Competition

Competition rules.

The essentials first. Anything that works differently in Individual and Scramble is marked.

Current Series Fall 2026 Individual: Oct 5 – Nov 15 · Scramble: Nov 2 – Dec 13

At a Glance

The rules that matter most

Read these six. Everything below is the detail.

Play ahead, never late

Every regular event opens on the Series start date. Play in any order, but finish before each event’s deadline.

Use the official SGT event

Rounds must be played through the correct SGT tournament in GSPro with the settings and tee assigned. Anything else doesn’t count.

Stop at a misread

If a shot is misread, stop at that hole and contact TST right away. Keep playing and the result stands.

No mulligans

Unauthorized mulligans, restarts, or setting changes can mean score removal or disqualification.

One prize per player

No double-dipping. If you land two championship prizes, you keep the larger and the other moves down.

Tees are assigned

Your tee shows in SGT. Forward tees need TST approval first. Playing a tee you weren’t approved for voids the round.

Formats

Individual vs. Scramble

Same platform, same points table, same payout tiers. These are the differences.

	Individual	Scramble
Who competes	One player per entry.	Two-player teams. Both partners must be registered and paid before the team is official.
Events	5 regular events (9 holes) plus an 18-hole Tour Championship.	5 regular events (9 holes) plus an 18-hole Tour Championship.
Entry	$75 per player.	$75 per player ($150 per team). One partner can pay for both, or each pays their own half.
Handicap	TST Handicap Index. Established after 3 eligible rounds, then rolling.	Team handicap from the team’s own scores: best 2 of the first 3 normalized 9-hole team differentials, then locked.
Results	Gross and Net ranked separately.	Team Gross and Team Net ranked separately.
Tee boxes	Standard, plus back tees for + handicaps and approved forward tees. See Tee Boxes.	Standard tees, or the back tees for the whole Series if either partner is a + handicap in another TST Series. Women, juniors, and seniors may use the most forward tees as individuals. See Tee Boxes.
Prize pool	Built from individual entries.	Built from team entries.

Fall 2026

Schedules

All five regular events open on the first day of the Series. Each has its own deadline.

IndividualOct 5 – Nov 15

Week 1 · Cypress Point — due Oct 11
Week 2 · Chicago Golf Club — due Oct 18
Week 3 · Crystal Downs — due Oct 25
Week 4 · Cabot Cliffs — due Nov 1
Week 5 · Barnbougle Dunes — due Nov 8
Tour Championship · Carnoustie — 18 holes, Nov 9–15, qualified players only

ScrambleNov 2 – Dec 13

Week 1 · Shadow Creek — due Nov 8
Week 2 · Wynn — due Nov 15
Week 3 · Bali Hai — due Nov 22
Week 4 · Cascata — due Nov 29
Week 5 · Black Desert — due Dec 6
Tour Championship · Wolf Creek — 18 holes, Dec 7–13, qualified teams only

The Championship does not open early. It is available only during its own week, and only to qualified players or teams.

Scoring & Points

SGT scores. TST Standard Points & handicaps.

One points table for Gross and Net, in both formats.

SGT Gross is official. TST uses the SGT scorecards to rank Gross finishes, calculate its own handicaps, and rank Net finishes.
Every regular event counts. There are no dropped rounds.
Regular events are worth 1× points. Championship — 2× the standard points, and it counts toward final Series standings.
Ties pool the points for every position the tie occupies and split them evenly. Example: a two-way tie for 2nd in a regular event splits 2nd (80) and 3rd (65), so each player gets 72.5 points.

IndividualHandicap

TST calculates your Handicap Index from official SGT scorecards.
Your index is established after 3 eligible rounds.
After that it rolls forward using your recent normalized differentials.

ScrambleTeam handicap

Built from the team’s own results, not the partners’ individual indexes.
Best 2 of the team’s first 3 normalized 9-hole differentials, applied to the 18-hole Championship at 18-hole strength.
Locks after the first 3 events.

