Updates Made to STPGA Junior Golf's Rules & Regulations
January 11, 2019 • Blake Davis
Section 3: Policies and Procedures
- Account Credit Policy - Any account credit accrued throughout a given year will stay on your account for the following year so long as you register for membership. I.E., if you end 2018 with $35 in account credit and register for 2019 membership, the $35 will be available for use. However, if you do not become a member in 2019 and sign up in 2020, the $35 will not be available for use. (p.11)
- Age Division Placement Policy - Prestige Tour players will be placed in a division based off their age as of the second round of the tournament. (p.12)
- Distance Measuring Devices Policy – Cell phones and smartwatches are NOT permitted at any point during play. The exception to this is that a player may use a phone to take a picture of a ruling situation, should a rules official not be immediately available. First offense is a two-stroke penalty. (p.12)
- Pace of Play Penalty Structure – New penalty structure implemented on the Junior Tour. (p.15)
Section 5: Little Linksters
- Division Advancement - It is the player's responsibility to contact the STPGA once they have achieved a score of 8 over par or lower in two events in order to be moved into the 9-hole Modified Division. (p.20)
- Unique Rules of Play – (verbiage change) Penalty Area Rule - If a player hits two (2) balls into a penalty area that is designated by red or yellow stakes or freshly painted lines they may drop a ball on the opposite side of the said penalty area for no additional penalty. (p.21)
- Example: Player hits his or her first (1) shot into the penalty area designated by red or yellow stakes or freshly painted lines. Player drops and lays two (2). The player proceeds to hit his or her third (3) shot into the same penalty area. The play may then drop on the other side of the penalty area. At this point, the player will be laying four (4) and will proceed to hit his or her fifth (5) shot. Note: The player must count the two (2) strokes for hitting into the penalty area before proceeding under this rule.
- Breaking Ties - For ties for 1st place only, the winner will be decided via a scorecard playoff. It will be broken using the last six holes, last three holes, and last hole method. If the players are still tied, they will each earn 1 st place and split the points. All players who tie for a place other than first will receive a medal for that place. The following policy will only take place for 9-hole divisions. There will be no tiebreakers for 5-hole divisions. (p.22)
Section 6: Junior Links
- Awards - Medals will be given out for 1st thru 3rd place at every Junior Links event, regardless of field size. (p.25)
- Points Challenge - After each tournament, points will be awarded that will be used to decide who receives an invitation to the series championship. The championship will take place in December. (p.25)
- NOTE #1: The Points list will run for the entire calendar year. It will not be split up into separate season series’.
- NOTE #2: The Championship is an invitation-only event and the field is a direct representation of our entire program based on both the number of people in both metro area and age division.
Section 7: Junior Tour
- Awards - Medals will be given out for 1st thru 3rd place at every Junior Tour event, regardless of field size. (p.28)
- Yardage Guidelines (p.29)
Section 8: Prestige Tour
- Points Challenge - The Southern Texas PGA Srixon Prestige Tour has a year-round points challenge. Points acquired throughout the year will accumulate towards the Boys and Girls 13-14, Boys and Girls 15-18, and new Boys and Girls 13-18 overall divisions lists. After the final Srixon Prestige Tour of the year, the Southern Texas PGA will award the overall Boys and Girls 13-18 Points List winners with an exemption into the following year Invitational tournament. The STPGA reserves the right to add additional exemptions at any time. (p.31)
Section 10: STPGA Area Directors
- Austin Junior Tour Area Director – Emily Hassey – ehassey@pgahq.com
- Beaumont Area Director – Mitch Duncan – mduncan@pgahq.com
Houston, TX (April 5-6, 2025) - The Prestige Tour's annual Lone Star Shootout for 2025 concluded this past weekend at Hearthstone Country Club, with Francisco Munoz and Emma Ziniuk earning first-overall finishes.
San Antonio, TX (April 5-6, 2025) - The Prestige Tour's 2025 Alamo City Shootout, held at Cedar Creek Golf Club this past weekend, found William Mangione and Kanak Yadav at top spots.
Spring, TX (April 1st, 2025) - Good Afternoon Players, Parents, & Family Friends, March was busy! 5, 36-hole championships in 5 different cities in only 30 days! More tournaments, more champions. More champions, more history. Let’s keep it rolling into April! Srixon Prestige Tour Champions - March As the weather began to warm up, our junior golfers followed suit. Beginning at Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Golf Course for the Hill Country Open , Oliver Betschart, New Braunfels, TX, and Saahi Naraharasetty, Cedar Park, TX, claimed their first wins of 2025 with each of them breaking par through 36 holes. Moving a week later to the Spring Break Classic at The Club at Falcon Point, the hometown hero, Maddox Cleavinger, Katy, TX, claimed his first Prestige Tour victory by shooting a 144 (E) through 36 holes while Joann Bee, Spring, TX, claimed her third Prestige Tour victory since 2023. The week following, JP Lynch and Kanak Yadav, both from Austin, TX, proved that they mean business in 2025 by earning their third victories since 2024 at the EmmyEvan Shootout in the Hills at Lakecliff Golf Club. A few short days later, the Prestige Tour team headed across state lines into the beautiful, Lake Charles, Louisiana for the Visit Lake Charles Spring Classic ! Daniel Rice, Magnolia, TX, and Vivian Volion, Springfield, LA, walked into LC and walked away with hardware. Rounding out March, South Shore Harbour played host for the Veritex Bank Houston Junior Classic where Luke An, Houston, TX, and Carolyn Liu, Katy, TX, found a way to call themselves champions! Welcome to Team STPGA, Lora and Daniel, for the inaugural Bayou Cup! On March 23, the final day of the Visit Lake Charles Spring Classic, the STPGA welcomed the first two players to Team STPGA for the 2025 Bayou Cup against friendly rivals, Team LJGT ! Lora Kim, Katy, TX, found a way to prevail over the remaining eligible participants by carding a 72-75(+5). Daniel Rice, Magnolia, TX, not only won the championship itself, but his 69-72(-1) earned himself a spot to compete on Team STPGA alongside Kim this winter! Want to be a part of history? See below to find out how YOU can earn a spot to represent Team STPGA in the first ever Bayou Cup ! Boys 13-18 Exemptions Insperity Invitational Tour Championship at Champions Golf Club | July 21-22 Prestige Tour Open at Gleannloch Pines Golf Club | August 11-12 Vortech Contracting Championship at Rayburn Resort | September 6-7 Girls 13-18 Exemptions Insperity Invitational Tour Championship at Champions Golf Club | July 21-22 H-Town Showdown at BlackHorse Golf Club | August 23-24 Sun City Showdown at Legacy Hills Golf Club | September 27-28 Boys 13-14 Exemptions H-Town Showdown at BlackHorse Golf Club | August 23-24 Brackenridge Park Classic at Brackenridge Park Golf Course | September 13-14 Sun City Showdown at Legacy Hills Golf Club | September 27-28 Bay Forest Junior Championship at Bay Forest Golf Course | October 4-5 Thank You to our Sponsors! For the seventh consecutive year, Srixon is returning as the sole Prestige Tour Title Partner for the 2025 year. Keep in mind, if you are looking for golf balls to golf clubs, Srixon is one of the premiere brands in the industry and will always keep you at the top of your game. Thank you to EmmyEvan for their continued support of STPGA Junior Golf and for sponsoring the 2025 EmmyEvan Shootout in the Hills at Lakecliff Golf Club! Former junior golfer and current junior golfer, Emmy and Evan Tran, love this game so much they found a way to support junior golfers and their mission towards success! Thank you to the staff at Visit Lake Charles for welcoming the Srixon Prestige Tour team into the wonderful town of Lake Charles, LA, and for providing discounted hotel rates to those participating in the Visit Lake Charles Spring Classic! Lastly, thank you to the team at Veritex Bank for continuing their support of junior golf in 2025 for being the Title Partner of the Veritex Bank Houston Junior Classic! 2025 Summer Registration Opens TOMORROW Set your alarm clocks! TOMORROW, April 1st at 9:00 AM (CST), all Srixon Prestige Tour tournaments from May 28-29 through August 16-17 will OPEN for registration! Click b elow to view the Srixon Prestige Tour schedule.
League City, TX (March 31, 2025) - The Prestige Tour's 2025 Veritex Bank Houston Junior Classic, held at South Shore Harbour Country Club this past weekend, saw Luke An and Carolyn Liu claim the top spots.
