SGL Info

Gentlemen,
 
 

Welcome to the 2023 season for the Scottsdale Golf League. We have now transitioned from the NSMGA leadership and are in our 3rd year as the SGL.  We are committed to making sure everyone is informed and communication with our members will always be a priority.  We suggest creating a folder in your email program for all SGL communication/email so you’ll have access to important information and we suggest making sure you read all email sent from the League (make sure you add all our email addresses to your safe senders list).


The SGL uses Mail Chimp for all Association communications. Please check your spam filter as many ISP’s/mail servers block a “new” email address and treat it as spam. Please mark emails from SGL as “safe” on your safe senders list so you receive all SGL communications. 


Also, take some time to look through the entire website as there is a wealth of information available (log in to see everything).  Additionally, if you have a question or concern, send us an email and we will respond as quickly as we possible.  Send your email to: info@thesgl.org – this is the only address all of the Board Members (Mike, Matt, Pete, Dudley & David) get copied. 


SGL SPONSORS – Please thank all our League Sponsors!  Our Sponsors contribute a great deal to the SGL and many of them play quite often.  Get to know these gentlemen and the best thank you is to patronize their businesses frequently!  When you do visit their establishments, please let them know you are a Member of the SGL!  Thank you

 


AMATEUR STATUS: Please be advised – The SGL pays out cash and gift cards (cash equivalent) to players that have elected to participate in tournaments and compete for monetary winnings.  CASH WINNINGS CAN AFFECT YOUR AMATEUR STATUS AND CAN POSSIBLY CAUSE YOU TO LOSE YOUR AMATEUR STATUS.  If this is a concern, you may elect to not accept your winnings.  The SGL is not responsible for any participant that has their amateur status challenged, suspended or revoked.

 


ALL MEMBERS PARTICIPATE AT THEIR OWN RISK

 

A few things to be aware of regarding SGL Tournaments, where to locate important information and how the League operates:

