The Official Website of the Tennessee Golf Association, Tennessee Section of the PGA of America and the Tennessee Golf Foundation
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Tournament Rules & Regulations
And Tournament Formats
I. AUTHORITY The Tournament Committee/Director, acting on behalf of the Board of Directors, Host Professional, Rules Committee, and the Course Superintendent, shall have complete control in administering all tournaments sponsored and conducted by the Tennessee Section PGA. The Board of Directors shall have the authority to amend the Tournament Rules and Regulations.
II. ELIGIBILITY Requirements for eligibility of Professional contestants in Tennessee Section PGA tournaments shall be strictly enforced by the Tournament Committee/Director. The Board of Directors is charged with the responsibility of determining the playing privileges and it shall publish and interpret the Guidelines the same as provided for in the Constitution. The withholding of playing privileges does not violate or deny the Constitutional rights of any member, as such privilege is not discriminatory and is in compliance with the established rules governing player participation eligibility. A player must be eligible by the tournament deadline. Only eligible Golf Professionals and eligible Amateurs designated within the following categories shall be eligible to compete in official events conducted by the Tennessee Section PGA. There will be no exceptions.
1. All Tennessee Section PGA Class A, active members, life members and retired members in good standings shall be granted full playing rights and privileges in the Tennessee Section, except when they are affected by the following resolution. "Effective January 1, 1982, active PGA members and Tour members with 36 or more credits, who are unemployed or become unemployed from a full-time Golf Professionals' job, or lose their Tour card, shall receive a grace period of 180 days to retain playing privileges in Section events. After 180 days, the professional shall lose playing privileges until becoming re-employed on a full-time basis as a Golf Professional or regaining a Tour card, at which time the professional shall immediately have playing privileges reinstated. The professional then must remain employed on a full-time basis as a Golf Professional for one (1) full year before receiving another 180 day grace period for playing privileges." Effective April 2007, all unemployed Class A members who transfer into the Tennessee Section shall not receive the 180-day grace period and do not have playing privileges until they become eligibly employed. Full-time employment in the Tennessee Section shall be defined as working in an eligible classification as defined by the PGA of America an average of 36 hours per week during the golf season, which is a minimum of eight (8) months in
2. Apprentices shall be eligible to compete in all Section tournaments with the exception of the Section Championship/PNC, the Match Play Championship, the Nationwide Tour Member Qualifiers and the Challenge Cup Matches. Apprentices will not be allowed to compete for the Tennessee PGA Player of the Year Award, but can compete for the Assistant Player of the Year. Effective November 2003, apprentices who are eligibly employed in the golf business and have properly registered in the PGA Professional Golf Management (PGA PGM) program will have playing privileges within their chapter, and will be eligible to play in Section events or events conducted that use Section eligibility rules.
3. Members of the Tennessee Section PGA who hold PGA Tour membership are eligible for Tennessee Section events.
4. Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour players shall be subject to the same playing eligibility rules as PGA Tour members and apprentices. Players with conditional Tour status (not fully exempt) shall not have playing privileges in the Tennessee Section, nor will they pay any Section dues. PGA Tour members with Life Member Tour status shall be eligible for Section events and shall pay the same dues as Class A members.
5. Amateurs, by invitation from the Tournament Committee with approval by the Board of Directors, may compete in Tennessee PGA Section events and the Tennessee Challenge Cup Matches. Amateur golfers competing in Tennessee PGA conducted events must meet the USGA definition of an amateur golfer. The Tennessee PGA reserves the right to reject amateur entrants who are not in good standing or under suspension by other local, state, regional, or nationally recognized golf association. Non-amateurs are ineligible to compete in Tennessee PGA events except PGA Tour qualifiers.
6. Senior Professionals must have reached the age of 50 by the first day of the event to compete in Senior Tournaments. In selected events, Senior Tees will be used. Although competing from separate tees, senior professionals will compete for the same purse. These yardages will be approximately 3-5% shorter than regular course length. Events where senior tees will be used include (but not limited to): Pro-Official, Pro-Assistant, Pro-Pro, Pro-Junior and Pro-Superintendent.
