We have another exciting year in store for everyone that enjoys playing, watching, following and supporting our junior golfers on the North Coast Junior Golf Tour. On February 1st, we will open junior tour registration for the 2019 Tour Membership. The membership fee will remain the same at $95, however we always offer an early-bird special for the month of February to save $20 off the membership fee. Prior to our launch date, new members can setup accounts in order to save time once February arrives. The parent must register first, then assign junior golfers under their account.
As always, we have another great schedule for 2019. Here are some of the highlights: The Joe Haase Cup will be back at Firestone CC on May 12. The regular season will kickoff at Lost Nation on June 4. The Firecracker will now be a two-day event at Stonewater on June 30 & July 1. The Four-Ball will be on July 11 at Quail Hollow (this is a two-man event where juniors can partner with another player on tour or basically anyone, this event is for Alumni too). The annual Awards Banquet will be held in Mid-August in conjunction with the tour’s Hall of Fame induction dinner. Details on these events and more will be released after February 1st.
We have always been a leader in the world of junior golf and continue to look for new ways to enhance the tour experience. Our live hole-by-hole scoring, 4 hour rounds and our tournament player building techniques are some of the most unique services provided in tournament golf. Many of our unique technologies end up being adopted by other tours many years later, which is good verification that we continue to lead in quality tournament operations. We are currently working on some innovative services that will keep NCJT on the leading edge in junior golf. More details to come this spring!
College golf is the end goal for a lot of our players and we try to make our tournament platform the perfect junior tour to achieve that goal. The junior golf world rankings by the Junior Golf Scoreboard is the #1 place a college coach will look to evaluate a player. The good news for NCJT players is that 75% of the world ranking formula is geared toward a players tournament score (65%) and tournament finish (10%), both of which are achieved anytime you play in one of our 36 hole competitions (the “WRJS events”). We’ll have 8 WRJS events in 2019 and you’ll need a minimum of 4 to get ranked. We have already heard from several of our players that have signed to play college golf next fall and we’ll probably hear about plenty more during our upcoming season. We are very proud of our graduates when they earn a spot on a college golf team and we love to hear from them as they advance in golf. Some of the elite players will also be considered for the NCJT Hall of Fame, which currently has 18 members, including Jason Dufner and Jason Kokrak, two great players on the PGA Tour.
Joe Haase Cup
In a few days, we will send out electronic invitation cards to the qualifiers for the 2019 NCJT team. The qualifiers will need to accept their invite by the deadline in order to represent NCJT in the May 12 Joe Haase Cup at Firestone CC. Qualifiers earn their spot on the team using the 2018 Classic Cup points or by exemption for winning a championship (other requirements apply).
2019 Rules of Golf
In 2019 major Rules of Golf changes were put into effect by the USGA. Here’s a link to a USGA page covering the changes including video explanations.
Here’s a quick list of the rules changes:
- Drop the ball from knee height (NOT shoulder height)
- Time to search for a ball – 3 minutes (NOT 5 minutes)
- Measure the area to drop with the longest club in your bag (except a putter)
- If you accidentally move your ball when searching for it, replace it without Penalty
- No penalty for a double hit – it only counts as one stroke
- No penalty if your ball strikes the Flagstick when played from on or off the Putting Green
- Spike mark and other shoe damage on the Putting Green can be repaired
- After your ball has been lifted and replaced on the Putting Green, if it then moves for any reason, always replace it on its original spot under no Penalty, even if it was blown by the wind or you accidentally move it
- Penalty areas replace Water Hazards, and you can move Loose Impediments, ground your club and take practice swings in Penalty Areas without Penalty, just as you can in the fairway or rough
- Opposite margin relief in Red Penalty Areas has been eliminated
- Red Penalty Area relief has only 3 options now, keeping spot last crossed in-line with Flagstick, lateral relief using 2 club lengths, and return to where last played (these are the same as before)
- In Bunkers you can move loose impediments, however you cannot touch the sand with your club in the area right in front of or right behind your ball, during your back swing or in taking practice swings
- Unplayable ball in Bunker – extra option to drop outside the bunker for two penalty strokes
- Pace of Play – it is recommended that you take no longer than 40 seconds to make a stroke (and usually you should be able to play more quickly than that) and Ready Golf in Stroke Play is encouraged