Note Detail

Detail
Title:	Section Tournament Policy
Detail:	TOURNAMENT POLICIES AND REGULATIONS I. ENTRY POLICY A. NO CASH WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR ANY ENTRY FEE. B. Entries and payment must be received at the Northern Ohio Section office by 12:00 NOON of posted deadline date when early deadlines exist. Phone and on-line entries will be permitted only with payment by credit card. C. Any member whose check is not honored by his/her respective bank is subject to strong disciplinary action. A $15.00 returned check fee will be applied. D. Starting times will be available on the website after 5:00 p.m. on the preceding Thursday. E. Entry fee will be refunded if you notify the Section office of your cancellation by NOON of posted deadline date. Please note that the answering machine does not constitute notification. This is the complete entry refund policy and is not subject to exception. F. In limited field tournaments, the number of spots will be distributed in the following order: All PGA Class A and Class A-8, Life Member professionals, and apprentices needed to fill the field. G. Any participant in a Northern Ohio PGA event must agree to meet any requirements of the sponsor before accepting non-cash prizes. H. A percentage of all total purses will be deducted for tournament expenses. In case of a cancelled event, $20.00 of each player's entry fee will be non-refundable. I. All entries are subject to the approval of the Tournament Committee. J. Senior professionals must declare if they are playing in the Senior Division-this declaration must be made on the entry blank. If this is not so stated, the senior will be paired in the regular division. II. ELIGIBILITY A. All tournaments are limited to the following: All Master, Class A (except A-3), Life Members who reside in the Northern Ohio Section, all apprentices who are currently working in the Section on a full-time basis (minimum of 40 hours/week) who have fulfilled all requirements of NOPGA and are in Good Standing with the PGA of America. Any Professional under suspension from National or a Section will be denied entry into any event. Guests of the Section invited by the Tournament Committee and/or Board of Directors. Effective as of April 1, 2003, upon the date of employment termination, a Section Member may only actively play for three years in Section events. B. Only a bona fide PGA member, who is not otherwise restricted by this PGA classification, will be allowed to enter the Section Stroke Play and/or Match Play Championships & Senior Section Championship. C. Non-registered apprentices may participate in the Northern Ohio Section tournaments by paying a $150 playing fee (non refundable) while employed on a full-time basis and could fulfill all other requirements and regulations of the Section. This fee gives playing privileges for 12 months from the date of initial payment. This privilege is granted only one time per individual. The individual must then be registered in the PGA Apprentice Program in order to participate in the tournament schedule. D. All registered apprentices and non-registered apprentices must have their employer complete and sign a current employment verification form and return it to the Section office before tournament entries will be accepted. E. The Assistants' Championship is open to assistants, apprentices (including non-member Head Professionals) of the Northern Ohio Section who have met all the qualifications and tournament regulations of the PGA of America. III. DISCIPLINE,PENALTIES, APPEALS 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. Advance Notification of Proposed Disciplinary Action 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. Rules of Golf 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. Conduct Unbecoming a Professional 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. Classes of Penalties for Section Tournament Offenses 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. MAJOR PENALTIES. A 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. Appeals 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. 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. IV. RULES AND PROCEDURES Non-metal spike policy Metal spikes are prohibited for play. The NOPGA reserves the right to examine all non-metal spikes to ensure their compliance with the host course requirements. In consideration of participation, participant hereby releases Section and holds Section harmless from any and all claims for loss or damage whether or not caused by participant's use of spikeless/non-metal golf shoes. Penalty for non-conformance is disqualification. A. Rules of Play: 1. USGA Rules shall govern all play. A Rules Sheet will be provided to each player at all NOPGA events with a listing of the applicable Local Rules. 2. All questions pertinent to rules of play will be directed to a committee consisting of host professional, member of the tournament committee, member of the Board of Directors, and the Tournament Director. 3. All pairings will be made by blind draw, including tournaments with amateur participation. Whenever possible, no more than one amateur will be paired with two professionals. In special sponsored events, the tournament committee may adjust pairing and/or starting times as necessary. B. Lateness: Contestants shall check in at the starter's table upon arrival at the tournament site. Lateness for an assigned starting time shall be dealt with as follows (also applies to match and stroke play): If the player arrives at his starting point ready to play within five minutes of his starting, the penalty to start on time is loss of the first hole to be played in match play or two strokes in stroke play instead of disqualification. If he arrives after five minutes, he shall be disqualified. C. Discontinuance of Play: With the exception of lightning, a competitor shall not discontinue play for any reason. The Tournament Committee may authorize suspension and resumption of play at their discretion. D. Playoffs: In all NOPGA designated events, a tie for first place must be resolved by a sudden death playoff on the same day of the final round, if possible. E. All contestants are required to employ either a caddie or cart when they are available in all NOPGA events. F. No tournament can be rescheduled after it has been announced without the approval of the Board of Directors. G. All amateurs playing in NOPGA events must have a current, bona fide handicap card or they will play from scratch. H. In stroke play events, seniors entered in the Senior Division only will play from the white tees whenever possible. I. In designated Pro-Pro events, seniors (60) are permitted to play from the forward tees. V. POINT SYSTEM A. The distribution of prize money and points in tournaments conducted by NOPGA shall be determined by the Tournament Committee. B. Checks will be mailed out within one week after the event. C. Points will be distributed as posted on the Section Website D. Points will determine: Stroke Play Series Tour Championship PGA Player of the Year PGA Senior Player of the Year Apprentice/Assistant Player of the Year Special Invitations (ie. Ohio Cup Matches) Match Play: Reg. Division (62 spots from current point list plus host professional and champion) Sr. Division (30 spots from current point list plus host professional and champion) Appr. Division (30 spots from current point list plus host professional and champion) VI. SPECIAL EVENTS A Special Event is a tournament that a PGA member may wish to have at his club or course which is not a regularly-scheduled event produced by the Section Tournament Committee. The member hosting this tournament may invite who they wish and is solely responsible for the organization and running of the event. It is a violation of regulations for members or apprentices to play in a tournament or to host a tournament within the Section opposite one that has been previously approved. A sanctioned event is defined as being an event on the Section Tournament Schedule. Violation of this rule will result in a $200 fine and suspension from playing in section tournaments until the fine is paid. VII. PRO MEMBERS The Tournament Committee of the Northern Ohio PGA has established the following guidelines for Pro-Member tournaments. A. All Pro-Member tournaments must be registered at the PGA Section office to avoid having more than one Pro-Member on the same day. B. It is the feeling of the committee that the most desirable field would be made up of 25 professionals and 75 members. To assist the club in inviting the professionals to participate, a list will be made available from the PGA, setting forth the names of professionals who would be willing to play. In this manner, the club would be assured of having a field of its own choosing. Naturally, both the host professional and the committee would be available for guidance and assistance if requested. VIII. RULES FOR SCRAMBLE EVENTS Rules for scramble events have been suggested by the Tournament Committee in order that scramble events may become more uniform. USGA rules will prevail with the following additions and/or clarifications: A. Players may play in order. B. The position of the ball that is chosen must be marked and the rest of the team may place their balls all within one club length, no nearer, the hole. If the position chosen is in the rough, all balls must be placed in the rough; if in a hazard, all balls must be placed in that hazard. Breach of rule is 2 strokes. C. When a ball is holed, that score is the one that counts. Breach of rule-disqualification. TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE Rob Moss - Chairman Tom Fussaro - Sr. Chairman Robb Schulze Jon Jones Ross Keen Eric Morgan Matt Creech Mike Heisterkamp

23rd Ohio Senior Open

May 14 - May 15, 2008

Firestone Country Club - West Course