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
Georgetown Texas, TX (February 1-2, 2025) - The Srixon Prestige Tour's Heart of Texas Classic concluded this past weekend at The Riverhill Country Club. Tournament victories were earned by Caileigh Royer and Colton ODell, both of whom demonstrated exceptional play over two rounds.
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Georgetown Texas, TX (February 1-2, 2025) - The Srixon Prestige Tour's ATX Showcase took place this past weekend at The White Wing Golf Club. Aly Esparza and JP Lynch distinguished themselves with impressive two-round performances, each earning a tournament victory.
Spring, TX (February 1st, 2025) - Good Afternoon Players, Parents, & Family Friends, It is hard to believe that one month has already passed! As one month passes, one more follows shortly after. February will contain 3 Srixon Prestige Tour tournaments with one being in the Houston, Austin, and San Antonio metro areas! Srixon Prestige Tour Champions - January The new year began down on the coast at Galveston Country Club where Brent Mauer , of Mont Belvieu, TX and London Fowlkes , of Porter, TX, started off the year on a hot start claiming the victory. Following this weekend, the Srixon Prestige Tour headed north to The Golf Club at Texas A&M where Drew Dickens , of Dripping Springs, TX, and London Fowlkes , of Porter, TX, weathered the storm and walked away victorious despite the challenging conditions! Dickens carded a 139 (-3) forcing a playoff where he would then call himself champion after the first playoff hole. Fowlkes continues her hot streak by showing resilience and carding the best second round score, 73 (+2), within the Girls 13-18 division to earn herself back-to-back victories! 2025 Texas Women’s Open Qualifiers The Srixon Prestige Tour will be awarding 3 participants with the opportunity to participate in the 2025 Texas Women’s Open. These additional qualifiers will be held during the Alamo City Shootout at Cedar Creek Golf Course and the Spring Fling at Pearland Golf Club. This qualifier is only available for players within the Girls 13-18 division of each respective event. The Alamo City Shootout will award the top finisher within the qualifier after Round 2, while the Spring Fling will award the top 2 finishers within the qualifier after Round 2. Female participants have the option to pay $30 extra by selecting the Entry Fee + TWO Qual at registration. The Bayou Cup As we enter year 3 of our partnership with the Louisiana Junior Golf Tour, we are excited to announce another Cup Match to the schedule! The Bayou Cup will be held at Big Easy Ranch on December 5-7, 2025. Keep an eye out for our exemption schedule to see how YOU can represent Team STPGA in this inaugural event! Upcoming Events Below are a few events with remaining field spots within the next month or so. March 1-2 – Hill Country Open at Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Golf Course March 17-18 - EmmyEvan Shootout in the Hills at Lakecliff Golf Club Ma rch 22-23 - Visit Lake Charles Spring Classic at Contraband Bayou Golf Club April 5-6 - Alamo City Shootout at Cedar Creek Golf Course Below are some important dates to keep an eye on in the future. The entire 2025 Srixon Prestige Tour schedule will be viewable on February 4th, 2025 . April 1 - All tournaments from May 28-29 through August 16-17 will open for registration. For more information and to see other important dates for the 2025 year, click here . To view the current Srixon Prestige Tour schedule, click here . Thank You to Srixon! 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. Rule’s Corner For this month’s Rule’s Corner, we will refresh our knowledge on relief from a Penalty Area. If your ball is known or virtually certain to be at rest within a RED penalty area, players will have 3 options of relief for the cost of one penalty stroke: stroke-and-distance, back-on-line, and lateral relief. If your ball is known or virtually certain to be at rest within a YELLOW penalty area, players will only have 2 options of relief for the cost of one penalty stroke: stroke-and-distance or back-on-line. We are looking forward to making further strides and hope to fulfill our goal of leaving excellence on and off the golf course. As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact myself (E: cmurphy@pgahq.com | D: (832)442-2410) or Dean Pocwierz (E: dpocwierz@pgahq.com | (832)442-2404).
