Frequently Asked Questions
On this page, you can find Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) grouped into the following categories
- Eligibility Questions
- Registration Questions
- Division Questions
- Qualifying Questions
- Rules Videos and Quiz Questions
- Tee Times Questions
- Tournament Day Questions
- Awards Questions
- Tour Championship Questions
- Junior War Questions
Eligibility Questions:
Q1: Can I play the summer after I graduate from high school if I am still 18 years old?
Answer: No. Our tour is only open to players with PIAA eligibility remaining, regardless of age.
Q2: How do I know what division I am eligible to play in?
Answer: This is answered in the Tour Division page of the website or in the Divisions questions below.
Q3: I don't live in Lancaster County. Can I play in your tournaments?
Answer: Yes. Players outside Lancaster County can play in our tournaments as long as they meet the other eligibility requirements.
Q4: What are the other eligibility requirements?
Answer: You must meet all of the following requirements:
- You must become a tour member (see the Membership page of the website)
- You have not graduated from high school
- You must be age 9 or over as of June 1
- You must be capable of meeting our scoring requirements. Full details can be found on the Membership page.
- You have watched the videos on the Rules Videos page and passed the rules quiz
- Parents have read and accepted the LCJGT Terms and Conditions when registering for the season
Registration Questions:
Q1: Where do I start to register?
Answer: If you are not a tour member from a previous year, hit the Register menu option in the blue menu bar. Enter your parent information and your player information first. Next you have to pay for membership for your player. After you have paid for membership you can register for tournaments. Full instructions for registration can be found on the Instructions page. To get to the instructions page, hit the ? symbol at the very top right of any website page.
Q2: Do I have to be a tour member to play in events?
Answer: Yes. Membership is required for all regular season tour events. There is one exception. Membership is not required to play in the "Big C" Scholarship tournament.
Q3: Do parents have to pay the membership fee?
Answer: No, parents do not pay the membership fee. Only pay the membership fee for players.
Q4: How much does it cost?
Answer: LCJGT Membership is $60.00. We give an automatic $25.00 discount if you register before June 1, so early registration membership only costs $35.00 to join the tour. This is a one-time annual membership fee. The cost to enter a tournament is $40 for 18 hole divisions and $25 for 9 hole divisions.
Q5: When should I register for tournaments?
Answer: You can register for tournaments any time from March 1 up to 5 days before the tournament. Registration for each tournament closes at midnight five days before the tournament.
Q6: Do tournaments ever fill up?
Answer: Yes. We have a limit of 108 players per tournament. Occasionally we will fill all 108 spots.
Q7: I registered for a tournament but it said I was put on the wait list. What does that mean?
Answer: We have a limited number of player positions in each event. When we reach that number of players, any additional players are put on the wait list and the website records the date and time that you registered. The full explanation of the wait list and its management is on the Wait List page of the website.
Division Questions:
Q1: What date is used to determine a player's age for putting them in a division?
Answer: A player's age for the season is evaluated as of June 1. Whatever the player's age as of June 1 is the age we treat the player for the season.
Q2: This is my first year playing on LCJGT, but I've played in other tournaments. Do I have to start in the Silver Division?
Answer: It depends. If you can provide evidence that you have a shot a qualifying score in a sanctioned tournament, you can request to move up to the Gold Division to start the season. Details for this can be found on the Divisions page of the website.
Q3: I played in LCJGT events last year. What division do I start in this year?
Answer: Generally, players start the year in the same division they played in for their last event the previous year. There are exceptions if a player's age moves them to a different division (turning 13 years old), or if their scores from last year were good enough that they should be playing in a higher division. Full description of the division structure and how to move up are on the Divisions page of the website. There is also a link to a list of returning players and their starting division on that page.
Q4: My 12 year old (or under) can consistently shoot less than 55, even in the 40s. Should they move up to the Boys Bronze/Girls Silver Division?
Answer: The decision to move up depends a lot more on their ability to handle 18 holes than it does their scoring ability. We play on the hottest days of the summer, often in the middle of the day, and the players have to walk and carry their bag or push a cart. It is a strenuous activity on those hot days. We find many players under 12 aren't ready for those conditions. It is a grueling day and the second nine holes is not fun. Before you decide, we suggest that you go out with them and play a round to see how they do. Play 18 holes, make them walk and carry the bag or push the cart. How are they at the end of round? Do they still have some energy or are they really tired? At that age, we want them to have fun. If it is too hard, it will take the fun out of playing golf for them. Consider that before moving them up.
Q5: My player is shooting good scores in their division. Should they move up to the higher division?
We encourage players to play in the highest division where they can be competitive. Over the years, our experience has allowed us to set target qualifying scores that serve as a good guideline to determine if a player is ready to play up. You will find those guidelines on the Divisions page of the website. But scores are not the only factor to be considered. Other things to think about. Age - Silver players tend to be a bit younger than Gold players. How intimidating will it be to play with older kids? Is the player playing high school golf? If so, what division are teammates and competitors playing in? Competitiveness and desire - does the player really want to play up or do they like where they are?
Q6: My player is 13 but is small for his age and doesn't hit it long enough to meet the scoring requirements for the Silver Division. What do we do?
We allow an exception for boys in this situation. Our Bronze Division plays 18 holes from the forward tees. This is intended for 9-12 year-olds who are ready to walk 18 holes. We will also allow 13 year old boys who are challenged by the length of the middle tees in the Silver Division to request to play down in the Bronze Division. This is treated as an exception and must be approved by the tournament directors. If the player scores too well in the Bronze Division, we will require him to move up to the Silver Division. Requests to play in the Bronze Division can be made by emailing info@lcjgt.com or contacting Jon Chronister, our Tournament Director.
Qualifying Questions:
Q1: What does it mean that players have to qualify to play?
Answer: LCJGT conducts legitimate tournaments, following USGA rules. We have full fields and play in walking foursomes. Pace of play matters, a lot. Players need to be capable of shooting below certain scores so that they don't slow play down with too many shots. To ensure that players are capable of shooting the required scores, they have their first three LCJGT tournaments to shoot a qualifying score. Once they shoot a score below the qualifying score target, they are eligible to play in the rest of the regular season events.
Q2: My player has shot less than the qualifying score at our club/in US Kids/in PGA Junior League/with me. Does that count as a qualifying score?
Answer: Sorry, it does not. It is a good indication that they will be able to qualify, but our tournament conditions may be a bit more challenging than where they have played when they shot that score. We play longer yardages than many of the younger junior programs do. There are also no gimmees, double par max, caddies, etc. We required the players to shoot a qualifying score in one of our tournaments.
Q3: My player didn't shoot a qualifying score in their first 3 events. Now what?
Answer: It depends. If they elected to play in a higher division at the beginning of the year and are age-eligible to play in a lower division, they will be moved down to the next lower division for the rest of the season. If they are already in the lowest division for their age group, they are not eligible to play in additional tournaments this season. Any prepaid tournament registration fees will be refunded. They aren't quite ready for our level of tournaments yet. We encourage you to get lessons, practice and play and come back next year. Details of How to Qualify are on the Membership page of the website.
Rules Videos and Quiz Questions:
Q1: We registered late and weren't able to complete the rules videos by the due date. Can we still play this season?
Answer: Yes. The deadline on the website is for players who register by the May 31 deadline. Players who register after that have to complete the rules videos and quiz before playing in their first tournament.
Q2: My player hasn't been playing golf for long and doesn't know all the rules yet. Will they be able to pass the quiz?
Answer: Yes. The answers to all the questions on the quiz are contained in the required videos. If they watch the videos and pay attention, they will be able to pass the quiz. If they don't pass the first time, they are able to re-watch the videos and retake the quiz as many times as needed to pass. We advise you do this when they are posted in May so that you don't have to finish it under the pressure of the deadline.
Q3: How will players know if they passed the quiz?
Answer: The program tells them the required score to pass at the beginning and gives them the result at the end. It will tell them if they pass or not when they finish the quiz. As the deadline approaches, we contact all players who have not passed the quiz to ensure that they know that they have not passed the quiz.
Tee Times Questions:
Q1: How do you set the tee times?
Answer: We agree the starting time for tee times with the course. We set tee times to help pace of play for the total event. We will start with the Boys Gold Division, then the Boys Silver, followed by Girls Gold and Silver. Next comes the Boys Bronze and then the Futures Divisions. We mix up pairings so that kids get to play with different players during the season. Generally, we will start with players who score higher first and put players who score lower toward the end. Occasionally, particularly with the smaller divisions, we may put players from different divisions together in groups to minimize the number of tee times needed for the event.
Q2: Can we request tee times to work around personal schedule conflicts?
Answer: You can imagine how complex it can get to work around everyone's personal schedules. We avoid this by not doing it.
Q3: What is a shotgun start? How does that work?
Answer: A shotgun start means that all players start at the same time on different holes on the course. In these events, players will be assigned to start on different holes. At the starting time we blow a horn to indicate time to start play. They used to shoot a shotgun to start play. There will often be more than one group and many of the holes. The A group will tee off first. The B group tees off second, when the first group is out of range from being hit with the tee shots. Allow extra time to register and warm up for shotgun starts because all the players are arriving at the same time. It takes longer at the end of play also as players finish around the same time and need to have scoring done.
