As operators of the National Golf Association Hooters Tour continue to search for a title sponsor for 2012, they have formulated a business model that can get it through a season without one.
The Grand Strand-based tour will be known as the National Golf Association Professional Golf Tour in 2012 and it will be staging one of its national pro series tournaments in the Myrtle Beach area for the first time in five years.
The tournament is set for Aug. 23-26, and tour president and majority owner Robin Waters of Loris expects to name the host course in the next couple months.
The NGA Tour staged an event on the Strand for 14 consecutive years and 18 out of 19 seasons through an event at River Hills Golf & Country Club in 2007.
The Strand event will be one of 18 tournaments, down from 20 events in 2011.
Fourteen events will have $150,000 guaranteed purses with maximum 156-player fields. Those are down from $200,000 purses and maximum fields of 168 players last year. Four of those events remain in 2012.
Player entry fees have been dropped from $1,150 to $925 for the majority of events, and the annual membership fee remains $2,000.
“What we have in place now, we know this model works,” Waters said. “These are contingency plans we’ve had in place. With the economy and everything else we knew there were going to be some challenges going forward.”
Waters said IMG Worldwide has been contracted to assist the tour. IMG is a diverse company that represents numerous pro golfers, operates tournaments and connects brands to marketing opportunities. “They’re helping us in terms of consulting, guidance and advisement,” Waters said.
Hooters has been the tour’s title sponsor since 1994 but its agreement ends Dec. 31.
The tour is seeking both title and presenting sponsors, and the model could be altered if one or both are found. In 2011, Naturally Fresh Foods, another company owned by the estate of former Hooters Chief Executive Officer Bob Brooks, was the presenting sponsor.
Waters said the tour has commitments from mid-level sponsors, but tour operators continue to negotiate with other companies with the help of IMG. Mid-level sponsors in 2011 included Bridgestone Golf, Michelob Ultra and Pepsi.
“We have some options and we’re evaluating those,” Waters said. “… Maybe one of those [smaller sponsors] will be the title sponsor.”
Changes to the schedule include the paring of events in Miami, Okla.; Victoria, Texas; Mobile, Ala.; and Biloxi, Miss., and the addition of events in Seneca and Houston, Texas.
Including the season-opening members-only shootout in Eustis, Fla., from Feb. 22-24, which rewards the winner with waived entry fees for the 2012 season, and three Q-School Preparatory events in Florida, the tour is staging 22 events in addition to a smaller summer series in Florida, and summer and winter series in the Carolinas.
“The most important thing is we have to deliver what we promise for the entire season,” Waters said. “We’ve had a lot of positive player feedback on the proposed changes.”
The tour will reimburse PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament entry fees for a minimum of 20 players based on a season-long points race. That number could increase depending on the tour’s finances. A total of 33 players received reimbursement in 2011.
The tour is also offering at least four Nationwide Tour tournament exemptions at no extra cost, and intends to end low-round bonuses of $200 per round. “If things do change with the title then little things like that we may add back in,” Waters said.
NGA tournaments include 72 holes walking, a free practice round, free range balls, free beverages, paid pro-am participation, no range finders, and long drive and other bonuses.
The Hooters Tour lost seven members to the Nationwide Tour this year after they either earned exemptions or Monday qualified for events and played well enough to gain Nationwide status. In addition, 22 Hooters members in 2011 reached the final stage of Q-School.
But there are also numerous players who have cut back on their schedules late in the season and/or haven’t had money remaining for Q-School in the past few years.
“With a lot of player and company feedback, we knew that economically a lot of players are facing uphill battles getting sponsors,” Waters said. “… So we came up with a plan to help the players out to some degree. It’s a win/win. It helps the players and also secures the company from having to subsidize significant purses. It’s now much more manageable.”
Waters has known since Brooks’ death in July 2006 that Hooters’ sponsorship could end, and Brooks’ estate sold the Hooters restaurant chain in February. “We’ve had four years to plan for it,” Waters said. “So we’ve had contingency plans. It’s only because of the economy that we made these changes.”
Old clubs have value
In the spirit of the holidays, old and unused golf clubs are being collected by a couple groups on the Grand Strand for deserving charities.
Strand resident Fred Kane, president of Tee Off Fore A Cause, Inc., is assisting officials of the Wounded Warrior Project to collect used clubs for wounded veterans.
Golf plays a part in the rehabilitation process for many injured vets, and more equipment is needed. Martin’s PGA Tour Superstore locations in Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach are drop off points, and people can also contact Kane at 843-333-7974 or fred@teeoffforeacause.org. The effort is ongoing.
The Myrtle Beach chapter of the Golf Academy of America is seeking donated clubs so they can be refurbished at GAA’s state-of-the-art club fitting and repair facility and donated to The First Tee of Myrtle Beach. The “Clubs Fore Christmas” campaign runs at least through Friday.
Each person who donates a set of clubs will receive a complimentary 30-minute golf lesson from a GAA student. Donors can drop off clubs at the campus location at 3268 Waccamaw Blvd. in Myrtle Beach or call 843-236-0481.
Tilghman field strong again
Davis Womble, 18, of High Point, N.C., and McKenzie Talbert, 16, of North Augusta are returning to defend their titles in the 22nd Charles Tilghman Junior Championship.
Talbert is seeking her third consecutive Tilghman title and should receive competition from Louise Oxner of Greenville and Mary Chandler Bryan of Chapin. Talbert and Womble were declared winners last year after the second round was canceled because of heavy rain.
Jonathan Hardee of Greer, 15, is entered and is trying to win his second tournament on the Strand in two weeks. Hardee won the 43rd George Holliday Memorial Junior at Myrtle Beach National on Nov. 26.
Players entered from the Grand Strand include Myrtle Beach residents Anthony Caroso, Ryan Case, Lyle Ciardi, Zachary Hickman, Cole Swezey, Miller Redding, and Mark and Kohler Karavan, as well as Johnson Holliday of Aynor and Chase Johnson of Galivants Ferry.
Cameron Crutchfield of Myrtle Beach and Ashley Anderson of Garden City are competing in the girls division of the Carolinas PGA-run event.
Food for thought
Ocean Ridge Plantation and Sea Trail Golf Resort have pitched in to help feed the Brunswick County community.
The facilities, which feature a combined seven courses, offered discounts on green fees if golfers brought at least three cans of food. The result was 25,000 pounds of food donated by each property to the Brunswick Family Assistance food bank. BFA volunteers or course workers delivered the food each week.
Heritage tickets on sale
Tickets for the 44th annual PGA Tour’s RBC Heritage from April 12-15, 2012 at Harbour Town Golf Links in Hilton Head Island are on sale. Clubhouse badges purchased by Dec. 31 are $20 off the $190 cost.
Fans buying tickets by Dec. 31 also qualify to win an “inside-the-ropes” role as an Honorary Observer during a competition round, allowing the winner and a guest to walk the course with the pros and receive a prize pack including official clothing and a VIP parking pass.
Clubhouse badges include admission to the clubhouse and two on-course hospitality venues. Grounds badges for $150 grant access to the tournament grounds for seven days, daily competition tickets are $50-$60, practice round tickets good for three days are $35, and an Arnold Palmer pass with extensive benefits is $375.For tickets, call 843-671-2448 or visit www.rbcheritage.com.
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