Amateur Prizes

fundy said:
£500 these days I think, but pretty much unlimited for a hole in one

edit: imo thats fine for scratch amateur comps but should be far lower for handicap ones (which will shock no one lol)
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Didn't some of the more corporate events get around it as well by having the prize for some events being a 2 week, all expenses paid trip to compete in the final (so a 2 week golfing holiday then).
 
GB72 said:
Didn't some of the more corporate events get around it as well by having the prize for some events being a 2 week, all expenses paid trip to compete in the final (so a 2 week golfing holiday then).
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yeah was definitely a trend towards those sort of comps a few years back, likes of turkey and dubai very popular venues
 
The most recent amateur rules have changed quite a bit to reflect the path to the tour. You can not only win loads of money, but you can collect sponsorships and inage rights and all sorts...
nickjdavis said:
I've played in one Open comp this year in Scotland.

My entry fee was £120. Total prize fund by my reckoning was around £7,500 (didn't know this when I entered). I paid £320 in travelling costs (flights and parking) but had no accommodation costs to pay as I stayed with a friend.

I won £25 for a 5th placed finish (out of 67 in my division) in one of the consolation events after failing to qualify for the main matchplay comp after the first two strokeplay rounds. Also picked up around a tenner for a 2 and 2 birdies during the qualifying rounds.

The competition had in excess of 300 entrants...the majority being from the host club and the majority of the rest being from other Scottish clubs and then a smattering of English raiders like myself from over the border. It appeared to me that most competitors felt like participating in the competition was the main motivation and taking part and enjoying the collective experience of the entire week, rather than any desire to bag large prizes.

I'm left wondering whether the perceived "pot hunting" that is often talked about with regards to opens (especially seemingly pairs opens) is an "English Problem" and that perhaps the culture of open competitions in Scotland is totally different (my general perception is that Open comps seem to be a much more regular common occurrence...almost a way of life if you like...in Scotland) ???
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Why not just remove the (bulk of the) pot? That way its clear the 'prize' is the event itself...
 
nickjdavis said:
Yes. 4 days for those of us who failed to make the matchplay or got knocked out early in the matchplay....5 days for those who eventually made it to the matchplay semi-final stage
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I'd be supeised I'd the prize fund would be anything like that, as you say you paid £120, but the members won't be paying anything like that. Nairns was last week that I think is £150 for visitors but only £50 for members, I think the first prize for the main trophy is about £300 to £400. There are concelation prizes as well for diff sections. But the match play element makes it a bit harder to cheat and it and the prize split into cat a bandit isn't going beat plus fig golfers with no shots, and even if it were handicap there's still a chance you will come unstuck at some point...
 
patricks148 said:
I'd be supeised I'd the prize fund would be anything like that, as you say you paid £120, but the members won't be paying anything like that. Nairns was last week that I think is £150 for visitors but only £50 for members, I think the first prize for the main trophy is about £300 to £400. There are concelation prizes as well for diff sections. But the match play element makes it a bit harder to cheat and it and the prize split into cat a bandit isn't going beat plus fig golfers with no shots, and even if it were handicap there's still a chance you will come unstuck at some point...
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Members entry was £50.

Approximately 325 entries in total.

I just added up the total prizes as listed in the competition documentation that was sent to me, to get to £7,500 or so. If you are in Nairn then this would have been local to you as it was The Moray Open.
 
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nickjdavis said:
Members entry was £50.

Approximately 325 entries in total.

I just added up the total prizes as listed in the competition documentation that was sent to me, to get to £7,500 or so. If you are in Nairn then this would have been local to you as it was The Moray Open.
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I'm very surprised that level of prizes are on offer, surely the club would want to make some money out of it. What was 1st prize? But I digress I'd be surprised if banditry or cheating was a factor in the 4 or 5 day opens ours was won by a guy off +4 and handicap a guy off 7, both members mind. I don't play these things anymore, takes far too long, last I played the nairn one it was 4.40 in the 2nd group, group in front was 4 visitors with no one in front, spent most of the round watching them looking for balls.
How was it?, I'd heard it was very burnt. Played with a member there a few weeks ago and he did nothing but complain about the condition, which is a shame as its an enjoyable course and always been good when I've played it.
 
