2021 Charity Golf Initative

SGA Tour Membership

Join the SGA Tour

Battle for EXTRA glory (and amazing prizes) with an SGA Tour Membership.

SGA Tour Logo

Get an SGA Tour Membership today, and take your place on the Honourboards!

By becoming a card-carrying member of the SGA Tour, you can compete like the professionals in a season-long Order of Merit. You'll be eligible for trophies, our prestigious honourboards, and receive priority booking, discounts, free golf swag and more!

Open to ALL Australian Amateurs (regardless of skill level)!

SGA Tour Trophies

With your SGA Tour membership, you can vie for trophies in our monthly/fortnightly events, and our annual marquee events:

  • Club Championships.
  • Tour Championships.
  • State Matchplay.
  • 4BBB Championship

(see below for more info on these events)

Also, you'll gain eligibility for our prestigious season honours:

  • SGA Order of Merit. 
  • SGA Tour Honour Boards
  • Golfer of the Year.

In addition, you'll enjoy priority booking preferences at many of our events, discounts, free golf swag and more!

Your SGA Tour Membership includes:

Just $50 per year

  • SGA Tour cap, stubby-holder, and three Srixon golf balls
  • Exclusive access to premium SGA Tour events
  • Priority/Pre-Sale booking preference for SGA Tour events
  • Eligibility for Course Records on the Honour Board
  • Exclusive discounts and offers from SGA partners
  • Eligibility to win an SGA Tour Trophy/Award at each event
  • Eligibility for the six SGA Tour Trophy Titles: OOM, Club Champs, 4BBB, SGA Matchplay, Golfer of the Year and Tour Championship
Outstanding Value

Want to Join the SGA Tour?

There are three quick and easy ways to join the SGA Tour:

  • Book into any SGA event via Golf Genius, and tick the "Join the SGA Tour" box. Your membership will be added to your green fee, and you'll immediately start earning OOM points and become a member for the year. 

OR....

  • Pay via EFT Transfer

Social Golf Australia
Bendigo Bank
BSB: 633000
Account Number: 130203821
(Please enter your name in the payment reference field).

OR....

  • Ring us today, and pay by the phone: (Dean Miller: 0416 208 281)

You will then become a member, and qualify for all of the great benefits!

(*Note: to compete for trophies/prizes in the SGA Tour events, you must hold an official Golf Handicap. This can be with any recognised Australian Golf Club. Alternately, why not get an official Golf Handicap for just $108 with Social Golf Australia.)

The Tour Season

"The Tour" season comprises between 10 and 20 events played on some of the best courses available. Due to our large group bookings, we are able to secure green fee discounts at some courses that will be passed on to you - the 'Tour player'. Prize costs are included in the entry price for each event and anyone is welcome to join the fun of playing on the Tour.

Just like the professional golf tours, each SGA Tour has its own Order of Merit with a Tour Championship at the end of the season. At the end of the season, the Order of Merit winner is determined. The final event of the year is the exclusive Tour Championship played on one of the top courses in each city. Only the leading 20 players in the Order of Merit are eligible to compete for the Tour Championship at the final event of the year.

Anyone can play on the Tour and simply pay as you play in as many events as you like. It is not expensive to join the Tour, and being a member has a lot of great benefits.

Prizes & Grades at SGA Tour events

Each event is run as an open comp that all golfers can enter, and features between $700 and $1000 of prizes. The final event of the year features over $5000 of trophies and prizes. We give away over $25,000 of prizes throughout the year. For all the single Stableford, Par & Stroke events, we have a prize pool for each of A, B & C grades. The grade divisions are organised by Daily Handicaps for each event so that there are similar numbers of people in each grade. It is usually: A Grade 0 – 13, B Grade 14 – 19 and C Grade 20 & above.

Details of each SGA Tour Trophy or Award

Here are the details of each SGA Tour Event and/or Award.

Each state's SGA Tour Order of Merit (OOM) is the annual award for the best, most committed and most consistent Tour player of the year. The guiding principle for the OOM is to reward regular attendance and consistent performance in Tour events throughout the year.

POINTS

The point scoring format has been calibrated to foster a close race for the OOM title. Tour Members receive entry points for each event they enter, and the top 20 Tour Members at each event score points (20 for first, 19 for second, etc). Furthermore, only the top seven performances (placing points) by a player count towards their final points tally.

This structuring of the points system means that the more points a player accumulates, the harder it becomes for them to add to their tally. This means an early bolter will struggle to escape. The closer we get to the end of the season, the tighter the race will become. Hence, even players who join the Tour mid-season still have a chance of winning the OOM and/or qualifying for the Tour Championship with solid, consistent performances. The OOM is decided in the last event before the Tour Championship.

