All-inclusive Fee

Your entry fee covers greens and cart fees and prize money. You are entered in all of the contests for the day's event: the main event format, closest to the pin contests on par 3s, and skins on all par 4 and par 5 holes. By collecting the whole fee through the registration process we eliminate the need to collect and safeguard cash at the registration table. Prize pots are predictable, and bookkeeping is simpler.

 

We deduct $20 from the entry fee. $15 of that is for prize money and we split the money evenly among the three games; the main event format; closest to the pins; and skins. The remaining $5 is used for administrative costs like credit card processing fees, and tips to club pros and their staff.

 

The Format Event

For format winners, we pay out, by division, at least 10% of the field. Prize checks are made out to the winner’s home club pro shop, Golf & Ski Warehouse, or our online store, as should be designated by every player on the player profile. For individual competition events, there are multiple tee divisions, each with its own prizes.

 

Skins

The money set aside for skins is divided into pools for each tee box. The pools are divided by the number of skins alive at the end of the round. That means the tees may have different payout amounts, since the number of players and the number of skins within each pool will vary. Players get 95% of their full course handicaps, up to 18 strokes. No one gets two shots on a hole in skins. There is only one skin awarded in a tee division on each hole. If multiple players have the low score on a hole, and one of them did not get a stroke, the one without a stroke wins the skin. This method is called Canadian Skins, and contrary to what some people think, it does not favor the high handicapper. Our data from a full season shows that low handicappers win at least as often as they did when there were separate gross and net skins. Read about how Canadian Skins works here.

 

Closest to the Pin

Closest to the pin prizes are paid similarly to the skin pool. The pot is divided into tee groups, and then by the number of par threes. If a par three has no winner, the prize for the other winners in that event and division are increased.

 

Other Details

All dollars are accounted for and the payout plans are available at the registration desk for review at the next event. All prizes are available by the next event and if a winner is not at the next event, we will mail the check to the address the player has listed in his Player Profile at nhsga.org.

 

At one time, much of the prize money was distributed as pro shop credit at the host club. Since we changed to a direct payment by check, in order to replace the lost income for the host pro, we give a gratuity which comes out of a small administrative cost included in your registration fee. Local club pros are a valuable resource to the NHSGA.