...Carolina Golf News Line                          Deer Brook Golf Hole

Western Piedmont Amateur Golf Tour Launches Season on Feb. 10 

WESTERN PIEDMONT – Local golfers will again have a tour to call their own as the popular Amateur Golf Tour returns to the Western Piedmont of N.C. with an impressive schedule for 2007. The AGT hosts a lineup of 15 tournaments beginning Feb. 10 at Deer Brook in Shelby and concluding Oct. 13 at Deer Brook.

In between, the tour visits some of the premier courses in the area, including: Rock Barn Golf & Spa, Glen Oaks Country Club, Silver Creek Plantation, Woodbridge Golf Links and Lincoln Country Club.

The tour is for amateurs of all ages and abilities. Members are placed in one of five flights based on handicaps. Flights are: Championship (0-5 handicap), A Flight (6-10), B Flight (11-15), C Flight (16-20) and D Flight (21 and up).

Tournament format is gross stroke play, with USGA rules in effect. A software program tracks each player’s handicap to ensure participants are placed in their proper flight.

“The tour provides everyday golfers a chance to compete like the pros,” said local tour director Larry Lee. “You don’t have to be a superstar to join the Amateur Golf Tour.”

At each event, the top three golfers in all flights win gift certificates from The Golf Shop in Gastonia or D.L. Tee in Hickory. Meanwhile, all golfers earn points toward a championship in their flight.

Golfers may join the tour at any time for a $70 membership fee. That fee includes a gift bag and tour packet, and allows members to play in Western Piedmont tournaments, as well as other AGT events around the country.

Entry fees for Western Piedmont tournaments range from $55-$75. Those fees include cart and green fees, range balls and prizes, plus closest-to-the-pin and long drive awards. Results and points standings are posted within 48 hours at: www.amateurgolftour.net.

Golfers who finish in the top 10 in points in their flight receive invitations to the 2007 Amateur Golf Tour Championship, Oct. 27-28 at Palmetto Dunes Resort in Hilton Head, S.C.

For info, call Larry Lee toll free at (866) 361-4653 or visit www.amateurgolftour.net.