The Tour Championship is contested in the final event of the year by the top 25 players (plus ties) in the Order of Merit. Hence, a player who doesn't make up the ground late in the year to win the Order of Merit can still be in contention to qualify for the Tour Championship. The points system has been structured this way in the interests of keeping as many Tour players in contention for Tour Championship qualification for as long as possible.

The SGA Tour Club Championships is played over four rounds spread throughout the year with a golfer needing to participate in three of the four nominated events to be eligible. The four rounds generally correspond with the four Major Championships of professional golf and a player’s three best scores count towards the combined total. Club Championships scores are added together and the player(s) with the highest cumulative total from their best three Club Championships rounds wins.

As the Club Championships rounds constitiute four of the SGA Tour ‘Majors’ for the golfing year and it is one of our premium Trophy Events, in the Club Championships, five additional Order of Merit Placing Points will be awarded for each of the four Club Championships rounds. Hence Order of Merit points will be awarded from 25 to 1 rather than the usual 20 to 1.

Every SGA Tour Member's Club Championships scores are simply added together and the player(s) with the highest cumulative total from their best three Club Championships rounds wins. At the end of the year, the Club Championships winner will be presented with the trophy and prizes at the final event of the Tour season: The Tour Championship.

Club Championships Terms & Conditions

  • Only current SGA Tour members are eligible.
  • The SGA Tour Club Championships is derived from the best three scores achieved in the four Club Championships events throughout the year.
  • The Club Championships will be determined by cumulative individual Stableford points.
  • Any Par or Stroke event staged as a Club Championships round will have scores adjusted to the corresponding stableford points for the Club Championships scores.
  • Order of Merit Placing Points for each of the four Club Championships rounds will be from 25 to 1 rather than the usual 20 to 1.
  • The SGA Tours in each State are separate competitions and scores are not transferable from one Tour to another.
  • Only players with current and valid official handicaps are eligible.
  • SGA Tour Members must be entered in the competition on the day to qualify to receive OOM points for the event and/or to have scores included in the Club Championships.
  • Eligibility, points awarded, event results, prizes awarded, membership and Club Championships results are all at the sole discretion of Social Golf Australia.
  • Players enter and participate in events at their own risk.
  • Social Golf Australia reserves the right to amend, alter or revise the conditions of entry, the prize pool, membership status and event results without notice.
  • In the event of a tie for the Club Championships, there will be no countback and the tied players will share the award and the prize pool.

The SGA Tour Pairs Better Ball (i.e. 4BBB) Championships is an award for best cumulative score by individuals in four designated Pairs events each year.

These events are our Mini-Majors for the year as they carry extra importance. Firstly there are double the number of Order of Merit (OOM) points to be won as the pairs each win the same points (we run OOM points down to 20th place, so 40 players can receive placing points as opposed to usual 20 per event).

Every SGA Tour Member's 4BBB scores are simply added together and the player(s) with the highest cumulative total from their best three 4BBB Championships rounds wins. At the end of the year, the Championship winner will be presented with the trophy and prizes at the final event of the Tour season: The Tour Championship. To avoid ties, and to encourage socialising on Tour, no player can pair with the same partner in the 4BBB more than once per year.

Pairs Better Ball (4BBB) Championship Terms & Conditions

  • Only Tour members are eligible.
  • The 4BBB Championship is derived from the scores achieved in the 4BBB events throughout the year.
  • The best three 4BBB scores count as the player’s total for the Championship.
  • The SGA Tours in each State are separate and the 4BBBs in each state are separate competitions and scores are not transferable from one Tour to another.
  • Only players with current and valid official handicaps are eligible.
  • SGA Tour Members must be entered in the competition on the day to qualify to receive OOM points for the event and/or to have scores included in the 4BBB Championship.
  • Eligibility, points awarded, event results, prizes awarded, membership and 4BBB Championship results are all at the sole discretion of Social Golf Australia.
  • Players enter and participate in events at their own risk.
  • Social Golf Australia reserves the right to amend, alter or revise the conditions of entry, the prize pool, membership status and event results without notice.
  • In the event of a tie for the 4BBB Championship, there will be no countback and the tied players will share the award and the prize pool.

The SGA Matchplay is an annual individual, state-based Matchplay Championship where golfers are drawn to play matches and arrange the matches themselves with the winners progressing to the next round.

