2022 GTA AM Tour

[smc66]

Thanks Peter

I signed up for Kawartha and Beverly, and am on half dozen+ wait lists.

Last year I did Brantford, Friday Harbour, and Coppinwood and hoping to redo those 3.
I see that Brantford, Friday Harbour aren’t on the schedule this year. And also no Cobble Beach this year which I was hoping to do as we have a summer place 10min from Cobble.

I am not sure if you want to pay for TWO memberships ... but I did notice that the "Amateur Players Tour" have added both Friday Harbour and Cobble to their 2022 schedule, although both are in May so weather/conditions likely won't be optimal?

It seems they haven't released their full schedule yet, but have "leaked" a few on Instagram ...
Cobble Beach, May 15: https://www.instagram.com/p/CYmLk0xrPSS/
The Nest, May 29: https://www.instagram.com/p/CY1oXf_LleJ/

[Weirfan]

I am not sure if you want to pay for TWO memberships ... but I did notice that the "Amateur Players Tour" have added both Friday Harbour and Cobble to their 2022 schedule, although both are in May so weather/conditions likely won't be optimal?

It seems they haven't released their full schedule yet, but have "leaked" a few on Instagram ...
Cobble Beach, May 15: https://www.instagram.com/p/CYmLk0xrPSS/
The Nest, May 29: https://www.instagram.com/p/CY1oXf_LleJ/

Has this tour been around long or is this the inaugural season ?

I could not find any information on their schedule and results from last year , just their various US chapters.

[smc66]

Has this tour been around long or is this the inaugural season ?

I could not find any information on their schedule and results from last year , just their various US chapters.

I think they launched the Toronto chapter in 2021? But not sure how many events (if any) they were able to reschedule/run after the DoFo spring 2021 golf shutdown?

You're right - there is very little info available on past season(s)

https://www.facebook.com/amateurplayerstour.toronto/
https://twitter.com/apt_toronto

[MattM97]

I was really looking at joining the GTAAM Tour but those weekday events are really tough for me to make. I saw that Amateur Players Tour has more weekend events which is more appealing to me, I'm waiting on the schedule to be released which should be out next week before deciding if I want to sign up or not.

[Toughpar3]

I think they launched the Toronto chapter in 2021? But not sure how many events (if any) they were able to reschedule/run after the DoFo spring 2021 golf shutdown?

You're right - there is very little info available on past season(s)

https://www.facebook.com/amateurplayerstour.toronto/
https://twitter.com/apt_toronto

It has the look and feel of the old Golf Channel AM Tour. Many years ago I did an event in California but never did I go to a more local event. At the time the local Toronto events didn’t have enough players signing up for what would be my flight so I passed on it. With the golf popularity now and combined with offering weekend events maybe it gets more players signed up?

I know for myself the weekend option is appealing. Cost-value is also a factor but in the past the GTAAM tour has won my buy in because of the private club access. Im waiting to see what the APT offers for schedule and pricing. I’m not in a hurry to sign up on either tour because with the lack of winter practice again this year I’m not sure how my game will be in 2022. Last season my game was pretty bad the first 75% of the season and I played GTAAM Tour events. Had no business playing competition until maybe the last 25 % of the season but by then the tour season was over.

[Weirfan]

It has the look and feel of the old Golf Channel AM Tour. Many years ago I did an event in California but never did I go to a more local event. At the time the local Toronto events didn’t have enough players signing up for what would be my flight so I passed on it. With the golf popularity now and combined with offering weekend events maybe it gets more players signed up?

Interesting you mention low numbers. I am thinking that this other tour has to be small to hold events on weekends which are typically the highest demand days to play. I know a group of 22 guys who are playing in a boys getaway event on the same day as the Cobble event.

The GTA AM tour fields range from 120 - 160 players so most courses are not going to give up a weekend day and piss off their members. Most events are on Mondays which is historically the slowest day for courses.

there are/have been a couple other small tours around the GTA which have held events on weekends at my course pre-covid ( The Bogey Tour and The Mulligan Tour) . If I recall they had about 30-40 players in the event. I also recall from marshalling these tours....that unlike the GTA AM tour which have several officials and strict enforcing of POP, these other two tours had none and rounds were incredibly slow. Once, Mulligan Tour , I had to make the last group which were the leaders skip the 10th hole par 5 hole because they had fallen so far behind and were holding up the course. IIRC This was their Championship and these were the leaders ....oops!

[Weirfan]

Just an FYI, spoke to the organizer of GTA AM tour last night.
( He extends a courtesy call each year to all who sign up) and there will be additional events added to the schedule.

[LowStinger]

Just an FYI, spoke to the organizer of GTA AM tour last night.
( He extends a courtesy call each year to all who sign up) and there will be additional events added to the schedule.

He called me 15 min after I registered this year. Mark runs the thing so smoothly and is really professional and seems to care a lot about the quality of the tour and makes an effort to get to know each player. I've really enjoyed it last year. My only issue is the quality of courses this year is much weaker than previous years and lacks a lot of the private clubs that I joined the tour to get access to (Paintbrush, Scarboro, Bigwin.... for example). Of course this is entirely a reflection of COVID's impact on the game and not anything to do with the tour - they still get a selection of great courses. But really hoping they add a few gems this year.