Finish	Regular event	Championship (2×)	Finish	Regular event	Championship (2×)
1st	100	200	11th	25	50
2nd	80	160	12th	22	44
3rd	65	130	13th	20	40
4th	55	110	14th	18	36
5th	50	100	15th	16	32
6th	45	90	16th	14	28
7th	40	80	17th	12	24
8th	36	72	18th	10	20
9th	32	64	19th	8	16
10th	28	56	20th	6	12
			21st+	5	10

Tour Championship

Qualification & final standings

The field is set after Week 5. Individuals and Scramble teams follow the same rules.

Who qualifies

Top 50% in Gross or top 50% in Net after Week 5. Either one qualifies you.
Someone in both groups counts once. No extra spot opens farther down either list.
Ties at the cut line all advance.
The field is locked after Week 5. Championship results can’t add, remove, or replace anyone.

Final standings

Qualified players keep every regular-season point.
The Championship adds 2× points on top, separately in Gross and Net.
Final champions are decided by total TST points in each list.
Championship points never change the Week 5 cut.

The Championship is 18 holes in both formats. Regular events are 9 holes.

Tee Boxes

Which tee you play

The tee shown in your SGT tournament registration is the tee you must play.

Tee	Individual	Scramble
Standard	Everyone by default. About 6,300–6,600 yards for 18 holes and 3,150–3,300 for a 9-hole event. Exact yardage can vary with a course’s available tees and design.
Back tees One set back	+ handicap players. If your TST index going into the Series is below zero, you play one set of tees back. You stay in the same Gross and Net pots as everyone else. The tournament director may also move you back mid-Series if your handicap goes + during the Series.	+ handicap teams. If either partner carries a + handicap from their individual TST play in another Series (an index below zero going into this Series), the whole team plays the back tees for the entire Series. The tournament director may also move a + handicap team back at his discretion. Back-tee teams stay in the same Gross and Net pots.
Forward tees One set forward	Shorter hitters, by approval. Request them in your Competitor Hub. TST approves each request, and you may not play from the forward tees until approved. You compete for your own forward-tee Gross prizes and stay in the overall Net pot. See Prizes.	Not offered.
Most forward tees Women, juniors, seniors	Women, juniors (17 and under), and seniors (65 and over) may apply. Approval is for the individual player, not the team: in a Scramble, that partner plays the most forward tees while their teammate plays the team’s tees. Approval is required first, and the integrity rules below apply.

Tee changes only apply to events you haven’t played. A round already started or completed keeps the tee it was played from.

Most forward tees: eligibility & approval

Who: women of any age, juniors 17 and under, seniors 65 and over. Age is as of the Series start date.
Apply to TST and get written approval before any official round from these tees. Contact TST before your first round.
TST may require government-issued ID or other reasonable documentation.
Target yardage: about 5,400–5,700 yards for 18 holes, or 2,700–2,850 for 9 holes.
Unapproved use: the round is invalid and must be replayed from the standard tees before the deadline.

Most forward tees: ball-speed limit

Two valid driver ball speeds of 140.0 mph or higher in the same round means that forward-tee score doesn’t count.
Replay the whole round from the standard tees before the deadline. You can’t switch tees mid-round.
No timely replay means no score for that tournament.
After triggering the limit, you use the standard tees for the rest of the Series unless TST rules otherwise.
Obvious launch-monitor misreads don’t count toward the limit.

Self-reporting

You must promptly tell TST if you know you broke the two-shot limit.
Intentionally hiding it can mean score removal, disqualification, loss of forward-tee approval, or removal from the Series.

Verification

Any forward-tee player can be selected at random or because of scores, driving data, a complaint, or other information.
You may have to record your next official round start to finish and submit it by TST’s deadline. It must be continuous and show each shot, the screen, the selected tee, driver ball speeds, and the start and finish of the round.
Edited, incomplete, unclear, refused, or late recordings can void the round and put you back on the standard tees.
Players under 18 need a parent or guardian’s permission to submit a recording.

Entry & Prizes

Where the money goes

The same math applies to Individual and Scramble.