The format is individual strokeplay matchplay where the player with the lowest nett stroke score wins the hole. If the same score is carded, the hole is halved. For handicaps, both players check their Daily Handicaps from the tees of the agreed course being played. If there is a difference in Daily Handicap, the lower marker concedes shots on the hardest holes on the matchplay index and gives one shot for each hole where there is a differential. Hence, If a 10 Daily Handicap plays a 15 Daily Handicap, then the player off 15 gets one shot on each of the five hardest holes on the matchplay index. The best individual nett stroke score wins the hole. The event details are:

  • Entry FREE and open exclusively to all current SGA Tour Members.
  • A draw for the first round of matches will be done for SGA Tour Event in January each year.
  • After Round One, opponents will be put in touch by email to arrange to play matches privately.
  • There will be six rounds all up with the deadlines for each round listed below.

Players who are drawn for matches from Round 2 onwards will be put in email contact by SGA and need to arrange a venue and date themselves for playing their match. Results are to be reported to SGA and the winner progresses to the next round of matches. At the end of the year, the SGA Matchplay Championship winner will be presented with the trophy and prizes at the final event of the SGA Tour season: The Tour Championship.

The SGA Tour Golfer of the Year (GOTY) is the annual award for the SGA Tour Member(s) who epitomises the principles of the game and what the SGA Tour stands for: to enjoy sharing a round of golf in good humour with respect and consideration for the laws and traditions of the game and for fellow golfers. The GOTY winner is announced and presented with the Neil Hocking Memorial Trophy at the final event of the Tour season: The Tour Championship.

The guiding principle for the GOTY is to recognise fair play, sportsmanship, consideration for others, respect for the rules and traditions of the game and golfing etiquette. These are the foundations upon which golf is built and there is great value in fostering and supporting these ideals. Hence, the GOTY is not an award for the best player, but for excellence in golf. It may be awarded for ongoing achievement through the course of the year, or for a single act of sportsmanship that is a worthy example of what is great about the game of golf.

Golf is not built on foundations of a few great deeds by the best golfers - the incredible shots and remarkable triumphs of the game's elite. Golf has been built on, and continues to rely on, many small deeds from golfers everywhere: helping a playing partner look for their temporarily misplaced ball; not talking during someones back-swing; not throwing a club after a poor shot; offering to rake a bunker if you are on the green and your playing partner is having a long day at the beach; lending a hand by moving a trolley, replacing a divot or repairing a pitch mark; recognising a great shot by an opponent; accepting both defeat and victory graciously and with humility; filling two divots every time you make one; or simply remembering to keep sand in your bucket.

At different times, I have failed at all of these simple tasks, so I know this is an award that I could not win. But it is one that I aspire to be worthy of. Notwithstanding that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, it is possible for us all to improve as golfers. Bobby Jones addressed his petulant tantrums on the course as a youth to transform himself into an icon of sportsmanship. My hope is that by having a Tour award that recognises the best that we can be as golfers, we can encourage and foster an approach from our Tour Members that will make the game more enjoyable for all to participate in.  -- Matthew Pitt. SGA Managing Director

The Tour Championship is the final event of the year and played at some of Australia’s most prestigious golf clubs. It is intended to be a celebration of the golfing year and all golfers are welcome to join the fun. The day features a presentation dinner after golf where all our major awards for the year are presented to the winners.

An exclusive field of 25 players will compete on the day in a separate event for The Tour Championship title. The top 25 players (plus ties) in the Order of Merit (OOM) who attend will contest The Tour Championship. Note that if a player in the top 25 cannot take their place in the field, that place is offered to the first alternate (the 26th player in the OOM plus ties) and so on. Hence, if five of the top 25 do not attend, the Tour Members down to 30th place (plus ties) will qualify to compete for the Tour Championship title. We have had a player who finished as low as 46th in the OOM go on to win The Tour Championship.

Sponsor the Tour Championship

The Tour Championship is our premier event of the year and the ideal opportunity for business operators who play on the Tour to show their support for the SGA Tour and promote their businesses to our Tour golfers and their guests.

Tour Championship Sponsors benefits:

  • Acknowledgement in event information
  • Sponsor's logos printed in the event program
  • Acknowledgement at the prize presentation
  • Tax receipt for event sponsorship & advertising
  • Acknowledgement and website links in event results
  • Logos and links on the Tour Championship webpage

Investment

Tour Championship Prize Sponsorship - prize contribution
Tour Championship Supporter Sponsorship - $110.00
Premium TC Sponsor (inc event entry for one) - $335.00
Deluxe TC Sponsorship (inc event entry for two) - $595.00

Important Notes:

  • SGA Tour Membership is not included in the $108 cost of maintaining your handicap with The SGA Golf Club. The SGA Tour is our event series and The SGA Golf Club is our handicap provider – we keep the two separate to offer golfers flexibility and choice.
  • Note also that you do not need to keep your handicap with The SGA Golf Club to play in the SGA Tour events or to be an SGA Tour Member. All golfers are welcome!
  • SGA Tour Membership is annual – running from January to December each calendar year. The cost is $50 for the year and reduces pro-rata through the year by $10 as each 4BBB event passes.

