SPG Benefits
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An Intranet – proprietary, sortable, email-like medium to communicate with fellow members, or groups of members that affords one the option to maintain anonymity. Only members can use this useful tool.
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Golf Course Database – sortable, scratch specific, peer reviewed/ranked with separate hole-by-hole, scratch player specific strategy profiles. This will take time to develop as it is driven via member provided data.
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Association/Federation/Union/Tour Database & Linkage – largest, most comprehensive & accurate such sortable database, by far, in the world. There are over 550 such organizations although it is limited to golf governing bodies, significant organizations affiliated with either the USGA or R&A, licensed handicap administrators (by USGA, CONGU, EGA, RCGA or AGU) and/or entities that conduct significant scratch events. This includes all national level or higher PGA’s as well as the Section/Regional/District PGA offices in all major golf countries. Any significant pro tour is included as well as most junior tours and organizations. Each organization data page provides logo, name, mailing address, emails, telephone with country code, fax, website address and a summary description.
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Tournament Database – pro & amateur, scratch events only, sortable, entry deadline date, entry form linkage, event & qualifying dates, fees, event course & sponsor, golf assn/fed/union/tour affiliation requirements, hyper-linkage and other age, sex, etc qualifying criteria. You can maintain your own personal, on site tournament schedule linked to database and/or including off-database events.
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Bulletin Boards – Home exchange, equipment wanted, equipment for sale, scratch gatherings (like skin game locations), stories/jokes, places to go, prospective members & the Director’s forum for starters. The equipment boards will include linkage to over 35 organizations worldwide that are commercially involved and/or traders in used equipment plus auction site linkage.
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Chat room – this medium will be set up with scheduled times for discussions with professionals “of note”, collegiate golf coaches, club fitting experts, foreign exchange, seniors only, juniors only, Spanish only, swing doctors, golf psychologists, etc, etc. Additional rooms added as necessary.
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SPG Tournaments – the SPG conducts scratch events including with the Scratch Players Championship (SPC), inaugurated in 2000, that now hosts one of the top amateur fields in the USA. There is also the Scratch Players Mid-Amateur with several other scratch events planned. How many SPG conducted events will ultimately be determined by the membership.
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Comprehensive Golf Linkage – provides topical categories and lists thereof that link directly to specific site pages of interest to scratch players. This area will also provide direct linkage to handicap verification sites. Future growth in this area will be membership driven.
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SPG affiliate/associate Golf Clubs – Assn/Fed/Union affiliated clubs for members to “hang their handicap” or to gain access to events in other GA’s with membership fees at very low levels. Each will be established when a sufficient # of members are gathered on sign up sheets. The Scratch Players Golf Club (SPGC) affiliated with the NCGA has about 60 members from three states and an average membership Index better than zero as well as players holding state titles in four states. The SPGC-NCGA annual membership dues is about $40.
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SPG Golf Course Rankings – The SPG will conduct regional course rankings from time to time similar to the Northern Cal/Nev ranking previously completed. Eventually, the SPG will publish their own national and world rankings.
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SPG Hall of Fame – The SPG will eventually induct amateurs and professionals annually either through encompassing regional “Halls” from esteemed bodies (such as the RCGA) or via SPG membership vote. The World Golf Hall of Fame in St Augustine, FL focuses primarily on the world’s top professional tour players with over 100 such inductees.
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SPG Foundation – The SPG will provide mediums for scratch players to “give back to the game” via scratch player venues in time or through tax deductible, charitable, cash or property contributions.
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Other areas of the member’s section of the site will have pages that focus on the Psychological / Spiritual aspects of the game, Club Fitting, Member Discount Vendors and other ideas still under development. There will also be the areas that pertain to SPG business such as the Membership Roster, Board of Directors & Committee activity, Financial Statements, etc.
* This organization is pursuing an immense agenda. Consequently, databases and certain benefit areas may not be fully completed.
The tournament database in particular will ultimately be huge and development thereof will track the primary demographics of the membership as it evolves. The golf course database will develop more quickly but much of the pertinent strategy data will be derived from member completed course profiles. Quality first, then quantity.