III. CONDUCT
Section 1. DISCIPLINE, PENALTIES, AND APPEALS (March 2007)
Each PGA of America Member or Apprentice Participant (“Participant”) in a Section golf tournament acknowledges the right and authority of the Section to (i) fine and suspend from tournament play; and/or to (ii) fine and permanently bar the Participant from Section tournaments. Any Participant in a Section event hereby releases the PGA of America Section, the PGA of America, the PGA Tournament Corporation, Inc., rules officials, each director, officer, member, employee, agent or representative of any of the foregoing jointly and severally, individually and in their official capacity, of and from any and all claims, demands, damages and causes of action whatsoever, in law or equity, arising out of or in connection with any such decision or action by the Section, PGA of America or any appellate body.
Fines are due and payable within thirty (30) days unless the Participant has made a written appeal. Should the appeal be denied, the fine will be due and payable within thirty (30) days of such denial of appeal; and the Participant will be ineligible to participate in any Section tournament and any other PGA of America tournaments and the tournaments of any other PGA Section until said fine is paid in full.
Except for penalties under the Rules of Golf and for “Minor Penalties” (as hereafter defined), any Participant subject to disciplinary action or penalty defined as a “Major Penalty” shall first be notified of such proposed action in writing. Such notice may be presented to the Participant by a tournament official. Within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the notice, the Participant shall submit to the Section Tournament Director or the Section Executive Director such facts or evidence of mitigating circumstances as may apply. Within thirty (30) days of receipt of such information from the Participant, the Section Tournament Director or the Section Executive Director shall notify the Participant in writing of the imposition of the proposed disciplinary action or penalty, or that the proposed action has been dismissed. After the imposition of any penalty hereunder, the Participant shall have the right to appeal to the Section Board of Inquiry as set forth in Section E herein.
Any Participant in a Section tournament who breaches the Rules of Golf of the United States Golf Association or Local Rules in effect for the conduct of such event shall be subject to the penalties provided in such Rules as well as any other penalties imposed by the Section consistent with this policy. The decision of the Section Rules Officials/ and/or the Section Tournament Committee with respect to such Rules breach shall be final and conclusive.
Any Participant deemed guilty of conduct unbecoming a professional while participating in a Section tournament or in activities related thereto (e.g. practice rounds, hospitality events, etc.) shall be subject to fine, suspension and/or permanent disbarment from Section tournament play as provided in this policy. A fine of $100 shall be levied for the first offense. A fine of $150 shall be levied for the second offense, and a prohibition from participating in Section events for one year shall be levied for the third offense. Any Participant that is found guilty of more than three offenses for conduct unbecoming a professional charge may, at the sole discretion of the Section, be permanently prohibited from participating in all Section and PGA of America tournaments and also may be subject to PGA of America Code of Ethics charges. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Section reserves the right to pursue Code of Ethics charges against any PGA Member/Apprentice for conduct charges related to the conduct of any Participant at Section golf tournaments and related events at the sole discretion of the Section in compliance with the procedures for Code of Ethics hearings as set forth in this Article II of the Bylaws.
1. Minor Penalties A Minor Penalty is a fine of not more than $150 and/or suspension from tournament play for two or less tournaments. A Minor Penalty may be imposed by the Section tournament officials responsible for the conduct of the tournament.
2. Major Penalties Major Penalty is a fine in excess of $150, suspension from tournament play for more than three tournaments, and/or permanent disbarment from Section tournament play.
