Southeastern Deaf Golfers Association

SOUTHEASTERN DEAF GOLFERS ASSOCIATION

Tournament Guidelines (June 2024)

BIDDING/SECURITY DEPOSIT

  1. Bidding takes place four (4) years preceding to hosting SEDGA event.
  2. Any affiliated organization that wants to sponsor the event may bid.
  3. To bid, there must be at least three (3) members of the bidding organization present at the time of bidding.
  4. If there is no bid from an affiliated organization to host the SEDGA event, the current Officers of the SEDGA shall assume the responsibility of hosting the event at a site of their choosing.
  5. The winning organization shall pay the one hundred fifty dollars ($150) security deposit to SEDGA Treasurer on the spot.
  6. The host must send at least three (3) representatives that are residents of the host state to SEDGA events during the three-year period; the year before, year of, and the year after hosting the SEDGA event.
  7. The security deposit will be refunded to the same organization providing that all the requirements as stipulated in BIDDING/SECURITY DEPOSIT 6 of the guidelines have been satisfied.

DATE

  1. The annual event shall be held the week after Father’s Day.
  2. The three-day tournament shall begin on Tuesday with the practice round set up for Monday.
  3. If the host wants or needs to move the event to a different week, the chairperson will need to present the case to the Officers for their approval two years prior to the event.

FLIGHTS

    The Officers and the host chairperson shall take care of creating Flights immediately after the second round.

GOLF COURSE

  1. The golf course shall be loose, not tight, and friendly and the rough shall not be higher than 2 inches in length.
  2. SEDGA tournament is to be played on one course only. It would be okay if Open division plays on a course, while Seniors, Super Seniors, and Women play on another course on the same golf course but it cannot be changed during a tournament.
  3. The length of the golf course for the following divisions shall be as indicated below:
    • Open = 6,000 to 6,500 yards (Slope rating should be less than 125.)
    • Seniors = 5,500 to 6,100 yards (Slope rating should be less than 120.)
    • Super Seniors/Women = 5,000 to 5,600 yards (Slope rating should be less than 115.)
  4. Golf course set up:
    1. Pin placement shall be placed in the middle of the green and is at least 7 paces from the edge of the collar.
    2. Tees’s placement shall be set up within 10 yards of the distance maker and it shall be at least one (1) club from the front edge and at least 3 clubs from the back edge of the tee box.
  5. The clubhouse:
    1. Shall have a pro shop.
    2. Shall have a grill/restaurant for large group.
    3. Shall have a large room for scoring center with scoreboards for golfers to relax, eat lunch, and watch the activities.

HOST

  1. Chairperson, this is a very important position in which this person must devote most of his/her time to setting up the committees, preparing all the details, and executing the plans set by the guidelines. This person is a part of the executive committee during the tournament week that his/her organization is hosting. Tournament Chairperson and committee shall keep the SEDGA Officers updated on the progress of the planning on a regular basis.
  2. Tournament treasurer is a position not to be overlooked by the chairperson. This position calls for this person to handle fundraising to cover prizes and expenses. This person shall be able to have skills in managing the finances of the tournaments and working with the SEDGA Treasurer to make sure every expense is covered.
  3. Committees are the foundation to a successful event. The following group of committees are needed for SEDGA Tournament; Lodging, Registration, Scoring, Program Book (optional), Luncheon/Banquet, Golf Course Liaison, and Special Prizes.

HOTEL

  1. The hotel shall be considered the headquarters for the annual event.
  2. Its location shall be less than ten (10) miles from the golf course.
  3. And it has a meeting room that can hold at least 100 people.

INSPECTION

  1. The inspection of the golf course and facilities by the inspection committee for next year’s tournament shall take place preceding the upcoming event.
  2. The inspection committee shall be made up of three (3) members:
    1. At least one (1) member of current SEDGA Officers.
    2. One (1) former SEDGA Officer who has played in SEDGA tournaments in the past 2 of 4 years.
    3. If needed, an at-large member can be selected by President.
    4. A member of the host committee cannot be on the inspection committee.
  3. Signing of the contract with the golf course personnel shall take place at the end of the inspection with the inspection committee present provided that the golf course and facilities passed the inspection.
  4. If a contract is signed, please assure the head pro to block a tee time from 8 am to 10 am for Monday's practice round before the tournament begins for the board, committee and delegates.
  5. A copy of the signed contracts shall be immediately sent to the SEDGA Secretary for recordkeeping.
  6. Each member of the inspection committee shall be reimbursed for his/her expenses by SEDGA at a reasonable cost due to cost-of-living adjustments.

LUNCHEON/BANQUET

  1. This event, preferably, be chaired by a non-golfer as a first choice.
  2. The host can decide which one they would like to have, luncheon or banquet.
  3. The luncheon shall take place right after the conclusion of the final round at the clubhouse.
  4. The banquet shall take place in the evening at 7 p.m. in a ballroom that can hold at least one hundred fifty (150) people with an optional of having a “Happy Hour” prior to mealtime.
  5. The awards presentation shall recognize all flights winners.
  6. Special bonus prizes may be given out on stage.
  7. Hall of Fame Induction, if there is one, shall take place after the awards presentation.