  1.  COMPETITION: This is competitive golf played under the USGA Rules of Golf at all times.  If there is ever a question as to how to proceed, declare a second ball is in play to your playing partners, play a 2nd ball (record scores for BOTH balls) and a determination will be made at the completion of the round as to the correct ruling and score.
  2. SCORING: All scoring is calculated using full handicaps and is calculated on NET SCORE ONLY.
  3. SCORECARDS: We issue one scorecard per foursome with each player's name, course handicap and stroke holes marked.  One player should record the score for their foursome while another member of the group should record scores in the golfgameskeeper app.  Scorecards are to be marked with the GROSS score only.  Upon completion of your round verify the scores in the app match the official scorecard.  Once the group agrees the scores in the app are correct, save the scores in the app. 
  4. FOLLOWING THE TOURNAMENT: The official scorer will score the tournament immediately following the tournament in the clubhouse or grill room.  We strongly encourage all players to stick around and join us for lunch or a beverage after the round to meet other members and collect any winnings.  All winnings are credited to the players ledger for use on future events. 
  5. LOCAL RULES: Only Local Rules as listed on the published, printed “Local Rules” sheet distributed by the SGL will apply – local rules listed on the course scorecard are not applicable.
  6. PLAYING PROVISIONAL BALLS: If there is a chance a ball may be in an area where locating it may be difficult, you may either follow USGA rules allowing to drop with a 2 stroke penalty or PLAY A PROVISIONAL BALL (this must be verbally declared out loud and identified to your playing partners “I’m playing a provisional ball.  The first ball was a Top Flight 3 with a red x, the second ball is a Top Flight 1 with no markings”).  We don’t want players driving back to the tee or back out onto a fairway because they couldn’t find their original ball and did not hit a provisional ball “in case”.  If the original ball is found within 3 minutes, the ORIGINAL BALL MUST BE PLAYED, and the Provisional ball picked up.  See LOCAL RULES under upcoming events for information on using the 2 stroke penalty
  7. PACE OF PLAY – [STRICTLY ENFORCED] The SGL allows for a 4:15 round WITH ALL SCORECARDS confirmed with the Golfgamekeeper app WITHIN 4 HOURS/45 MINUTES.  Scored confirmed after 4:45:00 may not be considered.  YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR  ensuring the accuracy of your score in the scoring app. At times, the SGL HIRES a course marshal for tournaments and they are on the course to help all participants to maintain proper position and pace.  Slow play can result in players being put on the clock, penalties assessed and possible disqualification from the tournament.  Our Marshals record all information regarding out of position groups, timings and penalties assessed and the information is provided to us at the completion of the round.  It is each player’s responsibility to maintain proper pace at all times.    PLEASE NOTE – Be respectful of the marshals. It is their responsibility to notify you if you fall behind. Any reported issues will be dealt with by the board and may result in disciplinary action including disqualification and league suspension. If repeated issues are reported, you will be removed from the League permanently.  ANY PLAYER DQ’d FOR PACE OF PLAY WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE TO WIN ANY PRIZES/AWARDS AT THE TOURNAMENT THEY ARE DQ’d.
  8. PLAY READY GOLF AT ALL TIMES: In our efforts to maintain proper position and pace of play, It is imperative that all players play “ready golf” at all times and utilize the “Drop & Drive” method of play.  Meaning: Drop your partner at their ball, drive to yours, play your shot, drive back to pick up your partner.  As long as it is safe to proceed, play as soon as ready without regard to who is “away”.  If a player hits their ball into the junk, DROP THAT PLAYER OFF IN THE APPROXIMATE AREA WHERE THE BALL MAY BE (the player looking for their ball has 3 minutes from when this happens to locate it), DRIVE TO YOUR BALL, PLAY YOUR SHOT, THEN, AND ONLY THEN, DRIVE BACK TO HELP LOCATE THE LOST BALL if the 3 minute time limit has not expired.  There should never be 3 players looking for a potentially lost ball until those 3 players have played their shots. If the original ball is not found, proceed to play the Provisional Ball by Rule.
  9. TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION DEADLINES: Due to the contractual requirements of the courses we play, registration deadlines are firm for all players. Tournaments are listed on the website and available for registration a minimum of 6 weeks in advance. 95% of our tournament registrations close the Saturday PRIOR to the upcoming tournament at 11:59 PM. Late registrations and/or “waiting list” may be possible depending on course requirements and to fill up foursomes.  Send your request to info@thesgl.org.  If there is an opening, a late registration fee of $20.00 may be added to your registration fee.
  10. CANCELLATION POLICY:  In the event you need to cancel a paid tournament registration, you must send an email to info@TheSGL.org prior to 5:00 pm the Wednesday prior to the date of the tournament.  Provided the venue allows us to adjust our player count, you will be given credit (not a refund) for the tournament if you notify the SGL as stated above.  Any cancellation notice sent after Wednesday at 5:00 pm may result in a forfeiture of all monies paid for that tournament and no credit will be given.  The ONLY exception is if we have a player(s) on a waiting list that will take the vacated position, we will fill the position with that player and we will provide a credit to your SGL account.  The cancellation policy does not apply to the annual road trip.  Cancellation for the road trip will be defined separately.
  11. FLIGHTS: SGL Tournaments have a minimum of 4 Flights with a maximum of 8 flights, depending on the number of players registered.  Flights are determined by a) the number of players registered, b) dividing the total number of players by 12 to create a flights with a relatively equal number of players in each. 
  12. TEES: All players play from the same tees, as assigned.
  13. YARDAGES: The SGL will normally play tees that allow for yardages between 6,200 yards - 6,700 yards and ALL MEMBERS ARE EXPECTED TO BE ABLE TO PLAY FROM THOSE YARDAGES. Slope/Course Rating are also considered when selecting tees for each tournament. The SGL plays courses that are challenging and fair but please understand some tournaments will play long courses; some short courses some with high/low/average Slope/Course Rating.
  14. HANDICAPS: The SGL uses a “league only” handicap system.  The formula and algorithms used by our software to calculate Scoring Average are the same as the World Handicap System. We only post SGL scores in our system which is done by our handicap chairman and all are posted using current USGA & World Handicap System Guidelines. In an effort to remove all potential sandbagging, we adopted this method and the intended result has been accomplished. We want all our participants to have the ability to compete in a fair and equitable environment.
  15. ESTABLISHING AN SGL HANDICAP: As of 1/1/2021, the SGL will utilize the World Handicap System as prescribed by the USGA
    - All new Members accepted into the SGL will play at “scratch” (no index) for the first 3 tournaments.
    - The SGL will issue a "Conditional" League Index after 3 accepted league scores
    - The SGL will use the lower of GHIN Index or Conditional" League Index  for Rounds 4 through 20
    - An official SGL League Scoring Average will be issued after 20 (twenty) Accepted Scores and will be the sole basis for SGL tournament scoring.

