Let's set up a virtual tournament!

I played a virtual golf tournament last summer in Finland. Idea is that anyone, with a hcp, can play any course that has a slope. You upload your score and you will be competing with your best score of the week. Tournament is running for 10 weeks. Competition also includes an online score card.

I would like us to set up a similar competiton for GTO members.

And also in the end of the tournament we could have a real tournament for 100 players - or for those who can come...

Should we try to make this happen?
(The software is done by Oracle Finland and server is from Sun.
We could ask if they are interested?)

Would this be possible? Or would members be interested in "competing" - well, more like sharing scores, but the last tournament will be more "real" as member would get together and see each other.

Hannu

I participate annually in a virtual tournament.

The participants use GameTrack to establish their handicap. The formula for net score is:

([Gross Score-rating]/[slope*113])-GameTrack Handicap

So, there are two considerations, IMO. One is the start date and duration (we have lots of different countries and climates), and what do we do with those who score based on SSS?

I signed up for GameTrack. Added Sippulanniemi Golf Course to the database and two rounds I played in August. (85 and 92) GameTrack gave me a Handicap 10.27. My real hcp is 13.3. This just means that I might have selected better than average rounds.

I will be playing Laukaa golf course next summer - and that was allready on the database. So there are a lot of courses allready and you can add them if you are missing one. I think that GameTrack works for me - and competition would be a "Group"?

About timing:

Our golf season in Finland starts in June. Before that we don't get to play regular greens - only winter buckets. ¨

If we start the competition 4th of June monday and week ends Sunday midnight. Local time.
10 weeks would make the last day to score 12th of August.

The final big tournament could be in September .. some where? Different continents in different years?

HCP definition?
Lets use GameTrack HCP. We need to play 2-4 "practise rounds" to get a starting HCP. It will find it's right level during the summer.

EGA is using SSS, but do we have to use it? Let's just use the GameTrack hcp. This might not be exactly correct, but it monitors the development during the season.

We need a score board that has a ranking after each week. Would this be the best net score? Would that be equal to Stableford points?

Where did you sign up for GameTrack? Ideally we'd all use the same one, and start a group there. I know that teego.com has GameTrack (or GameTracker) for free.

I'm down with a 4th of June start, weeks run Monday to Sunday.

Is there a way to convert SSS to slope/rating?

I signed up at
http://www.freegolfinfo.com/gametrac...ting_green.asp

It's free, too. I did not realize that there would be several options.
This one does not show your "net score". You don't see Stableford points or "Bogie points" as we call them.

I think that European Courses show SSS (or CR) and Slope. Like Sippulanniemi has (yellow tees) has CR= 71.3 and Slope 137. (It's one of the most difficult courses.) I am not an expert on SSS, Cr or Slope. For hcp I use an tool from internet, that has all Finnish courses on it.

Next - let's select the best GameTracker.
It should have:
1) Groups (or a tool for a tournament)
2) Net score or stableford points - for the ranking list - or a group ranking list?
3) Free
4) lots of courses preset

After finding the best GameTracker, we can start building our Tournament!
Can be called as "GTO Golf Tour"? (We might need a sponsor to help us with the last tournament? Often the sponsors name is used in the tournee?)

We need to make a simple set of rules.
Like:
1) Cheating is not allowed
2) Everyone uses GameTrackers HCP, that is calculated by 2 - 4 practise rounds before entering the tournament. Practise rounds should be standard score you make.
3)Score that is used is "net score" = ([Gross Score-rating]/[slope*113])-GameTrack Handicap).
4) For every round you use the most resent GameTrack HCP.
5) You can enter as many rounds in one week as you want. Only the best score will be takeing part in the competition.
6) Competition start 03.00 Monday and ends 24.00 Sunday. Times are local times.

The person who wins the ranking list is the GTO champ. From the order of the ranking list players get a card to play at our real tournament. (I don't know how many players we can invite. It's something we need to arrange with a suitable course - and we should select the course together. Maybe vote from 5 different courses.)

Right on.

FGI runs it's own virtual tour - I use their GameTrack pretty much exclusively.

If I might offer the following modifications from their VT:

1) Cheating is not allowed
2) Everyone uses GameTrackers HCP, that is calculated by 2 - 4 practise rounds before entering the tournament. Practise rounds should be standard score you make.
3)Score that is used is "net score" = ([Gross Score-rating]/[slope*113])-GameTrack Handicap).
4) For every round you use the most recent GameTrack HCP. The GT HCP you use to calculate your net score is the one you have BEFORE you enter your VT score.
5) You can enter as many rounds in one week as you want. Only the best score will be takeing part in the competition. FGI is a little different. In the appropriate thread (VT 2007 Week X) you declare which day you'll be heading out. It puts a little more pressure on the round.
6) Competition start 03.00 Monday and ends 24.00 Sunday. Times are local times.


The other thing we tried last year was along with a money list (virtual bucks!), there were points assigned for Player of the Year.

The other fun thing was that we had Majors as well - more money.

I guess the other thing to think about is the year end real life tournament. This is by and large the most diverse golf board I've seen - with fair representation from both sides of the pond. It might make a virtual tour year end get together a little difficult.

Lastly - we need to gauge interest, although I guess it can be done closer to the spring.

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Idea of local time might not work. Computer software does not understand if it gets uploaded score about the same time, but to different weeks.

If you get to play just one competition round per week, we don't need to fix the time to local time. Let's say that you cannot play on monday - or just say that week end on Greenwiths time midday every monday.


So the actual tournament is the VT part and the real life tournament is an extra event. Let's just pick a place to play an see who can make it there.
We cannot wait for the VT to end, becouse the reservations have to be make earlier.

To play a tournament in September - October, we need to book a course and also need to set aside some free time from work and book flights and a hotel. (If we get 20 players that will be great, but we might even get a 100? - And that would mean more organizing, but would be worth it.

I think we can get people interested, but first be need to build this so that everyone knows that it will work. I have asked a few people about different softwares and solution to run our VT. I am hoping for a solution where user imputs their score and the program calculates everything needed: next HCP, net score, tournament leaderboard - or money list. (Weekly competition results and the total situation as VT runs.)

Err...

Don't forget those of us from "South of the Pond"......



Will definitely be interested in participating in the VT at least...

Arranging to get to either of the northern sides of the pond may take a little more organising than I am able at this time...

Great idea though...

Cheers

Here is a relpy from "MyScorecard" - www.myscorecard.com

"At the moment, we have a "points" tracker where you can track the cumulative points for each member and update it every week. One potential is for you to post the weekly results to the club bulletin board, and then track the overall results using the "points" tracker, which shows up on the main club page next to each member's name.
In terms of a virtual tour, let us know what you are thinking of - administrative tools? We enable you to email out members, calculate their handicaps at different golf courses, etc. If something else, we can let you know if we have it, or we can see if we can build it for you.
We look forward to working with you to meet your needs.
Regards,
Jack"

People are willing to make this happen:-)

Hannu

I got an email from John Campbell, who is running a virtual tournament called "World online Golf Tournament". It's free. Check the invitation http://worldgolf.eventbrite.com/

Let's keep it simple and start with a VT that is running ... well, if not running then one step ahead of us. Tournament runs from march to September.