for each tournament concerning riding vs walking.

The Tour is designed to give each Tour Player a professional Tour experience. All Tour events abide by USGA© rules of golf, especially pertaining to Amateur Status. The Tour offers the following for all members:

• Ability to compete on your area’s best public and private courses in tournament conditions
• Professional-style Tour and tournaments
• All scoring is at scratch within each flight (no net tournaments)
• Events are typically held on weekends (Saturdays or Sundays)
• Tour utilizes threesomes whenever possible for pace of play purposes
• Play in as many or as few events as you like – there are 800+ local events, 25+ two-day ‘Major’ events and the season-ending four-day National Championships
• 1st tee announcements, rules sheet, hole location charts, and professional scorecards at every event
• Professional scoring
• Press releases and pictures following each event
• Discounted practice rounds available at most venues
• Complete statistics and rankings on local and national level
• Substantial payouts to the top 25% of each flight (or more) at each event.
• Trophies awarded to the winners of each flight at each event
• Tour Director and staff on site at each event to assist with rulings, pace of play, awards, etc.

Tour events are typically held during the weekend, either on a Saturday or Sunday (or both).

Tour Players may play in as many or as few events as they wish. In order to be eligible for the National Championship a Tour Player must play in a minimum of 5* tournament rounds, 3 of which must be local events. The more events you play, the more opportunities you have to earn Callaway Order of Merit Points which are used to determine qualification for the National Championship.

*Please note that playing in 5 events does not guarantee a position in the National Championship

Tour Players can compete in any local tournament or two-day Majors across the country. Entries for these events are on a first come, first served basis.

All tournament entries are accepted via the official Tour Web site or by contacting the Local Tour Director in your area.

Golf Channel Amateur Tour conforms to USGA® rules regarding Amateur Status. For more information on Amateur Status please consult the USGA® Web site at www.USGA.org

Guests are permitted and encouraged to compete in up to two (2) events per year on a space availability basis. Guests are not eligible for prizes, winnings, or Callaway Order of Merit Points, nor are they eligible to compete in any Majors or the National Championship. A non-member (guest) may join the Tour at anytime. Please contact your Local Tour Director to register as a guest.

If you do not currently have a USGA Handicap Index®, an official USGA® Handicap service from Golf Channel is provided as part of your Tour membership. The Golf Channel Golf Club Handicap® is considered a Type 3 Club by the USGA®. For more information on a Type 3 club please visit here: http://www.usga.org/handicapping/get_handicap/Definition-Of-A-Golf-Club/

No. The Golf Channel Amateur Tour utilizes a handicap service called the ‘Players Club’ and scores from another handicap provider need to be manually entered into the Players Club upon signing up as a Golf Channel Am Tour member. All tournament rounds played on Tour will be automatically posted to the Players Club handicap index but not to an outside index, such as GHIN®. Any non-tournament rounds need to be manually posted to the member’s Players Club account by the member.

All Golf Channel Amateur Tour events conform to USGA® rules and are generally individual stroke play events at scratch within each flight. Tour Players are flighted based on their Index and compete only against players in their particular flight. The Tour schedule consists of both 18 and 36-hole events.

Open Flight (Under 50 years old)

Senior Flight (50+ years old)

Majors are two-day, 36-hole championships that include Tour Players from across the country. Majors are worth double Callaway Order of Merit Points. The top three (3) finishers in each flight and ties receive exemptions into the 2011 National Championship and 2011 Senior National Championship. Majors are open to all current and active Tour Players; guests are not allowed to compete in Majors.

The National Championship and Senior National Championship are 72-hole stroke-play competitions that determine the National & Senior National Champion in each flight. The 2011 National Championship and Senior National Championship will be conducted at PGA West in La Quinta, CA in September 2011. The Senior flights will compete September 18th through 21st and the Open flights will compete September 24th through 27th.

All Local Tours may qualify up to 30% of their Tour Players. Tour Players who have qualified through a 2-day Major will not count against a Tour’s % allotment. Players should contact the local Tour Director in regards to qualifying standards specific to that Local Tour.

The following exemption categories shall apply to every Tour per flight in addition to the qualifying categories set by the Local Tour Director:

• Past National Champions
• Top 5 and ties from 2010 National Championship
• Top 3 and ties from the 2011 Majors
• Top 2, not exempt in another category, on the overall 2011 Callaway Order of Merit List
• Top finisher, not already exempt, from the 2nd half 2011 Callaway Order of Merit List
• Top finisher, not already exempt, from the local Tour Championship tournament

Qualifiers for the Senior and National Championship must be a member in good standing with Golf Channel Amateur Tour and are required to compete in at least five (5) tournament rounds on Tour of which three (3) must be local tournament rounds, meaning non-Majors. All qualifiers must ALSO compete in at least one (1) tournament round after June 1, 2011. A tournament round is designated as an 18-hole score.

Yes. Ladies are absolutely welcome to sign up and play on the Golf Channel Am Tour. All Ladies competing will play from one tee in front of the similar flighted Male counterparts. The chart below represents a breakdown of the average yardages typically used:
Flight
Open Yards
Senior Yards
Ladies Yards
Championship
6500-7000
6000-6600
5800-6300
Palmer
6500-7000
6000-6600
5800-6300
Hogan
6000-6600
6000-6600
5400-6000
Sarazen
6000-6600
5800-6300
5400-6000
Jones
5800-6300
5800-6300
4800-5300
Snead
5800-6300
5800-6300
4800-5300