1. Minor Penalties Appeals from Minor Penalties shall be to the Tournament Committee Chairperson (or his/her designee). Such appeal may be in writing or oral. Such appeal shall be received by the Tournament Committee Chair no later than thirty (30) days subsequent to the infraction. The Tournament Committee Chair shall render the decision on appeal in writing within thirty (30) days of the receipt of the appeal and submit a final report to the Section Executive Director. The Section Executive Director shall submit this final report to the Association General Counsel. Such decision shall be final. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that the Section determines that it would prefer that a Minor Penalty shall be submitted to the Board of Control for a hearing in lieu of action by the Section, then the Section Board of Inquiry will follow the same procedures set forth herein for all matters submitted to the Board of Control for Code of Ethics procedures.
2. Major Penalties Within thirty days from the date of notification of a Major Penalty, the Participant may submit a written appeal to the Section Board of Inquiry. Failure to file such an appeal shall be deemed conclusively to be an admission of the charges specified in the notification.
Thereafter, the Section Board of Inquiry will prepare a report of the matter to the Board of Control and the matter will be set for a hearing before the Board of Control in accordance with all applicable procedures set forth herein for ethics appeals heard by the Board of Control. The Board of Control shall hear the appeal either at the next regularly scheduled Board of Control hearing or at an expedited meeting that may be held in person or via conference call at the discretion of the Chair of the Board of Control. The decision of the Board of Control shall be final. An appeal shall operate to stay the effective date of any penalty, except suspension from a Section tournament then in progress or scheduled for the calendar week in which the alleged violation occurred, until after a final decision on the appeal.
All fines must be paid within thirty (30) days from the imposition of the fine, or in the event of an appeal, within (30) days from the decision rendered by the Board of Control in the event the Board of Control upholds the findings of the Tournament Committee Chair.
Section 2. PGA DRESS CODE In Tennessee Section/Chapter events, (including practice rounds, Chapter pro-ams, Chapter play days, and the PAT), Tennessee PGA professionals will observe the PGA of America's Universal Dress Code. Male PGA participants must wear slacks and participants shall not wear shorts anywhere on club property. Female PGA participants may wear culottes, walking shorts, or golf shorts which constitute acceptable clothing worn by women in connection with participation in professional golf tournaments. All PGA participants will be required to present a neat appearance, appropriate to a professional golf tournament in both clothing and grooming.
IV. TOURNAMENT POLICIES
Section 1. TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE The official Tournament Schedule shall be the responsibility of the Tournament Director. The schedule for the coming season shall be released in a tentative form by February 1 and shall be printed with the final dates, tournaments, and sites by March 1st. Regardless of the Tournament Format, before any Tournament is announced or scheduled, the Host Professional MUST clear the tournament date with the Tournament Director.
Section 2. RULES AND PROCEDURES The following Rules, Policies and Procedures of the Tennessee Section PGA shall be carried out in all Section tournaments:
1. Rules of Play All Tournaments conducted by the Tennessee Section PGA shall be played under USGA Rules of Golf and the Tennessee PGA Rules of Play Card. All local rules or supplements to the USGA Rules shall be approved by the Tournament Committee/Director. Such local rules and or modifications shall be posted in a conspicuous location at the Tournament Site. In addition, it shall be mandatory that a Rules Sheet be printed for each contestant in the Tournament and provided to each contestant prior to the start of play. Women shall play from tees as determined by National PGA policy. 2. Withdrawing from Event/Refunds A player who has paid for a tournament and withdraws after the entry deadline will receive no refund unless contacting the Tournament Director with a medical condition which must be verified in writing or a death in the family. A $15 administration fee will be deducted from all refunds. A player who does not show up for a tournament without notifying the Tournament Director will lose the entry fee and be fined $50. A player who withdraws after the competition starts and does not notify the official scorer, Tournament Director, or PGA official will be fined $50. The Tournament Director reserves the right to withhold any monies which have been guaranteed to the host facility. 