Frequently Asked Questions about the SGA Tour

No. Anyone can play in any event. Each SGA Tour event is a stand-alone event and you can enter each one separately and pay as you play. Optional SGA Tour Memberships are available for those who want to compete for the premier Tour trophy events, but you do not need to be a Tour Members to play in an event. Tour Memberships represent wonderful value but are not compulsory. The SGA Tour events are open and inclusive - all golfers are welcome to enter any of our events.

Most certainly. Men, women, couples, singles and juniors are all welcome.

No. Our players are golfers of all abilities, from 'A' graders to beginners, but you need to be aware of basic rules and golf etiquette and be able to play at the same pace as the group ahead of you.

No, you do not need an official handicaps to play in the events. We welcome social players and they only have to pay the Event Entry Fee. Many members of the SGA Tour do have an official handicap or are in the process of getting one. We encourage our golfers to activate a handicap (which we can arrange, manage and maintain) but it is not compulsory.

If you don't have a handicap, we can help. To find out how easily you can access an official golf handicap, go to our Golf Handicaps page.

We offer optional SGA Tour Memberships for players who wish to support The Tour and compete for the our annual Trophy Events (Order of Merit4BBB ChampionshipGolfer of the Year & Tour Championship). You don't need to be a Tour member to play in the events, it is simply an opportunity for regular players to be more involved in the Tour community and enjoy competing for our annual trophies. 


Not everyone can make it to every event. By limiting the OOM to the top seven scores, it introduces a limit to slow down the players who play many of the events. Once a player has seven scores in their history, they need to better their seventh score to add to their event points total. It is intended to allow a Tour Members to only play 8 or 10 events and still score a competitive total in the OOM race.


The reality is that only players who enter most events will be at the top of the OOM at the end of the year. For this reason we have structured the Tour Championship as our premier annual trophy - it is the biggest trophy and biggest prize. Whereas the OOM is a season-long competition, the TC is a Grand Final played at the last event of the year. The top 25 (plus ties) in the OOM qualify to contest the TC. Note that not all of the top 25 play in the TC - when this happens, the next-highest player qualifies to play. In 2010, for example, when the Top 20 qualified, the 26th ranked player qualified for the TC. This means a Tour Member can play 8 or 10 events and, if they have seven good finishes, they can qualify for the TC. The format has been deliberately structured to make the TC the premier event of the year and to make the focus of the OOM race the top 25 spots and to keep the competition as close as possible for as long as possible.

Stroke

The stroke score of each hole is entered on the score card. The gross score is totalled and the player's handicap is deducted to calculate the nett score. The player who completes the round with the least nett strokes is the winner.

Stableford

The stroke index on the scorecard determines the calculated par on the hole and how many shots a player receives on the hole depending on their handicap.

  • Players who exceed their calculated par by two strokes receive no points and wipe the hole.
  • One stroke over the calculated par receives one point.
  • If you make a calculated par, you score two points.
  • A score of one stroke better than your calculated par is three points.
  • A score two strokes better than your calculated par is four points (and so on).
  • Scores are totalled and the player with the best (highest) stableford score is the winner.

Par

The stroke index on the scorecard determines the calculated par on the hole and how many shots a player receives on the hole depending on their handicap. A hole is either won, lost or halved depending on your your stroke score against the calculated par. Scoring a calculated par means you halve the hole and a zero or a small square is recorded on the card. If you score better than your calculated par, you win the hole and a plus (+) is recorded as the result. If you score worse than your calculated par, you lose the hole and a minus (-) is recorded as the result. The scores are totalled and the player with the highest plus (+) score is the winner.

Four Ball Best Ball Stableford (4BBB) - The SGA Tour Mini-Majors.

4BBB Stableford is played by two players competing as partners. Each golfer plays his own ball and plays a stableford round. On each hole, the better stableford score of the pair is recorded on the card as the team score (with the player's initials). When scores are equal, the ball holed first is recorded. On the SGA Tour, each team will keep three cards: the two individual rounds which will be entered on GOLF Link, and the 4BBB round which will be used for the competition on the day to allocate prizes and Order of Merit points.

We play four events per year that are 4BBB rounds. These rounds are our four Mini-Majors, as there is a Trophy event for the 4BBB Championship. The 4BBB events effectively carry double points in the Order of Merit. As points will be awarded to both players in the team for the placing their team achieves, there will be twice as many Order of Merit points available than at a normal Tour event.

For more information on joining the SGA Tour, contact our team: