Amateur Players Tour (APT)

[Dooby]

Is anyone competing on the Amateur Players Tour? I did my first event earlier this year and it was pretty fun but extremely slow. I have my second tournament coming up in 2 weeks.

[Coulter]

I have been interested in this. How did it go for you?

[ERLBOT]

I’ve played in the APT in the past. If you’re not in one of the first groups off I find play to be 5+ hrs. If you’re up front and play in 4 1/2hrs it’s fun. 

I dropped out last year due to slow play, some sand baggers and trying to use gift cards can be a pain. Since then I’ve limited my competitive play to local groups only. Seems to be more fun without structured pay outs.

My 2 cents.

EB

[HeathS16]

I've been thinking about registering for a few events here in OKC.  Most of the events top out at 30 players or so.  Hard to think it would be 5+ hour rounds with so few but does anyone have any other info on the APT? Seems cool. 

[Subdiver1]

Sorry I am getting into this so late.  I have been playing with APT for a couple of years (at least ... 3).  I played in the Nationals in Nashville in 2022, and again in last year in Myrtle Beach.  I am looking forward to playing the open Nationals and Senior Nationals this year.  

I have played in multiple "elevated" and "majors" in several states and things are pretty well put together.  You can play in your chapter and are welcome in other chapters for local and elevated tournaments.  The players manual is available from the main web page;

https://amateurplayerstour.com on top right corner next to "Pro Shop" click the 3 lines and then "Resources" and the drop down there will take you to the manual.   

https://amateurplayerstour.com/member-manual/

The Chapter owners really work hard to put on quality events, in my experience. Some chapters are better stocked and have better participation than others.  I can tell you that all the owners work together to help struggling areas improve.  I can also tell you that putting these things on is arduous and no one is retiring on chapter ownership.  Owners show up early to set-up, and stay late to make sure scores are tallied and prizes are doled out.  At elevated events (where people come in from all over, adjacent chapter regions, or are just increased in points and prize $$) the chapter owners work even harder to support the additional players. At National level events, where you have over 100 participants, the coordinators are often on-site before daylight breaks and after the sun sets.  I have played with several other organizations and continue to play with APT.  As a peripheral benefit, I have made several friendships playing local and national events that I would not have had the privilege of having had I not engaged with APT.

Moving over to the slightly controversial side

Now that I have talked to the APT in general, let me address the "sand bagger" issue.  I played with a couple of other organizations where I saw this issue (sand baggers) and management failed to/would NOT address it.  Let's face it, we are paying a premium in these "tours" and playing for $$; sand baggers should be a no tolerance policy.  Since I have been playing with APT I have been pleased with what I have seen related to this issue and response to it.  Do people have "exceptional rounds"? ABSOLUTELY.  APT has a policy to review and deal with it.  AND, they DO.   It is also GREAT to see someone have an exceptional round.  It is encouraging for all of us.  And unfortunately, it is often followed by, and or preceded by, a normal round or an even worse one.  All that aside, @ERLBOT I hear you and PLEASE read this disclaimer BEFORE you read the rest of my comments,

I am NOT questioning your assertion or experience, trying to diminish your perception, or attempting to poke you in the eye by stating my experience.  My next couple of statements are NOT a personal attack on you, your experience, or your post; it is an assertion my from experience and from many hours discussing this specific issue with the national and chapter owners (who are VERY accommodating and open to discussion with members).  They even have a live podcast on Thursday night where they review events and answer questions and concerns from members (and I keep missing the live cast ) 

All that stated to fend off any perception of a personal attack in defense of anyone (APT or otherwise), I am going to jump right in at risk of being perceived as a d**k. Please understand that I ALSO HATE THAT STUFF (sand baggers and the failure to address them) and I am on your side here!  

