You know, the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of joining the tour. Consider the life: I’m hitting complimentary balls on the range before my round and realize it’s time to make my way to the first tee. Upon arrival at the tee box, I’m greeted by a tour official, handed my official scorecard and then…
“Now on the tee in the 10:00am pairing…from New Haven, Connecticut…Greg D’Andrea!“
And if that weren’t cool enough, there would be camera crews following me around on the course and on certain holes, I could check the leader board to see my position in the field! Afterwards, I could watch highlights of my round on my iPad as I lay in bed. And just as I’m about to fall asleep, I can dream of making a run on the leaders in following day’s final round!
How cool would that be? And the best thing of all, I wouldn’t have to change a thing with my current golf game – not my swing or my chipping or my putting. Nope…I could just take my 18 handicap, waltz onto the first tee and get announced.
Oh, I’m sorry. D
id you think I was talking about the PGA Tour? Heck no! I’m talking about the Hurricane Amateur Golf Tour! This year, in addition to its junior and collegiate tours, Hurricane has added an amateur golf tour that is open to men and women of all skill levels from ages 18-90! And because the amateur tour has events in 12 different states up and down the eastern United States, millions of average golfers will have a chance to compete!
The 2014 season kicks off at Grande Pines Golf Club in Orlando, FL on May 17th. From there, the tour heads to Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina, New Jersey, Virgina, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, South Carolina and Georgia. See the complete 2014 tour schedule (at what appear to be all fantastic courses) here.
Each tournament is two rounds over two days (Saturday and Sunday) and not only features all the stuff I mentioned above (including camera crews following you around and posting highlights to YouTube immediately after your round), but it also includes a tournament dinner with a raffle and prizes and several additional activities to boot! There’s even a National Tour Championship in Florida at the end of the season! Check out all the tour amenities: The Hurricane Difference.
OK, so what does it cost to have a tournament experience like a pro? To join the Hurricane Amateur Golf Tour is 25 bucks (USD). That grants you access to participate is as many of the 20+ tournaments that you want. Then, you pay a per-tournament entry fee (between $220 and $365 depending on the event, but it appears most are in the $250-$275 range). Guys like me might play one or two local events (say in New York or Jersey), but retired folks (or those with extra time and money on their hands) might want to hit every event on the schedule – what a great way to spend half the year!
Tour stops in my area are in the fall – so stay tuned – if I play, I’ll blog about it! In the meantime, I encourage you to check out this tour for yourself.