If you are as impatient as me, you will understand the pain of finishing your round at 3:15 pm and having to wait around for two hours for the rest of the competitors to finish. Fortunately, there is a logical solution: the shotgun start.

Late last summer, I played in my first shotgun golf tournament in a decade, and, after an enjoyable day out, I wondered why there are not more of these events.

l will take you through how it works and explain the benefits, to raise awareness for this forgotten setup. My aim is to have you begging tournament organizers to arrange more shotgun starts.

What is a Shotgun Start in Golf?

A shotgun start golf tournament format sees the first to 18th group of four balls tee off, at the same time on different holes. In other words, each four-ball is assigned a different hole from the 1st to the 18th, and you tee off at a specific time.

Before I give you an example of how it works, it is only fair to touch on the origins of a shotgun tournament. In the book Now You Know Golf, author Doug Lennox cites Walla Walla Country Club Professional Jim Russell as the creator of this format.

In May 1956, Russel was rumored to have fired a shotgun off as a starting signal for entrants waiting on tee boxes around the golf course.

Now, for an example of a shotgun tournament structure. If every four-ball is scheduled to tee off at 12 pm, golfers make their way to their assigned tee box and wait for the start of play. If you are programmed to start somewhere random like the 7th hole, you may consider a couple of golf carts for your group to speed up the process.

Once you are on the tee box and starters signal sounds, each player has their turn to tee off, and away you go. Every group plays a full round of 18-holes, which means if you tee off on the 11th hole, your 18th will be the tenth hole.

The only times that I have played in a shotgun start have been in charity tournaments, where an auction is scheduled after prize giving. Without a doubt, If you operate with the typical first tee and tenth block setup, golfers may leave before the auction, leading to a loss in potential revenue.

Instead, a shotgun start helps to maintain a consistent pace of play. The ultimate goal is for all entrants to finish at the same time.

On multiple occasions, the format was a shotgun scramble. That meant that we would choose the best shot of the group and play our own ball from that position. In addition, these tournaments were typically betterball or best ball stableford.

After each hole, we recorded the two lowest scores. At the end of the round, we added the two best from each hole together. That gave us a total team score. These tournaments almost always included the longest drive and closest to the pin challenge.

Other Variations of The Shotgun Start

Reverse Shotgun Start

A reverse shotgun start is employed in smaller tournaments with fewer participants. The organizers set down tee times for the 18th and back. For example, there are forty players in a competition, totaling ten four balls.

The tournament organizers assign the first group to the 18th and the second group to the 17th until we reach group ten on the ninth tee.

The purpose of a reverse shotgun start is to free up the first tee as quickly as possible to enable other paying clientele to get an 18-hole round in.

Modified Shotgun Start

A modified shotgun start follows the same premise as a reverse setup and is designed for tournaments with fewer entrants. The organizers set up the tee system to not interfere with other paying customers’ rounds.

For instance, they may start tournament entrants off on the second to the ninth hole so that the first and tenth tees are free for others to start from.

Double Shotgun Start

A double shotgun start occurs when there are more than 72-golfers on the tee sheet. 72 divided by four gives you 18 fourballs – enough for each hole. When there are more than 72-players, you need to adjust the schedule to fit them in.

Tournament organizers may offer a morning or afternoon tee time and run two sets of shotgun starts. That makes the most sense if you have over one hundred players on the tee sheet. Therefore group A tees off the fourth hole at 7am, and B commences at 11:15am.

The challenge with that setup is that you rely on the morning field to return to the event for the prize-giving and auction proceedings.

An alternative option is to add two groups of four to each of the par 5 holes. If the proposed tournament start time is 12pm, Group A tees off at 12pm, and group B follows once A is out of sight.

Related: How to Play Golf: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide

Matt Stevens

Matt Callcott-Stevens started playing golf at the age of 4 when Rory Sabattini’s father put a 7-iron and putter in his hand. He has experienced all the highs and lows the game can throw at you and has now settled down as a professional golf writer. He holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing and has played golf for 28 years.

Source link

The duration of a golf tournament varies depending on the format and whether it is for professionals or amateur golfers.

I have played in tournaments ranging from 9-hole team match play events to 72-hole amateur tournaments. In this post I will explain how long golf tournaments last in 2022.

The duration of a tournament depends on the format, size of the field, and the tournament profile. I will explain why your Saturday club tournament is an 18-hole Stableford competition compared to 4-day PGA tour events.

How Long Do Golf Tournaments Last?

Club Competitions

The standard Wednesday or Saturday competition at your local golf course typically lasts one afternoon or morning. However, serious events such as club champs are often played over 2 days. It is up to the club to make that decision.

State or Provincial Amateur Tournament

A state amateur tournament is generally scheduled for 3 or 4 days, giving the top amateurs a taste of the stamina required for professional golf.

National Amateur Championship

National Amateur Championships vary in length depending on the format. For example, the U.S Amateur is played over 5 days, as it combines stroke play and match play. In 2021, over 312 golfers secured tee times for the medal portion of the event. After 2 days, the field is cut to 64, who battle each other in match play for the title.

Another example dearer to me is the South African Amateur Championship. It is a pure match play tournament contested over 4 days. Naturally, this event does not attract the magnitude of players found on the tee sheet at the U.S Amateur.

Pro Am Tournament

The average Pro-Am tournament lasts for one day. These are often held on the Wednesday preceding a professional golf tournament. However, there are Pro-Am events where amateurs compete alongside professionals for 4 days.

The most famous 4-day Pro-Am events are the AT&T Pebble Beach and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. These tournaments follow the best ball format, where you take the lowest score from your pairing on each hole.

Pro Am’s offer the average golfer a chance to test their skills against Tour Pros. Sometimes, you may get lucky and play with legends like Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, or Bryson DeChambeau.

Professional Tournament

Tournaments for professional golfers usually last 4 days, excluding practice rounds and the Pro-am. This is the case at the British Open, PGA Championship, US Open, the Masters, and most regulation events.

However, there are exceptions to the rule. The WGC Dell Technologies Matchplay is contested over 5 days. Conversely, team events such as the Presidents, Solheim, and Ryder Cup last 3 days.

Although the US Open is scheduled for 4 days, it previously reserved an extra day for ties after 72-holes. The USGA changed this rule in 2018 to a 2 hole playoff. The golfer with the lowest score after 2 holes wins. If the scores remain deadlocked, they proceed to the 3rd hole for a sudden-death playoff.

The idea before 2018 was that tied players would return on day 5 for an 18-hole playoff. 3 of my compatriots successfully weathered the playoff to claim the U.S Open. Gary Player did it in 1965, and 29 years later, Ernie Els lifted the trophy. Retief Goosen added to the tally when he defeated Mark Brooks in 2001 by 2 shots.

This is exciting for fans who can never get enough of the majors, but most of us have to work on a Monday, leading to fewer viewers. The last memory we will cherish of an 18-hole U.S Open playoff is the 2008 edition at the Torrey Pines South Course.

Tiger Woods played with a torn ACL and 2 stress fractures in his left leg and still managed to beat Rocco Mediate. Although he required reconstructive surgery, it propelled the big cat to his 14th major victory, 4 shy of Jack Nicklaus’ record:

How Many Rounds Are Played in a Golf Tournament?

Club Tournaments

The majority of club tournaments consist of one round of 18-holes. However, Club Championship events could consist of two 18-hole rounds. Obviously, this assumes that the event is stroke play or Stableford. If it is match play, you may play 36 holes per day. Therefore, if the tournament is scheduled for 2-days, you could play 4 rounds of 18 holes.

State Or Provincial Amateur Tournaments

Provincial or state amateur tournaments range from 3 to 4 rounds of 18 holes if it is a strokeplay tournament. Should it function as a matchplay event, the winner may play 7 rounds of golf. Every match is 18-holes, except for the final, which is reserved for 36-holes. This counts as one round or match.

National Amateur Championship

National Amateur Championships tend to follow the same procedure as State competitions. Every round, except for the final, is contested over 18-holes, and winners of the morning match proceed to the afternoon. This repeats until the semi-finals.

The winners of the semis proceed to the 36-hole final, which counts as 1 round. Therefore, the finalists play in 7 rounds during the tournament.

Pro Am Tournament

The standard Pro-Am tournament lasts for a single round of 18 holes. The chief exceptions to this norm are the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Dunhill Links Championship. Players that make the cut for Sunday will play a total of 4 rounds of 18-holes.

Professional Tournament

PGA and DP World Tour events are contested over 4 rounds of 18 holes. This is the standard, and the events run from Thursday to Sunday. However, the structure differs when there are special match play tournaments.

Participants play 36 holes a day, resulting in two 18-hole rounds. Every match is decided over 18-holes, except the final contested over 36-holes. In these events, the finalists play 9 rounds of golf. Despite being a 36-hole final, it is viewed as one round.

Team events such as the Ryder Cup are contested over 5 rounds. Days 1 and 2 see teams play a total of 4 rounds. In addition, every team member is drafted for singles matches over 18 holes.

How Long Does it Take to Play 18 Holes of Golf Alone?

As a solo golfer, you can navigate 18 holes in 2 hours. However, the setting needs to be perfect. You need to be accurate to avoid wasting time finding balls. Plus, a golf cart is recommended to reduce the time between your shots.

The final factor depends on the players in front of you. If the field is clear ahead, you can maintain a good pace of play and get the job done. All these factors aligned when I wrapped up a round in under 2 hours.

Another point to mention is the layout and length of your home golf course. If the links are short and flat, you can knock out 18-holes in 2.5 to 3-hours, even if you are walking.

Related: If you are looking to increase your golf tournament knowledge, we have more resources for you to enjoy. Start by learning when golf professionals get paid after a tournament.

Matt Stevens

Matt Callcott-Stevens started playing golf at the age of 4 when Rory Sabattini’s father put a 7-iron and putter in his hand. He has experienced all the highs and lows the game can throw at you and has now settled down as a professional golf writer. He holds a Postgraduate in Sports Marketing and has played golf for 28 years.

Source link

A new era of the PGA Tour will begin in 2023. After announcing late this summer that nine of its 2023 tournaments would be elevated events with massive purses, the PGA Tour will reportedly increase that number of elevated tournaments to 13 per season with 12 of those 13 events paying out $20 million or more to golfers.

These big-time, big-money events will feature all the top players in the world, according to multiple reports, with the Phoenix Open, RBC Heritage, Travelers Championship and Wells Fargo Championship being the four newest additions, per Golfweek.

Those events will join the Tournament of Champions, Genesis Invitational, Arnold Palmer Invitational, Players Championship, WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, the Memorial Tournament, St. Jude Championship, BMW Championship and Tour Championship in the elevated category. 

In total, 10 of the 13 elevated tournaments will feature purses of $20 million. The only events that have varying purses are the Tournament of Champions ($15 million), Players Championship ($25 million) and Tour Championship ($75 million toward the FedEx Cup overall).

These are the 13 PGA Tour events that all the top players in the world agreed to play together at the now-famous hotel meeting during the 2022 BMW Championship. Additionally, those players will ostensibly play the four major championships to bring the total of guaranteed appearances to 17 per season. It’s possible they may also be required to play three additional PGA Tour events on the calendar as a way to spread out star power across the non-elevated tournaments. That’s a likely total of 20 events during the 2022-23 PGA Tour season for the game’s top players.

Those golfers, defined annually as the 20 players who finished highest in the Player Impact Program, have agreed to play in these elevated events moving forward as a way to combat the newly-launched LIV Golf, which features limited events (14 in 2023) in which all the top players in that league play.

The only top-ranked players that have left the PGA Tour for LIV Golf have been Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith. Though other big names have departed, none were in the top 20 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

“We need to get the top guys together more often than we do,” said Rory McIlroy earlier this year after the players-only meeting in Delaware ahead of the BMW. “I’m talking about all in the same tournaments, all in the same weeks.”

Functionally, this elevated event path creates two different leagues for the PGA Tour. There will be the 17 elevated tournaments (including the major championships, which are run by non-PGA Tour organizations but are considered PGA Tour events) and then the 30 non-elevated tournaments, most of which will not feature the PGA Tour’s top-drawing stars. However, this consolidates star power in a meaningful way and packs it into fewer events rather than spreading it thin throughout the season.

Also, it appears likely the PGA Tour will rotating some of these elevated event purses across different tournaments so that, for example, perhaps the AT&T Byron Nelson will be an elevated event in 2025 and give those in the Dallas/Fort Worth market an opportunity to see all the best golfers in the world. This is likely to provide a better overall fan experience than the status quo.

“Our top players are firmly behind the Tour, helping us deliver an unmatched product to our fans, who will be all but guaranteed to see the best players competing against each other in 20 events or more throughout the season,” said PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan at the Tour Championship earlier this year.

“This is an extraordinary and unprecedented commitment, a testament to who these guys are and what they believe in. To now have our top players rally around this organization and commit to a portfolio of tournaments like never before, I think our fans, our partners, our players are going to love it. I promise you, there’s more to come.”

Source link