- The board that runs the APT has a Handicap Committee that reviews EVERYONE's play. They review your tournament play if you are playing for US Am Tour, Golf Week, VGA, FLSGA, HSGA, TXSGA, State of Confusion State Golf Assn, AND your GHIN to make sure:

A. Players are posting rounds outside APT play,

B. Posted scores synch with how players perform at APT tournaments.  

If you are posting  mid-70s tournament rounds for XX State Golf Assn, but posting high-80s USGA GHIN rounds and you show up to an APT tournament expecting to be in Div 3 (8.5-13.4 HCP) and clean house shooting 4 over for the weekend they will stomp that **** out.  I have witnessed it and other members have discussed their experiences seeing players get banned from APT for trying to sand bag at APT events.

Can you have individuals sneak through?  Well... life does happen and nothing is perfect. But I will tell you that the board works hard to keep it from occurring in this group; and that is a nationwide effort. That all said, they are diligent and focused in preventing it, BUT the board and management human are they try to be fair!  I will include excerpts from the member manual here as explanation of the process (but you can access the manual yourself for full understanding of policies):

EXCEPTIONAL ROUND PROMOTION

If a member shoots a round that is 6 or more strokes below their division range, the Handicap Committee reserves the right to re-classify the member into the next division.

TOURNAMENT INDEX REVIEW

If a member fails to post a score within the last 90 days, the Handicap Committee reserves the right to review that members APT Tournament Index, using more recent data (USGA Handicap, Other Tournament Playing History, etc.) to place the member in the proper division based on their recent playing history (up or down).

HANDICAP COMMITTEE

The Handicap Committee is made up of 3 Chapter Owners and 2 Player Representatives. If a player has a question for the handicap committee, please e-mail handicaps@aptgolf.org.

UNVALIDATED PLAYERS – OUT OF DIVISION SCORES

In the interest of protecting the integrity of any Tour Event, the Tournament Committee shall have the discretion to act during a Tour Event to disqualify an unvalidated player if he/she posts a single round score that is:

More than four (4) strokes (Divisions 2/3) or five (5) strokes (Divisions 4/5) below their division cut off (based on course index adjustment for course slope and rating); OR

More than three (3) strokes below their closest competitor within the division.

ON THIS ONE, they review everything. If you have been playing with the tour for a while they have data to pull from and can see trends etc.

Gentlemen, EVERY statement here was meant to be educational and informative from my experience, NOTHING was intended to break anyone's balls or poke at anyone individual's experience or perception; we are all allowed our own experience and opinion. I am NOT judging your perspective or telling you that you are wrong and I am right.  I have had nothing but good experience and would love to see more players in my local chapter events and at when I travel.  The majority of those I have met, and their families who often come with them to national events, are great, down to earth, normal folks from all walks of life and all demographics.  Somewhat like conversing here on MGS and setting up rounds when you travel with people you correspond with, I can travel and find a round of golf in many places because of the people I have met playing with APT.

I HAVE NO FINANCIAL INTEREST IN APT.  I do NOT get anything from APT for expressing my experience. This is MY experience and MY experience only.  Try it out.  Worst case scenario you got to play golf. 

Cheers gentlemen (and ladies if any of you are reading)

[Subdiver1]

Slow play.  

Man if you can figure out how to fix this one bottle it and charge high prices.  For large events they station people on the course to give yellow and red cards.  Part of the solution is people telling other players to get moving. I have been in THAT GROUP who has guys lose a ball on 3 or 4 holes in a row; we have even had multiple guys lose a ball on the same hole, but never at the same shot so that just drags play speed down.  Not sure what you can do in this situations other than   and  some more.

[stuntstand1]

Is anyone here competing in the Amateur Players Tour? I enjoyed my first event this year, though it was quite slow, and I have my second tournament in 2 weeks.

[Dooby]

On 8/24/2024 at 1:12 PM, stuntstand1 said:

Is anyone here competing in the Amateur Players Tour? I enjoyed my first event this year, though it was quite slow, and I have my second tournament in 2 weeks.

I played in a handful this year for the first time and pace of play was a major issue.  Part of it (I think) has to do with the division I am in/skill level. I'm in division 5 (18 handicaps and higher) so it is a lot of poor play and older players which is a perfect concoction for slow play.  I enjoy the tournaments and the APT directors in my area have done a great job but pace of play is my biggest issue and concern whenever I try to plan for signing up.