Flights & Tournament Index
Your flight is set by how you play when it counts, not by the casual rounds you post. Here's how flights are set, how they move during the season and what happens to anyone caught sandbagging.
Six Flights, 4 Strokes Apart
Every event is flighted by Tournament Index (TI). We expect 10–15 players in each flight.
| Flight | Name | Tournament Index |
|---|---|---|
| A | Sticks | 3.9 & under |
| B | Grinders | 4.0 – 7.9 |
| C | Scramblers | 8.0 – 11.9 |
| D | Bogey Breakers | 12.0 – 15.9 |
| E | Weekenders | 16.0 – 19.9 |
| F | Long Shots | 20.0 & over |
Why We Use a Tournament Index
Sandbagging is the No. 1 reason golfers give up on tournament golf, and gross scoring alone doesn't stop it. In a flighted gross event, a sandbagger doesn't need strokes. He just needs to be in the wrong flight. A player who keeps his USGA Handicap Index high with casual rounds can show up as a "16" and shoot like a 10 against golfers who really are 16s.
Your USGA Handicap Index counts every round you post: the windy Tuesday nine, the round where you picked up early. Your Tournament Index (TI) counts only the rounds that matter: competition scores. It measures how you play when something is on the line, and that's what decides your flight.
How TI Is Calculated
TI uses the same math as the USGA Handicap Index. The only difference is which scores go in.
Step 1: Turn each competition round into a Score Differential
Example: A player shoots 88 at a course rated 71.2 with a slope of 128.
(113 ÷ 128) × (88 − 71.2 − 0) = 0.883 × 16.8 = 14.8
Step 2: Average your best differentials from your most recent 20 competition rounds
| Competition Rounds on Record | Differentials Used | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lowest 1 | −2.0 |
| 4 | Lowest 1 | −1.0 |
| 5 | Lowest 1 | 0 |
| 6 | Average of lowest 2 | −1.0 |
| 7–8 | Average of lowest 2 | 0 |
| 9–11 | Average of lowest 3 | 0 |
| 12–14 | Average of lowest 4 | 0 |
| 15–16 | Average of lowest 5 | 0 |
| 17–18 | Average of lowest 6 | 0 |
| 19 | Average of lowest 7 | 0 |
| 20 | Average of lowest 8 | 0 |
The table matches the USGA's own schedule for players with fewer than 20 scores. Competition rounds include all Double Digit Tour events plus any other scores posted to GHIN as competition rounds. If you have fewer than 3 competition rounds, your USGA Handicap Index is used until you do.
Meet "Dave"
Dave's USGA Handicap Index is 16.4 , which would put him in Flight E (16.0–19.9). His best 8 differentials from his last 20 competition rounds are:
Total 97.0 ÷ 8 = TI 12.1
Dave isn't necessarily doing anything wrong. Plenty of golfers play better when it counts. But his tournament golf is a 12, so he competes against 12s.
Quarterly Promotion & Relegation
TI closes the casual-round loophole, but it can't stop a player from easing off in competition rounds to protect his flight, and it can lag behind a player who is genuinely improving. So the Tour recalculates TI every quarter and moves players between flights, the same way soccer leagues promote and relegate teams.
- Review dates: TI is recalculated before the first event of each quarter.
- Promotion: If your TI falls into a lower band, you move up a flight for the next quarter.
- Relegation: If your TI rises into a higher band, you move down a flight.
- Mid-quarter promotion: Win your flight twice in the same quarter and you move up a flight right away. Winning twice is proof enough.
Everyone plays in the flight their recent tournament golf has earned.
How We Spot Sandbagging
Every event's results are checked automatically. A player is flagged for review if any of these happen:
- Exceptional round: an event differential 7.0 or more strokes better than the player's TI. The USGA uses the same 7-stroke threshold for its own exceptional-score reduction.
- Index gap: the player's USGA Handicap Index is more than 3.0 strokes higher than their TI. That points to casual scores being used to keep the index high.
- Repeat winner: two flight wins in a quarter, or a single win by 5 or more strokes .
- Posting pattern: the player posts few or no competition-quality casual rounds, or regularly skips posting good rounds.
- Member report: any member may file a confidential report with the Tour Director, with supporting detail.
Penalty & Process
-
1. Prize money held
Any winnings, including the flight purse and skins, are held until the review is finished. -
2. Review within 14 days
A three-person Handicap Review Committee looks at the player's GHIN history, scorecards and playing partners' accounts. No one on the committee can be in the same flight as the player. -
3. The player responds
The player is told about the review and can explain or provide information before any decision is made. -
4. Decision
Cleared
- The held winnings are paid in full.
- The points stand.
Found Sandbagging
- Winnings forfeited. The prize money is redistributed to the next finishers in that flight.
- Points stripped. All season points from that event are removed, and the standings are recalculated as if the player hadn't played it.
- Suspended until a fine is paid. The fine is $20 for every player in that flight at that event. For example, a 14-player flight means a $280 fine. The fine goes back to the players in that flight, which is effectively a refund of their entry fee.
- Moved to the correct flight. The player is placed permanently in their expected-score flight, meaning the flight their recalculated TI and demonstrated scoring say they belong in. That stays in place even if their USGA Handicap Index says otherwise.
-
5. Second offense
Permanent removal from the Tour, with no refund of membership dues, and all season points and any unpaid winnings forfeited.
Quit Giving Away Strokes
Sign up today. Play your flight. Compete for cash.
Join Today – $40