3. Playoffs Unless otherwise stated, in all Section tournaments a tie for first place in the Professional Division shall be resolved by a sudden death playoff at the hole designated on the local rules sheet or otherwise determined by the Official in Charge. All other ties will be grouped and prizes equally divided. 4. Carts Carts may be used in tournament competition unless otherwise prohibited. Spectator Carts will not be permitted in any TPGA Section Event, unless authorized by the TPGA Tournament Committee/Director prior to the event. For all other events, Spectator cart policies will be determined in conjunction with the Host Club/Course’s policies. 5. Returned Checks Any player issuing a check that is returned (i.e., insufficient funds, closed account) will be ineligible to participate in subsequent events until such time as the check is made good. A penalty equal to the bank charge will be made on all returned checks. 6. Rain Policy The Tennessee PGA representative in charge has the authority to order discontinuance of play due to weather conditions. The decision to resume play, postpone any part of it or cancel play entirely rests with the Official in Charge. 7. Slow Play Slow play will be monitored by the Tournament Committee/Director. The Tennessee PGA Rules of Play Card/Pace of Play Memorandum will govern policy and penalties. 8. Liability By virtue of paid entry, the entrant hereby agrees to abide by the decisions of the Tournament Committee/Director as being final with no liability to the Tennessee PGA, Host Club or Tournament Committee/Director at its discretion. By his/her application, an entrant will agree not to protest the rejection of their entry. It shall be the entrant's responsibility to learn all events’ rules prior to entering. 9. Falsification of Pro-Am Amateur Handicaps The Tennessee PGA professional shall be responsible for the accuracy of handicaps of their amateur team members. The Tennessee PGA recommends the amateurs to have a valid USGA handicap as proof in the event of dispute. In the absence of a valid USGA handicap, the professional shall be responsible for determining the appropriate handicap index. In the event that falsification of a handicap occurs in a chapter or Section pro-am, the professional will be subject to a major or minor penalty. In addition, the professional shall forfeit winnings and shall be responsible for returning (or paying for) amateur gift certificates that have been distributed or cashed in. This rule may also apply to pro-ams out of our Section if a tournament requests handicap verification. 10. "B" Division "B" division may be established in selected two-day team events. In case of a rainout of either day the "B" division will be eliminated unless the entire division has completed play prior to rainout. Normally the B division will constitute the bottom 25% of the field. 11. Groupings & Starting Times The Tournament Committee/Director is responsible for groupings and starting times. Groupings and starting time policy will be consistent with established golf pairings procedures. 12. PGA Tour Events ( The prior year Tennessee Section PGA Champion is exempted into the current year St. Jude Classic. Rules and regulations, eligibility and exemption policies for PGA Tour events and qualifiers shall be determined annually by the PGA Tour and/or the Tennessee PGA Board of Directors. 13. Nationwide Tour Rules and regulations, eligibility and exemption policies for Nationwide Tour events and qualifiers shall be determined annually by the PGA Tour and/or the Tennessee PGA Board of Directors. PGA Tour members (A-3) shall not be eligible for Tennessee Section member qualifying events. 14. Amateur Payoffs As per the USGA Rules of Golf regarding Amateur Status, an amateur may receive gift certificates totaling not more than $750 in each Tennessee PGA event. 15. Finances The overall tournament program shall not budget to lose money in any fiscal year. 16. Alcohol The consumption of alcohol during the stipulated round of TPGA point events is not permitted. 1st Offense – Warning 2nd Offense – Written documentation from the Tournament Committee to individual 3rd Offense – Fine levied by the Tournament Committee 17. Cell Phone In all TPGA Tournaments, players are requested to refrain from the use of cell phones during all tournament rounds, practice rounds, and while utilizing practice areas. Players are asked to use common sense regarding cell phones and be courteous regarding their use.
V.
Section 1. Rules Committee Non-competing host Professional, Tournament Director, designated staff members, and other assigned members.
Section 2. TOURNAMENT DATES The Tennessee Section PGA Section Championship will be held annually at a time established by the Tournament Committee in accordance with National eligibility rules and regulations.
Section 3. TOURNAMENT SITE The Tennessee PGA Section Championship site will be set by approval of the Tournament Committee.