Tournament Day Questions:
Q1: My player woke up sick on tournament day. What do I do?
Answer: You should call or text the tournament director as early as you can and let them know that your player won't be attending. If we don't hear from you before your player's tee time we will mark them as "Did Not Show" which makes them ineligible for the Tour Championship and Junior War. If it happens twice, they are suspended for the season.
Q2: When should we arrive at the course?
Answer: Most player arrive 45 -60 minutes before their tee time. When players arrive, they should register first. Am most courses, we provide range balls for players to warm up. And many players like to putt on the practice green a bit before they play. Players should be at the first tee 10 minutes before their tee time.
Q3: Besides their golf clubs, what should players bring?
Answer: Players should have enough balls in their bag for the round. Also make sure that they have tees, a ball mark repair tool, a ball marker for the putting green, golf pencils for keeping score and a permanent marker for marking their golf ball. Many players carry a golf towel for cleaning their clubs. We suggest that players carry a drink and snacks. When there is a chance of rain, they should bring rain gear. Remove any unnecessary things from their bag, like extra golf balls and clubs that they don't use. It will be hot and they don't need to lug around extra weight.
Q4: Am I allowed to carry anything for my player?
Answer: Yes, you may carry drinks, snacks, umbrellas and rain gear for your player. When they need them during the round, you can give them to them. When you do, avoid any conversation that could be construed as giving advice.
Q5: This will be my player's first real tournament. How do I help him/her prepare?
Answer: Have them get a good night's sleep the night before the tournament. Their first tournament should not be the first time that they have played a 9 hole or 18 hole round while carrying their bag and keeping their own score. Make sure to take them out several times prior to their first tournament and have them play under our tournament conditions. They need to walk the whole round, carry their bag or use a push cart. They also need to hole out every putt and keep their own score. That can be a lot for younger players, so it helps for them to practice it a few times before tournament day.
Also be aware that every year about 30%-40% of the players are playing their first LCJGT event, so you are not alone. They will be paired up with other players who have played in our tournaments and know how we run events. Those players will help. Encourage your player to ask questions if they aren't sure.
Awards Questions:
Q1: What awards does LCJGT give out at tournaments?
Answer: At our regular events and the tour championship, the winner of each division receives a trophy for the event. There are a few events where the winner in the Gold Divisions also wins a travelling trophy. They get to keep it for a year and their name is engraved on the trophy for that year. These events are the George Crudden Memorial tournament, The Furyk Family Major, and the Tour Championship. We also give pro shop gift cards to the winner and some additional top finishers in certain divisions.
Q2: How many awards are given in each division?
Answer: Only one trophy is awarded, except the events with travelling trophies mentioned above. The number and value of pro shop gift cards awarded depends on the number of players in the division. The more players in a division, the more gift cards we award. For divisions with few participants, we only award a gift card to the winner. When the field gets very large we will award up to 5 places. You can ask at the registration table at the event to find out how many awards will be given that day.
Q3: What awards does the Player of the Year win?
Answer: The Player of the Year in each division wins a trophy. In addition, the Player of the Year is sponsored by Pull the Pin golf shop and as part of their sponsorship, they give us gift cards to their shop that we also award. Only one player wins a trophy, but we award additional gift cards in larger divisions based on the number of players in the division. See the Player of the Year web page for more info.
Tour Championship Questions:
Q1: I tried to register for the Tour Championship but the site wouldn't let me. What gives?
Answer: The Tour Championship is an invitational event. Only players who are invited to play are eligible to register. They are given a code which allows them to register. The invitations are sent out to the automatic qualifiers near the end of the regular season and to the rest of the invitees following the last regular season event.
Q2: Why aren't all the divisions included in the tour championship?
Answer: We are fortunate to be allowed to hold our Tour Championship at Lancaster Country Club. We are only allowed to bring 40 players to the event. It is a difficult course and we try to bring the most capable players to the tournament. Those players are primarily playing in the Boys Gold and Girls Gold Divisions. Because the Boys Silver Division is our largest division, we have invited players from that division who have won regular season events. Being eligible to play in the tour championship is one of the incentives for players to improve their game and get into the Gold Divisions. The Tour Championship page of the website has details about the event, how to be eligible and how players are selected.
Junior War Questions:
Q1: Why can't I register for the Junior War?
Answer: The Junior War is an invitational event. Only invited players are eligible to play in the event. We invite 20 players from the Boys and Girls Gold Divisions to play in the event. Eligible players are invited based of their scoring average during the season until the field is filled. This is a prestigious and fun event that is a reward to the best players on tour each season. For many players this event is one of the highlights of their junior golf career. Details of the event, eligibility and selection are on the Junior War of the Rose page of the website.