Hole-in-one

[Gary Hill]

A lot of attention has been given to a local tournament this weekend in which two vehicles were won on the same hole for a "hole-in-one".

I hope both winners realize this immediately classifies them as professional golfers and they are no longer eligible for amateur play.

[spidey]

And most public/casual golfers or any without a handicap don't really care about their amateur status... but....

Assuming they wanted to be reinstated as amateurs at some future date, what procedure would they have to follow?

spidey

[Gary Hill]

A reinstatement application form would have to be returned to the R.C.G.A. (along with a $100 processing fee) with the relevant facts regarding the dates, length, and particulars of the applicant's breach(s) of the Rules of Amateur Status.

The application would have to be approved by the R.C.G.A, the provincial association, and the C.P.G.A.

Upon approval, the applicant would have to conduct themselves in accordance with the Rules of Amateur Status for a probationary period of not less than 1 year (generally two years) from the first day of the next full month following the date of their application.

After this probationary period, the applicant would have to submit another form verifying his compliance with the Rules of Amateur Status during this probationary period and reaffirm his continuing desire to become an amateur.

And most public/casual golfers or any without a handicap don't really care about their amateur status... but....

Would you please quote the source of this information.

[NoBack]

i thought if an amateur golfer accepts a "prize" and not cash award then it was ok. I was told at a tournament that if i wanted to keep my status , i would have to trade the cash for a prize. Was that incorrect? NOt that it matters to me but some it might.

[Gary Hill]

Incorrect. NO cash prizes allowed. None. No exchanges allowed either. Prizes are ok if the retail value is not more than $700 (CDN) (total prize value per golfer per competition). A playing membership in a golf club in full or in part is specifically forbidden no matter what the value. A symbolic prize (trophy, ring, watch, pitcher, plate, bowl, etc.) may exceed this value provided it has a distinctive permanent marking.

Be careful, that $900 mountain bike at the prize table will you make you a pro just a fast as a car for a hole-in-one!

[spidey]

Would you please quote the source of this information.

There's no quote for this. It's a deduction, not a rule. Perhaps I don't talk to as many casual golfers as you, but I talk to quite a few, and it doesn't seem to me that any of them are going to turn down the car because of the hassle of reinstating something that they didn't even know they had and lost.

It would seem to me that in tournaments that are run by an official association (OGA, OVGA, QGA, or CPGA), you have to have a handicap (and amateur status, etc.). If you're not a member anywhere, you don't have a handicap, just as if you're a member and don't record your scores, you can't have a handicap. So, you're ineligible to enter the tournaments. Therefore if you're never intending to enter such a tournament, or a sanctioned competition, then your amateur status is irrelevant.

This describes the vast majority of people I meet on a public/semi-private golf course. If I am playing in a 'fun' competition, and the prize is a set of Callaway irons for the closest to the pin, and Joe Public Golfer wins it, then I can see him laughing at me if I tell him he has to decline the prize or lose his amateur status.

I suppose it would be generous for prize committees to post information that tells prizewinners that their amateur status is in jeopardy, but, at worst, it will take only a year to regain amateur status, and that also gives one the time to work on one's game (and a chance to re-read ALL the rules)

I guess my underlying assumption is that there are very few scratch golfers who don't need a handicap and are entering tournaments because their amateur status is intact.

spidey

:

[spidey]

I'm assuming a gift certificate is not a cash prize. These come in two flavours....

Gift certificate for a certain commodity, like a dinner at a restaurant.

Gift certificate representing cash to be spent at a certain location, like f'rinstance $75 gift certificate redeemable for merchandise at a specific pro shop.

spidey

[Gary Hill]

If I win a $43,000 vehicle for a hole-in-one, I am accepting it. Professional status or not.


Your reasoning may be sound in the specific case of a player winning a vehicle, but your statement left the impression that the vast majority of public/casual golfers don't care about their amateur status in general.

I have posted the relevant Rules of Amateur Status so people are at least aware of the consequences, but I didn't mean to give the impression that the R.C.G.A. has a security team running around looking for players who have won a set of irons.

Gift certificate representing cash to be spent at a certain location

Gift certificates do NOT represent cash. They have no cash redemption value. They represent the upper limit of value for which goods may obtained from the retailer.

This technicality provides the competition host with the means to give an assigned dollar value to a non-cash prize, thereby complying with the Rules of Amateur Status.

[HÄnd|cÄp]

What is your status as a professional? B-Class Pro? so you can avoid the process of qualifying with the two 77's and go straight for the candy?, does the CPGA recognize this pro status? does that mean I could set up a closest to the pin for $701 and next week be trying to use my pro status for free green fees at Loch March?

sounds strange to me?...is there a C-class pro status that they fit into or something. I would live to see some hacker who averages 120 qualify for a local pro tournament and slash around in 135 strokes, then 140 on the Friday...cause he won a new Buick the week before.

Now that's comedy!

[Gary Hill]

You are a professional under the Rules of the R.C.G.A. and are not a member of the C.P.G.A.

You have no professional classification, your professional status would not be recognized by any golf club, and you would not be allowed to "Monday qualify" without a handicap factor not greater than 1.4.

[Dustin]

Wow, i can't belive that makes you a professional!

you DO learn something new everyday