Junior Tour

The first year of the NCGA Junior Tour was very successful with 8 events and 330 players joining the tour. We are very pleased with the response we have received from the players and parents of Northern California. In 2009, the NCGA Junior Tour will continue to grow and evolve.

There will be twelve tournaments in 2009. Tournaments will continue to be played on weekends in the spring and fall. We will attempt to play on Saturday afternoons and Sunday mornings although we have some events which will play at other times to accommodate the host course’s requirements.

The NCGA wants to provide opportunities for players of all skill levels to play in a competitive environment with players of similar abilities. In order to accomplish this, we believe that it is better to group players by their handicap rather than their age.

In 2009, most tournaments will be open to any junior with an NCGA Handicap Index. The tournament at Stevinson Ranch will only be open to players with a handicap index of 7.4 or less.

There will be separate competitions for boys and girls. Players will be flighted by handicap. Players with a handicap index of 7.4 or less will be placed in the Championship flight. The remaining players will play in one or two flights based on the number of entrants. If enough players with an index greater than 7.4 enter, they will be split into two flights at a natural break in the indexes.

Each flight will play the course at an appropriate length for their skill level. There will be a separate gross competition within each flight. Additionally there will be a net competition across all flights with handicaps adjusted per the USGA Handicap System’s rules for players playing from different tees.

Junior Tour Membership Eliminated

One major change in 2009 is that there will no longer be a $50 tour membership fee. The fee was very difficult to manage and caused us to deny entry to players who had not joined the tour. An NCGA membership is all that is required to play in NCGA events.

Handicaps

In order to assure that players play with others of equal skill level, all players are encouraged to post ALL their scores so that their handicaps will reflect their abilities. Before a player can register to play in an NCGA Junior Tour tournament, he or she must have an established USGA Handicap Index. If you are not a member of a club, you can join a public facility, private club, eClub or sign up for the NCGA Foundation’s Youth on Course program. Once you have joined a club, you must post at least five scores and wait until the start of the next month to have a valid Handicap Index. Not an NCGA member? Join a Youth on Course club here.

Entry Fees

The entry fee for tournaments will be $75. This fee includes two rounds of golf, range balls and two lunches for the player.

Special Event

The final event of the year will be the Tour Championship, which will be October 31 and November 1 at Belmont Country Club. This limited field event will be for the top point earners over the course of the year. Points are earned at NCGA events and other outside tournaments. The points breakdown can be found on the NCGA Junior web page at http://www.ncga.org/_pdf/juniorpoints1.pdf. The NCGA Junior Players of the Year will be announced at the conclusion of this event.

Tournament Entry Procedures

Each tournament will open on a different day and have a twelve day window during which entries will be accepted. These windows will be closer to the date of the tournament than last year to enable parents and children to better know their schedule.

Pre-registration

For all events other than the Tour Championship, players who have won an NCGA Junior Tour tournament, the NCGA Junior (including flight winners) or the Junior Players Championship (overall winners only) during the 365 days prior to the first tournament date will be allowed to pre-register starting the Friday before the general opening date of registration. Pre-registration will open at 8:00 AM on Friday and close at 8:00 PM on the Sunday prior to general registration. 2008 NCGA Players of the Year may also pre-register for the entire 2009 season during these periods. Players who win events during 2009 will be added to the pre-registration lists for any events that have not yet opened for registration. There will be no pre-registration for the Tour Championship since it is based strictly on the player’s standing on the points list rather than on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Registration

Entries will be on a first-come, first-in basis for all events other than the Tour Championship. General registration will open at 8:00 AM on the dates listed below. Registration will close at 11:59 PM on the dates listed for closures. Entries for the Tour Championship will be held until the closing date, when the top players from the points lists who have entered will be put into the field.

Once a tournament is full, a waiting list will be created. Players will be taken from the waiting list in order of entry, based on maintaining appropriate flight sizes. For example, if a boy withdraws and there are 23 girls, a girl would be added to even the numbers for groups. Similarly, if a girl with an index of 9.5 withdraws, we will first attempt to replace her with a girl whose index would put her in the same flight.

Withdrawals

There will be a $10.00 fee for withdrawals prior to the closing date. After the closing date, the fee will be 50% of the entry fee ($37.50 or $30 depending on YOC status) until 48 hours before the start of the tournament. After that, there will be no refunds.

2009 Schedule

The “Entries Open” dates below reflect the dates that general registration opens. Pre-registration opens on the Friday before these dates, with the exception that the Tour Championship does not have pre-registration.

NCGA Junior Tour Events
	Entries
Date	Open	Close	NCGA Junior Tour Event	Site
March 14-15	2/9	2/20	Spring Series I	Brookside CC, Stockton
March 21-22	2/16	2/27	Spring Series II	Stevinson Ranch GC, Stevinson
March 28-29	2/23	3/6	Spring Series III	Metropolitan GL, Oakland
April 18-19	3/16	3/27	Spring Series IV	Poplar Creek GC, San Mateo
April 25-26	3/23	4/3	Spring Series V	Oakmont GC, Santa Rosa
May 2-3	3/30	4/10	Spring Series VI	Poppy Hills GC, Pebble Beach
Sept 12-13	8/10	8/21	Fall Series I	Pajaro Valley GC, Royal Oaks
Sept 19-20	8/17	8/28	Fall Series II	Haggin Oaks GC, Sacramento
Sept 26-27	8/24	9/4	Fall Series III	Foxtail GC, Rohnert Park
Oct 17-18	9/14	9/25	Fall Series IV	Poppy Ridge GC, Livermore
Oct 24-25	9/21	10/2	Fall Series V	Hunter Ranch GC, Paso Robles
Oct 31-Nov 1	9/28	10/16	Tour Championship	Belmont CC, Fresno

Northern California Golf Association

Secondary Pages