$75Entry per player

60%Returned as prizes

50 / 50Gross / Net split

The other 40% supports TST administration, technology, marketing, player support, and growth. Payment is processed securely by 4th Groove Golf on behalf of The Simulator Tour. Simulator time and any facility fees are separate and not part of the TST entry.

Field size	Places paid in each Gross and Net pot	Split
Under 16	Winner only	100%
16–29	Top two	60% / 40%
30+	Top three	50% / 30% / 20%

Field size is players in Individual and teams in Scramble.

IndividualForward-tee Gross pot

The Gross pool is shared by headcount. If 4 of 20 players are on the forward tees, the forward group gets 4/20 of the Gross pool and everyone else keeps the rest.
Forward-tee players win Gross prizes only from their own pot. Everyone else competes for the main Gross pot.
Each Gross pot pays places based on its own field size, using the table above.
Net is one pot for everyone, including forward-tee and back-tee players. Back-tee players stay in the main Gross and Net pots.

No double-dipping & ties

A player in a paying position in more than one championship pot keeps the larger prize. The other moves to the next eligible player in that list.
If the prizes are equal, the higher finish controls. If finishes are equal too, Gross takes precedence.
Cash ties split the combined prize money for the tied positions.

Playing Rules

How to play your rounds

Play from a partner facility or a compatible home simulator, as long as the official SGT event is used.

GSPro required

All rounds need GSPro and a compatible launch monitor.

Official settings

Use the course, holes, tees, pins, wind, firmness, gimmes, putting mode, and other settings assigned in SGT.

Official tournament only

Rounds must be played through the correct SGT tournament. Scores outside it don’t count.

Misreads & Replays

If something goes wrong

Report a technical issue while the round is still paused at the affected hole.

StopLeave the round at the affected hole. Don’t keep playing.
Contact TSTGive the tournament, hole number, player name, and what happened.
Wait for approvalResets aren’t automatic. TST reviews every dispute.
Resume when toldDon’t restart until TST confirms the reset is done.

Misreads & resets

If you keep playing after the incident, the result stands.
Poor shots, wrong clubs, accidental inputs, and disagreement with a valid result aren’t misreads.
An approved dispute resets you to the start of the hole. Individual shots can’t be erased.
TST completes an approved reset within 24 hours of getting enough information to review it.
Reporting an issue doesn’t extend your deadline unless TST says so.

Recommended evidence

Record every official round with a phone on a tripod, showing you and the simulator screen.
Save the full recording until any dispute is settled.
Send a short, unedited clip of the shot, the simulator response, and the moments around it. TST may ask for the full video.
Screenshots, facility staff confirmation, and launch-monitor data can also be considered.

Replay requests

Possible grounds: GSPro or SGT malfunction, launch-monitor failure, internet or power outage, facility equipment failure.
Contact TST as soon as reasonably possible, with documentation when you have it.
No replay without Tour approval.
A poor score, accidental shot, wrong club, or player mistake is never grounds for a replay.

Mulligans & settings

Unauthorized mulligans, restarts, or setting changes can mean score removal or disqualification.

Deadlines & Refunds

Dates and money back

Finish and submit through SGT before the event’s published deadline.

Deadlines

Each round must be completed and successfully submitted through SGT before that event’s deadline.
No personal extensions for scheduling conflicts, travel, facility availability, or waiting until the last day.
TST may move a deadline when a widespread SGT, GSPro, or Tour-side outage materially affects the field.

Refunds

Entry fees are refundable until Week 1 begins or you post an official score, whichever comes first.
After that they’re nonrefundable, unless TST cancels the Series or confirms a Tour-side issue prevents you from participating.
Removal for misconduct or a competitive-integrity violation doesn’t earn a refund.

Conduct & Administration

Protecting fair competition

TST has final authority over eligibility, replays, disputes, qualification, payouts, and rule interpretation.

One player, one account

Never compete under someone else’s SGT or GSPro identity.

No manipulation

Falsifying results, altering settings, abusing mulligans, or misrepresenting account information can mean disqualification.

Respect the facility

Follow the rules of the facility where you play and treat equipment, staff, and other players respectfully.

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