It’s a worthy tradition: every other year, in cooperation with the PGA of America, the USGA conducts a special Rules of Golf workshop specifically focusing on the subject of tournament administration.
The 2011 edition of this program is scheduled for March 28- 31 in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and will feature a number of enhancements from prior years. Enrollment is now underway at www.usga.org.
“This is a hands-on, interactive workshop designed to cover all aspects of tournament administration at any level,” said co-instructor Bill McCarthy, a member of the USGA staff since 1996 and the current championship director for the U.S. Amateur Public Links Championship and the U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship.
“We’ve expanded the outdoor sessions and added new material to several other sections, such as pace of play, which includes how to time players,” added McCarthy. “It should be a very good experience for attendees.”
Ron Hickman of the PGA of America will serve as co-instructor for the workshop. Hickman is a PGA Master Professional, and among other current duties serves as a member of the PGA of America’s Rules of Golf Committee. Hickman has been a Rules official at the PGA Championship every year since 1996 and has served as an invited Rules official at both the Masters Tournament and The Players Championship.
“This is my first time teaching this particular workshop and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Hickman. “The situational learning we will put the students through, such as handling an appeal or dealing with an irate player or caddie, should prepare them well for real-world tournament officiating.”
The list of workshop topics to be covered includes:
· Competition eligibility
· Conditions of competition & local rules
· Proper marking of the golf course
· Course setup, including hands-on hole location work
· Handicapping and handicap competitions
· Rules on clubs and balls
· Equipment standards and testing
· Committee responsibilities
· How to properly handle committee error
· On-course officiating techniques
· Starting & scoring
· Pace of play philosophy and practices
Though the curriculum is very different from the traditional 4-Day PGA/USGA Rules of Golf Workshops, on the morning of the fourth day of the Tournament Administration Workshop, participants will be given the opportunity to take either the full 100-question PGA/USGA Rules of Golf Exam or the 70-question PGA/USGA Rules of Golf intermediate test. A short preparatory exam study session with a question-and-answer period will be offered by the instructors on the afternoon of the third day of the workshop.
For more information and to register for the 2011 Tournament Administration Workshop, visit http://www.usga.org/RulesWorkshops/registrationinfo.asp.