Info, Rules & Policies

Table of Contents

Q-School

Step-By-Step Instructions for Earning Your TGC Tours Card

Q-School Details

Tournament Procedures

What Tour or Flight am I on?

You can find out by looking at your name in the top right corner of www.tgctours.com – your tour/flight will be beside it.

Where do I find the Tournaments in-game?

All our events are played in the following societies:

TGCTours (Special Events)
TGCTours (PGA Tour)
TGCTours (European Tour)
TGCTours (Web.com Tour)
TGCTours (CC-Pro) for CC-A, CC-B, CC-C and Q-School
TGCTours (CC-Am) for CC-D, CC-E and CC-Z

Tournament Registration

TGC Tours now has auto-registration and auto-score submission assuming you have correctly entered your gamertag exactly as it appears on your systems leaderboard in-game.

All registrations are done automatically. If you play the event in-game, you will be automatically registered and your scores will be posted to the leaderboard.

There are no restrictions on the number of tournaments you may enter during a season. However, you may only enter into one tournament per week...the tournament for which you have a tour card. One exception is the True Sim Tour - you can play the TST alongside your regular tour every week.

Withdrawing from a Tournament

There is no need to withdraw from tournaments. If you did not play a single hole you will receive a Did Not Play Event for the week.

If you have teed off and can’t/don’t finish, you will receive a WD for the week and receive 2 demotion strikes.

Cross-Overs

We have removed the ability to cross-over in TGC2 (PGA to Euro and vise versa).

Score Submission

Scores are automatically pulled from the game. Please ensure your gamertag in your TGCT profile matches your console/PC gamertag exactly. If your scores do not get pulled within the first 2 hours (assuming event has officially opened on site), click the Submit Ticket link to get admin help.

My Scores table

Use the My Scores table on the leaderboard to self verify the scores you shot. Within 2 hours of completing your rounds you should see them in the My Scores table. Please note that not all your scores will show on the main leaderboard as they are slow revealed throughout the week.

API will not pull scores until the event opens officially (Monday) so if you play early on Sunday you will have to wait a day to see your scores.

Clubsets

World Tour: Use of Tour Clubset is mandatory.
PGA/European/Web.com/Challenge Circuit: All Clubsets are available for use.

Round Deadlines - PGA, Euro, and Web.com

1st and 2nd round scores must be completed prior to 4am UTC on Friday of the tournament week.

3rd and 4th rounds completed prior to the tournament's closing at 8am UTC on Sunday.

Round Deadlines - Challenge Circuit

You must complete all four rounds by Sunday at 8am UTC.

Cuts

There are no cuts on the Challenge Circuit.

For all other tours, cuts for all tournaments will be the top 70 plus ties (unless otherwise noted) of all scores that have completed rounds 1 and 2 by the aforementioned deadline. For tournaments with large numbers of participants, we may increase the cut line to be nearer to 50% of the field.

If you miss a cut, your third and fourth round scores will be displayed as MC.

You may still play your Round 3 and 4 even before the cuts are made if you wish, but any Round 3 or 4 score posted that doesn't make the cut will be removed from the database. It will be as though you never played it.

Round Advancement

The tournament leaderboard will show progressive round scoring based on the following schedule:

Winners and Ties

The player with the lowest total number of strokes after four rounds will be the tournament winner. In the event of tie at the top of the leaderboard, the lowest score on the 18th hole of the 4th round will be the winner. If still a tie, the previous hole be used until a winner is decided. If for any reason a scorecard is not available the lowest 4th round score (then 3rd, 2nd, 1st) will be used. Last tiebreaker will be best WGR.

Majors and Invitational Tournaments

For the Majors, WGC events, and any other invitational only tournaments, you will be automatically registered by TGC Tours.

Notification of your invitation will be sent out one week prior to the registration open date of the tournament.

For tournaments that require specific qualifications to enter, we will post those qualifications in the forums prior to the registration open date.

World Tour members automatically qualify for all WGC and Major events. Those with larger fields will be back-filled with PGA Tour players.

