These rules are subject to membership review once we have 5,000 members. At that time, a member will be eligible to submit recommended changes and vote on permanent adoption of the rules. They are intended to allow us to initiate the tournament and give it an opportunity to grow. Once the tournament is in place, rule change recommendations will be accepted and submitted to the general membership for adoption or rejection. If enough of the members wish them, additional formats, variations and Divisions may be added.
1.1. Participation in the BIG BLITZ is limited to Golfers over the age of 18 when playing for cash or awards which may impact their amateur standing.
1.2. Participation in the BIG BLITZ is limited to Golfers participating in organized Golf events such as a Golf League or Tournament with at least eight (8) participants in the event. Any USGA event as well.
1.3. Golfers may choose to create a BIG BLITZ league dedicated to participating in this event.
2.1. We reserve the right to refuse entries submitted from any Golf Course or any Golfer for any reason.
3.1. The BIG BLITZ will eventually consist of, but is not limited to, Local tournaments, two Divisions, and five Sub-divisions. There is a winning ratio for each event, sometimes referred to as the 'odds of winning'. We will always have a Winner-take-all for events. But we can add additional ratios as the demand for them determines.
3.1.1. The Divisions will be: Team and Scratch.
3.1.2. The Sub-divisions in each Division are National, World, Time Zone, Country, State or Province, and Regional.
3.1.3. We are beginning with 4 events (these will be free while we start up):
4.1 For now, we will build the base of golfers by running the events for free, with no payouts. The cash fee entry will be $10 and $25 initially. Cash prizes will be awarded from the prize pool of 50% of entry fees. We have the ability to add higher entry fees to other events which will expand the size of the Pool.
4.2 our fees will begin with one winner for every ten players @ $10
4.3 Winner take all @ $10 and $25
4.4 one winner for every forty players @ $25
4.5 If you do not submit a score before 9 pm central standard time, you will not recognized when the tournament is run because you score will be 'null' and you will not be placed on a team
4.6 Your entry fee will not be refunded
5.1. The ‘PRIZE POOL’ is 50% of entry fees.
5.1.1. 35% of the entry fees is distributed to the funds for our HEROs, Wounded Warriors, and PGA HOPE projects.
5.1.2. 15% of the entry fees goes to paying for the online collection of fees and awarding of prizes, with the remaining used for administrative costs.
6.1. All prize distributions, scores, and teams will be public records and accessible to anyone wishing to see them.
6.2. Golfers not wishing to have their Big Blitz Handicaps, scores, or prize winnings in the public domain should not participate.
6.3. The formula for prize distribution is based on the sum of the numbers.
6.4. (n plus (n+1)) / 2 ) = BPU or Basic Prize Unit, where n is the number of participants.
6.5. The total prize fund available is divided by the BPU which is equal to the BPA, Basic Prize Amount
6.6. The BPA is multiplied times the number of places. i.e. 5 teams winning, 1st place = 5 x BPA, Last place 1 x BPA
6.7. Last place always recieves 1 x BPA
7.1. Winner – Any person scoring well enough to share in the ‘Prize Pool’.
7.2. Roster – The list of Golfers signed up to compete in a BIG BLITZ Golfing event.
7.3. Big Blitz Handicap – We use the average of Handicaps as the basis for the competition. We sum the last seven handicaps and divide the total by seven. The current handicap average is calculated by using the score posted for an event to determine a handicap, then adding that to the last six handicaps, and then dividing by seven.
7.4. Player Performance Metric (PPM) – The difference between a Golfer's score, the Course rating of the tee box they play from, and the Big Blitz handicap .
7.5. Team Score – The sum of the total Net Score (PPMs) posted by the team members on a team.
7.6. Category – United States, World, State or Province, Timezone or Region.(subject to development and success of the tournament)
7.7. Day of the week – Golfers can only compete in an event that occurs on the same day their organized golf event is held.
7.8. Division – Team or scratch – each of these is a separate event.
8.1. All Golfers must register prior to signing up for the Big Blitz. This is only required once.
8.2. Information required at registration includes their State Golf Handicap ID number (GHIN number), Name,and Email (if you want to get paid, this is how we process the winnings)
9.1. Net Score is determined by subtracting the Course rating of the tee boxes you played your round on from your medal play score, and then subtracting your handicap.
9.2. This number is you Player Performance Measurment (PPM) and is the number assigned to your team total PPM
9.3. BIG BLITZ Handicaps will be carried to 6 decimal points.
9.4. Golfers must submit scores prior to 10 pm, Eastern Standard Time, on the day of the event.
10.1. Teams will be created using a method which ensures equity for all skill levels and teams. Once teams are created in our system, you can test the equity of the system by adding the individual rankings of the team members and compare that number to the sum of the rankings on other teams. They will be identical.
10.2. The team assignments will ensure that all teams are very close to equity.
10.3. Teams will be created once ALL participants have submitted scores.
10.3.1. For Country events, the teams will be created at 10:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on the day of the event.
10.4. Golfers on the Roster will be placed on teams by the computer based on the Handicaps maintained for them in the BIG BLITZ databases.
11.1. Established USGA Handicap will be accepted from a Golfer at initial registration.
11.2. Once a Golfer has completed one BIG BLITZ event, Big Blitz Handicaps will be maintained based on BIG BLITZ participation only.
11.3. A Golfer's Big Blitz Handicap will be calculated using a weight factor of 7 events. An example: A Golfer's entering Handicap is 24. They score an 87 minus Tee Box Course rating of 72.0 equals 15 (we call differential). We then multiply 6 times starting handicap of 24 which is 144. Add the 15 (differential) from this event - equals 159. Divide 159 by 7 equals 22.714285. This is the new Big Blitz Handicap will carry the decimals out 6 places.
11.4. A Golfer in the money and in the top ten percent three times in a 3-month period will have their Big Blitz handicap manually adjusted to the most recent winning score as the most current Big Blitz handicap for the next subsequent events.
11.5. Pending access to GHIN, the BIG BLITZ handicap will be updated with the latest GHIN handicap thirty days from the last round played on the BIG BLITZ
11.6. The Big Blitz handicap system is NOT ENDORSED BY THE USGA and is not intended to be used outside of Big Blitz Events.
12.1. Golfers outside the United States may NOT participate in the the Big Blitz until such time as we load all the golf course information from around the world, course ratings of tee boxes, and develop an acceptable method to deal with the time differences.
12.2.. Organized Golf Leagues in countries outside of the United States must have adopted USGA rules of the United States or Britain in order to compete.
13.1. Golfers must agree to these rules prior to signing up for the Roster and competing in a BIG BLITZ event.
14.1. These Rules are preliminary while the tournament is being formed and subject to change.