    All Competitors are subject to Peer Review while establishing an official League Index through the SGL and adjustments to your League Index are at the discretion of the SGL Handicap Committee. If you have any questions about how your index is calculated, please feel free to reach out to our handicap chairman, Pete Schaaf @ 480-721-8082.
  16. TOURNAMENT ENTRY FEE: The SGL Tournament Entry Fee INCLUDES the cost of golf and administration fees.
  17. SKINS GAME (Optional):  Players can enter the skins game for Net only, Gross only or Net & Gross. 
  18. CTP’s/PROXIES (Optional): Players can compete for winnings for Closest to the Pin on selected holes in select tournaments as well as one Closest to the Pin Proxy (2nd Shot closest to the hole – usually on the shortest par 4 hole).  This must be selected at the time of registration.  ONLY PLAYERS THAT HAVE REGISTERED CAN PARTICIPATE!  No player is to move or mark a CTP marker on the green without consent and agreement from the other players in their group.  Players with a course handicap of less than 10 will compete on the front 9 and players with a handicap of 10 or greater will compete on the back 9.
  19. HOLE IN ONE INSURANCE: Everyone participates in hole in one insurance.  In the event there are multiple hole in ones in one tournament, the insurance will be shared equally among the individuals who made an ace.  Guests are not eligible for the hole in one pot, but are expected to pay the bar tab should they get one.
  20. DAY OF PLAY: You do not need to do anything other than show up, warm up and be in your cart for announcements 10 minutes prior to our starting time. You do not need to check in, register or anything else!
  21. STARTING TIMES: Any competitor that misses their starting time will be disqualified from the Tournament. No competitor is allowed to “make up missed holes”. You are welcome to play the remaining holes with your assigned group but you will not be competing in the event. No refund/credit will be issued.
  22. TIPPING POLICY: Unless otherwise noted, all the courses we play allow you to tip the staff.  Please do so accordingly.  The course management and outside staff work hard for us, please do not disrespect their efforts by not tipping them properly.
  23. SGL CUP (Montlake Financial): The Cup Points Race mirrors the PGA Tour’s “FedEx Cup”. THIS IS WHY WE PLAY ALL YEAR! Cup Points are awarded on your overall finish against the entire field in each event. We award points for each event. The more points you accumulate during the season, the higher you will be ranked going into the playoffs. The higher you are ranked to start the playoffs, the better your chances are of making the cut and moving on to the Tour Championship, where we do the Points Reset and rank all players for the Tour Championship. Only the top 30 players advance to the Tour Championship and play for the big money! ALL 30 PLAYERS THAT FINISH THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP GET PAID! You can check the leaderboard online on the website at any time to see where you stand!
  24. SGL CUP POINTS: Points are allocated/awarded based on overall finish against the field in each tournament.  Points are awarded based on overall finish, using NET scoring. Points distributions based on tournament type are referenced below:
  25. SGL CHALLENGE (hERTZOG sUMMIT TEAM): This is our version of the PGA Tour’s Risk/Reward Challenge! Each Member has the opportunity to play in all 43 Regular Season SGL Tour Events. The SGL will designate one hole at each regular season event to be the Challenge Hole. A player must participate in a minimum of 18 events  to qualify for the SGL Challenge. The player with the best net score relative to par using the BEST 18 holes out of the total number of Challenge holes played (18 minimum) will be the winner. The more Challenge holes you play, the better your chances.  We will pay out the top 6 places at the year end banquet.  You can check the leaderboard online on the website at any time to see where you stand!
  26. TROON REWARDS POINTS: Any SGL Member that has a Troon Rewards Number or Troon TwoSome/FourSome Number on file with us will receive Troon Rewards Points for each tournament they play at a Troon Golf managed facility.  If you have a Troon number, please submit it to us if you have not already done so.
  27. FEES COLLECTED: The SGL processes credit cards online to make the registration process simple for you and easy for us to manage. There are “transaction fees” charged by our merchant processing company that are collected as part of our $8.00 Administration Fee.
    2023 EVENT QUALIFICATIONS:
    2021 minimum participation requirements to play in the following tournaments:
    Club Championship: (play in 4 tournaments prior to the registration cutoff date for this event) (18 holes)
    1st Major: (play in 2 tournaments prior to the registration cutoff date for this event) (18 holes)
    2nd Major: (play in 4 tournaments prior to the registration cutoff date for this event) (18 holes)
    3rd Major: (play in 9 tournaments prior to the registration cutoff date for this event) (18 holes)
    4th Major: (play in 11 tournaments prior to the registration cutoff date for this event) (18 holes)
    SGL Member/Member Tournaments (if conducted): Minimum qualifications to participate:
    - 4 Tournaments played prior to the First Member/Member Tournament of the year registration deadline
    - 8 Tournaments played prior to the Second Member/Member Tournament of the year registration deadline
    - These tournaments are handicapped and all participants must have an official SGL Index, or:
       a) Members with temporary handicaps will be allowed at 50% of their temporary index.
       b) Members with no Index will play at scratch (no exceptions)
    SGL Ryder Cup (Cstor): Top 40 Players with the Highest Points Totals by the Qualifying Cut-Off Date.  (36 holes – Match Play)
    Playoffs: * (play in 10 tournaments prior to the first round of the playoffs)
    (3- 18 hole tournaments with cuts – NO FLIGHTS)
    Tour Championship: (Top 32 Players surviving the Playoffs advance) (36 holes-NO FLIGHTS)
    Tournament of Champions Invitational: Season Winners, Sponsors, Board Members & Champions only
    CUP BONUS MONEY: The 32 players that qualify for the Tour Championship split the entire Cup Money Bonus Pool at the conclusion of the Season
  28. *Members that join on or after July 1st ARE REQUIRED to play in 7 tournaments to qualify for the Playoffs
  29. If a member plays in one tournament per month, they will qualify for all tournaments that have a minimum play requirement. 
  30. MAJORS/CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP: These five tournaments are NOT flighted. Cup Points are increased for these tournaments.  Each of these tournaments have greatly increased payouts.
  31. SGL Ryder CUP MATCH PLAY TOURNAMENT & QUALIFICATIONS: The Verde Cup is our version of the Ryder Cup and is conducted each summer over 2 days and 36 holes of Match Play golf.  The Teams (Red Team & Blue Team) consist of 20 players per team (maximum) and will earn their spot on one of the teams based on participation and accumulated Verde Cup Points in tournaments conducted up until 3 weeks prior to the tournament.  Since this tournament has guaranteed Cup Points, players will have to qualify to make one of the two teams.  The top 40 players based on the qualifications below will qualify to participate.  If a qualified player(s) elects not to participate, the next qualified player(s) will be included until all 40 positions are filled.
  32. SGL RYDER  CUP Points Formula
    Maximum 820 Points available per Tournament (1    st through 40th place) or the number of total players registered, up to 40 (if we had 36 players, 666 points available) Based on NET SCORE ONLY against the field.  Number of events played YTD multiplied by 3 for each event completed (even if finishing out of top 40)
    EXAMPLE: Player: Carl
  33. Week 1: 3rd place = 38 Points + 3 Participation points = 41 points total
  34. Week 2: 13th place = 28 points + 3 Participation points = 31 event points [72 total points]
  35. Week 3: 40th place = 1 point + 3 Participation points  = 4 event points [76 total points]
  36. Week 4: 1st place = 40 points + 3 Participation points = 43 event points [119 total points]
  37. Week 5: 44th place = 0 points + 3 Participation points = 3 total points [122 total points]
  38. Captain & Vice-Captain selection:
  39. Captains = 2 players with highest total overall Verde Cup Points earned
  40. Vice Captains = 2 players with the 3rd & 4th highest number of Verde Cup Points earned
  41. PAIRINGS REQUESTS (When Available): Players may make requests to be paired with other players only at the time of registration. You may select up to 3 players to be paired with. 1 request for up to 3 players, per registration. Pairings requests are taken in the order they are received and are not guaranteed (the sooner you sign up, the better your chances are to be paired with your selections). Any pairings requests submitted prior to your paid, online registration or after you have registered will not be accepted.
  42. TOURNAMENT SCORING/PLAYOFFS: When a regular season tournament ends in a tie for positions, the players involved will be subject to a "scorecard playoff". The playoff will start at the number one handicap hole and will proceed to the #2 handicap hole, #3 handicap hole, etc. until a winner is determined.
  43. TOURNAMENT RESULTS: Players will be competing among other members within their flight for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.
  44. ETIQUETTE: All members of the SGL are required to adhere to proper and appropriate personal & golf etiquette while on the course, in the clubhouse, and around other guests of the golf course.
  45. GUEST POLICY: The SGL welcomes you to bring a “guest” to play in an event. We will allow your guest to play in ONE (1) event with you. If the same guest wishes to play in another event, they will need to become a Member by joining the SGL.  We do NOT allow guests to play in any of the Majors, Club Championship, cStor Cup Matches or the SGL Cup Championship events.  No exceptions.  Guests playing in an event cannot participate in the tournament prize fund, CTP’s or HIO fund.  Maximum of 2 guests in any group (you can have more than two guests, but only 2 can play in your group).  Priority will be given to members when tournaments are full.
  46. LEADERBOARDS: The links on the homepage will take you to the current leaderboards for SGL Cup Points, Challenge Hole Scores/Leaderboard and YTD Money Winners Leaderboard.
  47. TOURNAMENT SOFTWARE: The SGL uses Golf GamesKeeper software. Each Member has access to their personal information and Handicap Index by logging in at: https://www.golfgameskeeper.com You also have access to your personal Golf GamesKeeper mobile app which can be used any time you play!

 

LEAGUE CONTACTS & COMMUNICATION: All communication with the Association must be done via email to: info@TheSGL.org. DO NOT send email or text messages directly to any individual Board Member. Replies will only be issued to email submitted to this email address.  If the nature of your communication is urgent, please call one of the SGL Board Members.




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