Tour Membership

Earning a Card

To earn a tour card, you must complete Q-School where your score will determine what tour card you will receive. Please refer to the Q-School section of this page for further details.

Losing a Card

You may lose your tour card if:

Earning a Promotion

There are several ways to earn a promotion to a higher tour. These include:

Sponsor's Exemptions

Sponsor's Exemptions allow you to play in an event on a tour that is one level higher than your current tour. Playing a tournament using a Sponsor's Exemption provides you the opportunity to earn promotion.

Earning a Sponsor's Exemption

You can earn a Sponsor's Exemption in these ways:

Note: You must be even par or better for the event to qualify for a Sponsor's Exemption (all flights/tours)

Use of Sponsor's Exemptions

You must use your sponsor's exemption for the week it is issued. If you are unable to play, you will lose your sponsor's exemption.

Performance Criteria for Earning a Sponsor's Exemption

Note: The settings listed below are the default settings and are subject to change for special events. Cutline bars will appear at Round 3 reveal.

European Tour, Web.com Tour, CC-Pro, CC-Am

You will earn a Sponsor's Exemption if you finish in the Top 10% of the field plus ties in your event AND finish under par.

You can only earn 1 exemption per week.

Receiving a Sponsor's Exemption on the Challenge Circuit

If you earn a Sponsor's Exemption, you will receive an email and be auto-registered to the next tournament - one flight/tour higher than one you earned the exemption on.

Demotions & Promotions

5 strikes will automatically demote you one level.

World Tour

PGA Tour

European/Web.com Tours

Challenge Circuit

Tour Info

Promotion:

Demotion:

Web.com Tour Finals

PGA Tour and European Tour cards will be awarded at the end of a four-tournament series, known as the Web.com Tour Finals, in which all Web.com Members and those eliminated from the Fed Ex Playoffs and Race to Dubai after the second round will be eligible to participate.

Players in the top 10 on the Web.com Tour money list do not need to participate in the Web.com Tour Finals as they automatically earn a Pro Tour Card, though they may participate to earn WGR points.

The remaining Pro Tour cards will be awarded to players based on money earned during the Web.com Tour Finals. Number of Pro Tour Cards available will be announced shortly before the start of the Web.com Tour finals.

Challenge Circuit Purse Distribution

All Challenge Circuit scores will go on a (hidden) master leaderboard (CC-Pro and CC-Am have separate master leaderboards) from which you will be assigned your base point number via reverse ranking. From there your base point number will go through a flight multiplier. The resulting number will then be subject to a placement bonus on your flight and then finally a money multiplier - this final calculation will determine how much money you receive for that event.

Flight Multipliers:

  • CC-A 100%
  • CC-B 90%
  • CC-C 80%
  • CC-D 70%
  • CC-E 60%
  • CC-Z 50%

CC Money Multipliers:

  • CC-Pro 50
  • CC-Am 10

Finishing Position Bonuses:

  • 1st 10%
  • 2nd 7%
  • 3rd 5%
  • 4th 3%
  • 5th-10th 2%
  • 11th-25th 1%

Examples:

Player A
Player A
CC-Pro Field size: 450
Flight: CC-A
Finish: 35th on CC-A, 39th on CC-Pro master leaderboard
Base Point number: 411
Flight Multiplier: 100%
Position Bonus: N/A
CC-Pro money multiplier: 50
411 x 1 x 50 = $20,550

Player B
Field size: 450
CC-Pro Flight: CC-B
Finish: 5th on CC-B, 50th on CC-Pro master leaderboard
Base Point number: 400
Flight Multiplier: 90%
Position Bonus: 2%
CC-Pro Money Multiplier: 50
400 x .9 x 1.02 x 50 = $18,360

Player C
CC-Am Field size: 400
Flight: CC-Z
Finish: 1st on CC-Z, 36th on CC-Am master leaderboard
Base Point number: 364
Flight Multiplier: 50%
Position Bonus: 10%
CC-Am Money Multiplier: 10
364 x .5 x 1.1 x 10 = $2,002

Bugs and Glitches

Anytime you encounter a bug or glitch listed below – email commish@tgctours.com immediately

Multiple Accounts Policy

Anyone submitting scores under multiple accounts during the same week will be subject to administrative review. If we deem it to be a blatant attempt to game the system, we will disqualify all associated accounts.

