GLT General Policies and Procedures
ENTRY INFORMATION:
Tournaments of the Great Lakes Tour are open to all golfers whose entry applications are approved by Great Lakes Tour ("GLT"). All Amateur golfers must have a verified Golf Canada handicap factor of 6.9 or less at the time of official tournament deadline. All Amateur and Professional members of the GLT will also have Golf Canada Gold Membership benefits and coverage.
To apply for entry a player must:
Register on-line through the Great Lakes Tour website.
Payments are only accepted in the form of Visa, MasterCard, AMEX or E-transfer in advance of registration deadlines. Payments are not accepted at the tournament sites unless paying in advance for future tournaments. Entries will then be accepted and approved or rejected in the order received. Great Lakes Tour will do its best to accommodate all tee time requests made prior to the entry deadline.
**LATE ENTRY POLICY**
All entries processed after the official deadline has passed or the entry portal has closed, the player will be subject to a 5% late fee. An invoice will be sent and must be paid prior to published starting time.
CANCELLATIONS/REFUNDS:
There is a $50.00 penalty for cancelling an entry after the posted deadline and prior to 11:59pm EDT of the day before the official tournament day. A "no show" or withdraw on the day of the tournament prior to your start time will be charged a fixed penalty of the full entry fee. Full refund will be issued if cancellation or withdraw is requested prior to the official posted event deadline.
PACE OF PLAY :
Time Par: Each player will have a 'Time Par' available on their scorecard. Lead groups defined as groups numbered one through three in official draw will be monitored early based on their official Time Par for their position on the golf course (this does not include twosomes and only applies from the first threesome). If any one of the lead groups does not complete nine within their posted Time Par, the group will receive a warning. If any one of the lead groups do not meet 18 hole Time Par the group will be assessed: 1 stroke penalty.
Subsequent groups will be timed accordingly to the definition of “Out of Position”. If a group finishes the 9th to 17th hole 20 minutes or more behind the group ahead with no underlying circumstances evident, they may be issued a warning. If the said group finishes their final hole 20 minutes behind the group ahead and were issued an official warning they will be assessed: 1 stroke penalty.
NOTE: Along with official starter, hole #10 and scoring areas there will be clocks positioned on holes #9 and #18 tees as official time check against Time Par for all players. Any penalized groups must appeal the ruling prior to leaving the official scoring area. All players must be present and if any player decides to leave the scoring area, the penalty will be upheld. A penalized group may appeal to have one player in the group take the penalty, but it must be a mutual agreement among the group while keeping the integrity of the tournament in mind.
TOURNAMENT FORMAT:
The format of each tournament on the Great Lakes Tour will be stroke-play, gross competition. Tournament play will be governed by the current Rules of Golf as approved by Golf Canada and local rules prepared by the Great Lakes Tour Tournament Committee and by supplemental instructions from the starter.
NOTE: Exception to tournament format would be to any GLT Team Events. Though these events will still play stroke play gross competition, further Rules for Team Competitions will adhere to Golf Canada team rules and conditions of competition.
TOURNAMENT ADMINISTRATION:
All decisions made by the Great Lakes Tour Tournament Committee will be final. Tournament Officials will be on site at every tournament to provide assistance, monitor the pace of play, and make rulings. Any Tournament Official may assess penalty strokes for rules infractions or slow play subject to review by the Tournament Committee.
EARNINGS CHEQUES:
Expiration: All cheques and E-transfers must be processed within (30) thirty days of issue, otherwise they become null and void.
Replacement: Any Member needing a replacement of earnings will be subject to a $50.00 administration fee + the cost of cancellation. Replacement cheques are only issued within the six months from the time of earning.
Alternatively, a member may opt in upon their memberhsip registration form to accept Email Money Transfers. There will no longer be a $1.50 service fee for e-transfer of tournament earnings.
NEW RULES OF AMATEUR STATUS: Starting in 2022 Amateurs may collect up to $1,200 CDN cash in professional or scratch tournaments where handicap does not define playing divisions.
NOTE: DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC, ALL EARNINGS IN 2022 WILL BE PAID BY E-TRANSFER. PLEASE ENSURE YOU HAVE ONLINE BANKING SET UP TO ENABLE THIS FEATURE.
CHECK-IN AND STARTING:
The GLT does not require official registration or check-in at GLT events and a player must check-in with the official starter 10 minutes prior to their posted tee time. Failure to do so may result in a disqualification from the tournament. Starting times are posted no later than 36 hours prior to the first official tournament round. Players will be informed via text message, email and available on GLT website and official Tournament Information Pages (TIP).
NO ALCOHOL/CONTRABAND POLICY
Players are prohibited to drink alcohol or use contraband substances during their tournament round. Any player who does not comply to this policy will be disqualified from the tournament and their membership may be deemed "under suspension" at the discretion of the tournament committee until further notice.
CONDUCT UNBECOMING
Players must conduct themselves in a professional manor at all times, both on the course and off the course when representing the Tour. The throwing of clubs; foul language; destruction of course property; communication with host venues; tour officials; spectators etc. will result in a minimum fine of $100.00 and a maximum of $500 along with suspension depending on the severity of the act. Second offence will result in a minimum fine of $200 to a maximum of $500 along with suspension depending on the severity of the act. Third offence will result in a $500 fine and the player will be have their membership suspended until otherwise advised by the GLT Directors.
SHORT PANT POLICY
Short Pants are permitted in all Great Lakes Tour 18 and 36-hole competitions. The GLT holds the right to not allow shorts during 54-hole and 72-hole competitions for the purpose of live stream or host facility policies regarding professional golfers not being allowed to wear shorts.
NINETY (90) RULE
In any multi round event conducted by the GLT, players posting a score of 90 or higher in the first round of competition and is not within ten (10) shots of the next opponent the player will be withdrawn from that event without a refund unless a reasonable means is cited i.e. injury, illness etc. If a player posts two consecutive scores of 90 or higher in any multi round tournament he/she may be subject to review of skills and suspension may be enforced unless a reasonable means is cited.
SPECTATOR CARTS
It is the policy of the Great Lakes Tour that spectator golf carts are not permitted unless medical or age are relevant factors. Please contact the GLT Tournament Director for approval of family members that may require a spectator cart. Approval must be granted prior to the start of the round. Spectator carts will not be permitted on the day of without prior notice. Carts must be purchased in the pro shop and is the responsibility of the approved persons. The GLT and it's Directors assume no risk if injury or damage occurs. Spectator carts are to stay on cart paths and if no paths are present they must keep a reasonable distance from the players and stay in the rough away from greens and tees. GLT Officials may remove a spectator cart at any time if they become a distraction to the group or other players in the event.
DISTANCE MEASURING DEVICES
Distance measuring devices are permitted in all official GLT events without penalty. It is noted that the Southern Ontario Open and Canada Cup distance measuring devices will also be permitted.
PLAYOFFS AND TIES
The only ties which will be broken by a playoff are those to decide first place. A sudden death playoff will immediately follow play on holes chosen by the tournament committee. All other ties will remain and the purse/points for those positions will be divided equally.