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patricks148 said:
I'm very surprised that level of prizes are on offer, surely the club would want to make some money out of it. What was 1st prize? But I digress I'd be surprised if banditry or cheating was a factor in the 4 or 5 day opens ours was won by a guy off +4 and handicap a guy off 7, both members mind. I don't play these things anymore, takes far too long, last I played the nairn one it was 4.40 in the 2nd group, group in front was 4 visitors with no one in front, spent most of the round watching them look for balls
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Looking at the draw I'd say that slightly less than half the field were visitors....if you said 40% visitors and 60% home players then with 325 entries that works out at (130 * £125) + (195 * £50) which is a princely sum of £26,000 in entry fees. Throw in the bar and restaurant takings and I'd say the club was making plenty out of it!!!!

First prize in the Scratch Matchplay was £400 with £250 to the runner up and £150 each to beaten semi finalists

Slightly lower for the low handicap and high handicap matchplay events but there were also prizes for the players who got knocked out in the earlier rounds of the matchplay as well as prizes for the best gross and nett aggregate scores in the qualifying rounds and then prizes in two handicap divisions in the two consolation comps.

I don't remember the play being particularly slow but we were playing in three balls. (Much prefer three balls...I find fourball golf of any format excruciatingly painful and its often difficult to get into a rhythm)

patricks148 said:
How was it?, I'd heard it was very burnt. Played with a member there a few weeks ago and he did nothing but complain about the condition, which is a shame as its an enjoyable course and always been good when I've played it.
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Greens were excellent but its fair to say the fairways were a bit bleak...sometimes a better lie was found in the "first cut" than on the fairways but hey its links golf....was a different challenge to what I'm used to.
 
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nickjdavis said:
Looking at the draw I'd say that slightly less than half the field were visitors....if you said 40% visitors and 60% home players then with 325 entries that works out at (130 * £125) + (195 * £50) which is a princely sum of £26,000 in entry fees. Throw in the bar and restaurant takings and I'd say the club was making plenty out of it!!!!

First prize in the Scratch Matchplay was £400 with £250 to the runner up and £150 each to beaten semi finalists

Slightly lower for the low handicap and high handicap matchplay events but there were also prizes for the players who got knocked out in the earlier rounds of the matchplay as well as prizes for the best gross and nett aggregate scores in the qualifying rounds and then prizes in two handicap divisions in the two consolation comps.

I don't remember the play being particularly slow but we were playing in three balls. (Much prefer three balls...I find fourball golf of any format excruciatingly painful and its often difficult to get into a rhythm)
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That's not a million miles from what our winner gets , but we are no where near £7k in total prizes. I'll have to ask how many entries we get, I've no idea but I'd be surprised if it was anything like as many as 300 plus. I think ours has a dinner one night as well.
Decent profit for moray, but alas bar and restaurant I think they are run outwith the club. Good for them I think they have struggled the last few years.

Course condition ok?
 
patricks148 said:
That's not a million miles from what our winner gets , but we are no where near £7k in total prizes. I'll have to ask how many entries we get, I've no idea but I'd be surprised if it was anything like as many as 300 plus. I think ours has a dinner one night as well.
Decent profit for moray, but alas bar and restaurant I think they are run outwith the club. Good for them I think they have struggled the last few years.

Course condition ok?
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According to the Nairn website and the open results looks like roughly 150-160 entries.

see previous reply re course....(missed it in my reply to your original post)
 
I shot a 67 nett couple of years ago in a local open.
Pro said “ even the home players havnt shot that all year as the course is playing so difficult”
Last game in all visitors from same club shot 61/63/65.
The pro just laughed ,but they walked away with £1000 worth of gear.
I would be happy with the trophy and a free invitation to defend next year.
Big prizes encourage cheating and need to be scaled down.

If the prizes were lower they could reduce the entry fees so win win.
 
It really is a mistake for clubs to all visitors who are mates to go out together.

Some opens now can be booked online. Easy for 3 cheats to go out together and clean up.
 
KenL said:
It really is a mistake for clubs to all visitors who are mates to go out together.

Some opens now can be booked online. Easy for 3 cheats to go out together and clean up.
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I've played a quite a few Opens in the last 2 years. None have been drawn. I've either booked online via BRS or booked directly over email. In all cases I have played as part of a group of 4, one exception but that was choice. I am not saying this is right but it is standard in this part of the country (the one in Scotland I played was also book yourself)

Are the ones near to you drawn more often?
 
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