If you own The Golf Club 2 on multiple systems, you may play on one system per week, but you are free to switch systems from week to week. You would need to have both system's gamer tags registered in your account profile.

Fair Play Policy

TGC Tours strongly recommends the use of Stock XB1 and PS4 controllers (controllers manufactured by Microsoft or Sony respectively). You may only use another controller or a mouse provided that it meets our Fair Play Analysis which analyzes several metrics from your shot data. Please note that we also recommend that you do not use Steam Link as that has been known to cause problems with input registering correctly.

Our metrics will allow most users with stock PS4 and XB1 controllers ample room to play on TGC Tours with no issues.

A note about 3rd party controllers/officially licensed

There are many officially licensed controllers for both the PS4 and XB1. Officially licensed is another term for 3rd party controller. Most of these controllers are not built with the same quality/sensitivity as the PS4 or XB1 official controller. An officially licensed or 3rd party controller may look like a regular controller but may not pass our Fair Play metrics analysis. Please be aware of this when claiming your controller is an Official XB1 or PS4 controller - it may not be.

Also, please note we have yet to see a controller manufactured by Power A, Hori, or Logitech pass our Fair Play metrics. If your controller is manufactured by either of these manufacturers, it is highly unlikely that your scores will be accepted.

A note for mouse users

TGC Tours strongly recommends the use of a Microsoft-manufactured XB1 controller for use on PC. You may only use a mouse if you can make that mouse operate with the same difficulty that one would face when using an XB1 controller. This often means increasing the mouse sensitivity via DPI settings to facilitate a longer hand movement to create the swing.

If your scores are not accepted due to our Fair Play policy, please create a thread in our Fair Play Assistance forum and include your mouse or controller make and model number. Please note that we do not offer support for Fair Play issues via email or support ticket. Please use the private forum.

No Cheating Accusations

All public cheating accusations will result in temporary forum bans. The majority of users removed from the leaderboards via our Fair Play policy are not cheating - just using devices with forgiving settings/deadzones that make it unfair to compete against stock controller users - usually unknowingly. Any concerns should be emailed to commish@tgctours.com.

Acceptable Shots on the Greens

Putter must be used on the green unless your putting line is obstructed by fringe/rough/bunker or your putt is longer than 100 feet, in which case use of a putter is not mandatory.

Putting line Definition: The "putting line" is the line that the player wishes his ball to take after a stroke on the putting green. Except with respect to Rule 16-1e, the line of putt includes a reasonable distance on either side of the intended line. The line of putt does not extend beyond the hole.

See pic:
line of putt

Violations of this policy will result in event disqualification.

Policing of this issue will be the responsibility of tour members. If you see a ghost ball chipping on the green and it is obvious they are breaking the above rule, record a video and submit it to us at commish@tgctours.com (not on the forums!).

The video must be from the perspective of the ghost ball - you can do this by selecting Watch Replay and pick the ghost ball that is chipping on the greens. We must have a clear view of the infraction as well as the user's gamertag.

TGC Tours will have the final say on all cases.

Member Behavior Expectations

a. Mutual Respect Among Members. TGC Tours strives to preserve and protect the centuries-old notion of golf as a game where sportsmanship and self-respect are the pillars upon which all the rules of the game are built. TGC Tours expects from all of its Officials, Staff, Members and Designers that only sportsmanlike and courteous interactions will take place on the course, in the forums, when reviewing courses, and elsewhere.

b. General. No malicious, derogatory, degrading, racist, sexist, homophobic, offensive, harassing, or otherwise hostile comments will be tolerated by TGC Tours. Failure to follow this rule will be punished by immediate suspension of the Member's account. Repeat offenders will be permanently banned from TGC Tours. A serious or aggravated first-time offense may result in an immediate, permanent ban, without notice to the offender. Please report all issues of this type to commish@tgctours.com.