Section 4. TOURNAMENT FORMAT The Tennessee PGA Championship will be a 54-hole Stroke Play event conducted over a three-day period with 18 holes played on each of the three days. As determined by the Board of Directors, there may be two separate divisions of tournament play as follows: Championship and Senior Division.
VI. PGA/SENIOR
Section 1. Qualifying rounds for the Tennessee Section Professional Championship will be held at a time established by the Tournament Committee in accordance with National eligibility rules and regulations.
Section 2. Qualifying rounds for the Tennessee Section Senior Professional Championship shall be set by the Tournament Committee in accordance with National eligibility rules and regulations.
VII.
Section 1. METHODS OF QUALIFICATION: (a) Professional Must be an active member, retired member or life member of the Tennessee Section PGA. The team shall consist of 16 PGA Members: Top 10 regular players from the Regular Player of the Year standings and top 6 senior players from the Senior Player of the Year standings. A playing or honorary non-playing captain shall be appointed by the President. (b) Amateurs Selected by the Tennessee Golf Association from their Designated Event Point List, subject to TGA modification. (c) A-3’s A-3 members may from time to time may be invited to participate in the Cup Matches. An A-3 can only be added to the field and cannot take away a spot from any qualified professional or senior professional or alternate. The amateur team must agree to the addition and be allowed to add a player of their choice as long as the player is an amateur and a resident of the state of Tennessee. Section 2. FORMAT Play shall be Ryder Cup Format: Singles Matches; Four-Ball Matches; Foursome Matches One point will be awarded for each win in singles, Four-Ball and Foursome matches. Ties will be awarded ½ point to each side.
IX. ASSISTANT CUP MATCH INFO/ELIGIBILITY Must be an active member (A-8) or Apprentice (B) of the Tennessee Section PGA. The team shall consist of 12 PGA Assistants or Apprentices. The top ten 10 assistant players from the Assistant Player of the Year standings plus two 2 captain’s picks. If a player is deemed ineligible at the time of the matches or cannot attend, the next player(s) in successive order on the APOY point standings will be invited to participate.
X. The Tennessee Section PGA Professional Player of the Year award will be presented to the active Tennessee Section member or Life Member who has not entered in more than 12 PGA Tour events, not including the National PGA Championship. The award will be based on points earned in designated events. If a point event is cancelled no points will be awarded for that event. PGA members who are employed by a Club and also join the PGA Tour but play in less than 12 PGA Tour events and are not classified A-3, are eligible for Player of the Year. The award will be based on points earned in designated events.
Section 1. Regular Player of the Year Class A Members in good standing.
Section 2. Senior Player of the Year Members and Apprentices who are 50 and older
Section 3. Assistant Player of the Year Assistants Professionals (A-8) and Apprentices (B). A player is still eligible for the Assistant Player of the Year Award if he/her is suspended or has changed to an ineligible classification or status. Once points are earned they remain valid until the conclusion of the tournament season.
Points for Player of the Year, Senior Player of the Year and Challenge Cup Matches will be compiled from the day after the previous year Challenge Cup Matches to the last Point Event prior to the current year’s Challenge Cup matches. Points for Assistant Player of the Year and Assistants Cup Matches will be compiled from the day after the previous year Assistant’s Cup Matches to the last Point Event prior to the current year’s Assistant’s Cup Matches.
XI. SANCTIONED EVENTS The Tennessee Section PGA Tournament Committee will annually designate a certain number of tournaments that will preferably not exceed 36 or 54 holes and will be spaced out in time and location throughout the state to broaden the base of the Player of the Year award. These events carry a minimum purse to be established by the Tournament Committee, and will be publicized at the beginning of the season. Designated events must pay applicable administration fees established by the Tournament Committee. Entry fees will be set by the host facility, but must be approved by the Tournament Committee/Director.
XII. PURSE PAYOFF The Tournament Director shall use sample payoff guidelines when possible, but under no circumstances will more than 50% of the field be paid, not including charity events. The Tournament Director has final authority to make payoffs at his/her discretion.
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