MEETINGS

  1. All meetings, if necessary, are to take place at the headquarters (hotel) on Monday.
  2. The meeting for the Executive Committee shall run from 3 to 5 p.m. in a boardroom or a small meeting room that can hold 20 to 50 people.
  3. The general meeting shall take place in a large meeting room that can hold at least 100 people at 7:30 p.m.

PAIRINGS

  1. We will use shotgun format. If the number of entrants is small, we will go with regular tee times in the line.
  2. It is highly recommended to use threesomes in each group to help speed up the pace of play.
  3. The SEDGA Secretary will group 1st round pairings unless delegated to someone else willing to take the task.
  4. For the first round, the pairing is a difficult task, and it shall be taken care of before the week of the event.
    1. No two (2) golfers from the same state and organization shall be paired into the same group.
    2. No two (2) golfers from the same region outside the southeastern shall be paired into the same group.
    3. No two (2) women are to be paired together if possible.
    4. No two (2) super seniors are to be paired together if possible.
  5. A late entry can be added to the group with less than 4 golfers.
  6. All defending division champions will be paired together and tee off from the first hole on the opening day.
  7. For the last two rounds of the tournament, the golfers will be paired according to the leaderboard of their division.
  8. The pairing sheet will be sent to players via email by 9:30 p.m. daily.

PUBLIC INFORMATION

  1. In working with the SEDGA Officers and the host chairperson, SEDGA webmaster will need the following information by the first week of November;
    1. date
    2. registration package
    3. golf course
    4. headquarters (hotel)
    5. tentative schedule of the event
    6. List of attractions in the area (optional)
  2. The tournament flyer shall be completed to post in SEDGA’s website by New Year (January 1st).
  3. Online registration shall be open on February 1st or otherwise directed by the SEDGA Officers and the host chairperson.

PRIZES

  1. The merchandise and/or cash prizes must be totaled at least three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500) excluding the entry fees.
  2. Prior to the event, the host chairperson shall inform the SEDGA Officers how much cash prizes they have raised for the purses.
  3. For the breakdown of the purses, the host chairperson can obtain a copy of the formula and chart from SEDGA Secretary.
  4. The cash prizes shall be distributed through online transactions within 2 weeks after the tournaments have concluded.
  5. If a member prefers to obtain the cash prizes in the mail, a check can be cut and mailed.
  6. The final breakdowns report shall be given to the SEDGA Secretary after the event and this report shall be audited by 2 members serving on the host committee.

PROGRAM BOOK (optional)

  1. This is the key to getting a lot of revenue to cover the expenses and some more for the purses.
  2. In the program book, there shall have a list of:
    1. History of SEDGA
    2. Past and Present Officers
    3. List of Tournaments with years, city and state
    4. Golf courses
    5. Winners’ names with the winning scores
    6. Past chairpersons’ names
    7. Program Schedule,
    8. Welcome Letters from host chairperson and Officers of SEDGA
    9. Hall of Fame with pictures of inductees
    10. Results of the previous year’s tournaments
    11. List of boosters (patrons)
    12. List of sponsors
    13. A lot of advertisements
  3. Host shall send a draft of the program book to SEDGA Secretary for proofreading.

SCORING

  1. At end of each round, the golfers shall give the scorecards to the employee in the pro shop if they have Golf Genius.
  2. After the pro shop finishes feeding the scores into Golf Genius, the scorecards are to be given to a member in charge of the Skins game.
  3. Post the leaderboards via email and on social media.
  4. Then a member in charge of Scoring/Handicap Statistics will complete the task he/she is assigned to do and post the HCP leaderboards via email and social media.
  5. In case of ties when leading in any flights, a scorecard playoff will be used by counting the total of last 9 holes. If there's still no winner, then repeat the process over the last 6, 3, and then the last hole to determine the winner.

SPCIAL PRIZES

  1. In addition to the cash prizes, special prizes would reward the golfer’s skills and help build up the excitement for the week.
  2. The host can decide which “contest” would suit their tournaments best:
    1. Chipping Contest
    2. Closest-to-Line Drive
    3. Closest-to-Pin
    4. Longest Drive
    5. Par 3 Contest
    6. Putting Contest
    7. Shootout
    8. Straightest Drive
    9. Skins Game

TOURNAMENT TITLES

  • The name for each divisional shall read as:
    • “Southeastern Deaf Open” (SE Deaf Open)
    • “Southeastern Deaf Senior Open” (SE Deaf Senior Open)
    • “Southeastern Deaf Super Senior Open” (SE Deaf Super Senior Open)
    • “Southeastern Deaf Women Open” (SE Deaf Women Open)

    Each affiliated organization shall host the SEDGA event in its own state. An exception can be made for a hosting organization to ask another affiliated organization for permission to host the event in its state.