[Weirfan]

He called me 15 min after I registered this year. Mark runs the thing so smoothly and is really professional and seems to care a lot about the quality of the tour and makes an effort to get to know each player. I've really enjoyed it last year. My only issue is the quality of courses this year is much weaker than previous years and lacks a lot of the private clubs that I joined the tour to get access to (Paintbrush, Scarboro, Bigwin.... for example). Of course this is entirely a reflection of COVID's impact on the game and not anything to do with the tour - they still get a selection of great courses. But really hoping they add a few gems this year.

Agree on all points.

yes C19 has understandably had a significant impact on course availability. With such crazy demand, Courses cannot give away their course for a day and impact members any further.

We knew when we played Bigwin in 2020 that was the last time as they have discontinued all public play with the new ownership structure. This might have also been the case at Pulpit too.

there were a number CL courses on the schedule including Wyndance = gem but CL has had so many complaints from members about access they had to drop them.

The result is the tour having to spread a bit further out from the immediate GTA for "good" venues. I think everyone understands and while the quality of courses is important, camaraderie and incredibly friendly but professional fashion the tour is run are still attractive features, at least for me.

I'm hearing Lora Bay will be added around the Legacy Ridge date and hopefully we see few more nice ones added.

[mr.poker]

What a bummer, all their rounds are on Weekdays! Also how is this called a GTA tour when almost all the courses are way outside the GTA area? Some courses are over 150 km from the GTA!

[Weirfan]

What a bummer, all their rounds are on Weekdays! Also how is this called a GTA tour when almost all the courses are way outside the GTA area? Some courses are over 150 km from the GTA!

I can't speak for the tour but can offer my opinion on these points.

As stated earlier, weekdays are much easier ( and probably less expensive) to secure a golf course for the day, especially private and upper end daily fee courses that GTA AM uses. This has probably become increasingly so in a C19 environment.

Personally, I prefer weekdays and with the tour seeing such growth and demand, it doesn't seem to be an issue. Understandably, this may not be perfect for everyone, but nothing ever is.

This is the 10th season for the Tour and they have always had courses on the schedule that were outside the traditional GTA. Bigwin, Lora Bay, Beverly, Wildfire, Muskoka Bay were on tour in the first season.

When I joined 4/5 years ago, most events were GTA centric with a few outliers in Naigara, Collingwood, Muskoka , Peterborough etc. There were many GTA private tracks. That has unfortunately changed as a result of C19. With the extreme demand Clubs are simply unwilling to give up their club for a day and daily fee clubs are booked solid so it makes no business sense to leave $ on the table. Pre-covid, the tour ( like other tourneys ) brought in needed revenue on quiet days....those were traditionally early in the week week days, hence why most events are during the week.

Last year the rotation was was 60% GTA courses ( that does not include Niagara which would bump it up more)

The tour has grown and continues to . It is the largest amateur tour in the province with weekly fields of 120 -160 participants always full with wait lists. With growth comes the need to expand. Not only in terms of course accessibility but also to attract members from areas outside the GTA.

Finally,I know that finding suitable courses has been a challenge for them in the C19 environment for reasons aforementioned. They start searching for and booking courses in Summer and Fall for the following year. As such the boundaries have stretched a bit more this season, but there can be no tour without courses.

Personally, I play 8-10 events and try keep the majority of courses within 30 minutes of my house. I've done a few outside that range like Bigwin, Mad River , Wildfire and Kawartha but they are worth it.

Lots of guys play many, some even all the events and carpool etc.

hope this helps

[Tommy Armour V31]

The Tour goes back even further, than mentioned by Weirfan. My first touney with them was 2008 at The Pulpit. It is actually nice to see quite a few new (to the Tour) courses this year on the schedule. I also do 7-10 tournaments per yer, and never feel pressured to enter any more/less. Yes, the boundaries have stretched, but they have never purported themselves as a GTA-only tour. Frankly, while I am an east-ender, I would have liked to have seen some KW courses thrown into the mix at times as well, but I assume that would cross into another tour(s) territory. I have not committed to the Tour this year for personal reasons, but nice to see that the big fields are continuing and the Tour is doing well. Great courses that you may not have known existed (e.g. Beverly, Wildfire, Mad River) and would have found it most challenging to get an invite to,or a scramble/corporate opportunity. One other great thing about the Tour, is the trips that have been organized in the past, and lets hope the pandemic gets itself out of the way so that more trips (myrtle, pinehurst, Ireland, etc.) can start up again. One last thing, the tournaments are very well run and the Tour Team are great folks.

[smc66]

This is the 10th season for the Tour

2022 is the GTA AM Tour's 18th season (first was 2005).

[Weirfan]

2022 is the GTA AM Tour's 18th season (first was 2005).

My bad, I should have known that , probably did but forgot , that happens a lot these days . The website just goes back to 2013 .

[smc66]

My bad, I should have known that , probably did but forgot , that happens a lot these days . The website just goes back to 2013 .

For stats (like OOM), schedule, etc. ... yes.

For "Past Champions" ... all are listed here (starting in 2005):

https://gtaamtour.com/champions

I suspect Mark might have re-done his website and migrated to a new provider in 2013 (or 2014). WPUP I think?