by Kim Snyder

Ever been sitting around the house on Friday night wondering where you’re going to play the next morning? If you are a member of a club that is associated with one of our fine courses in the valley you may not have a problem answering that question. But for those players who do not belong to a men’s club or a women’s club, a golf league could be the answer for you.  Unlike the men’s and women’s clubs that we are more familiar with, golf leagues are not affiliated with any one particular golf course.              

There are many different types of golf leagues. There are those that are sponsored by a company for the benefit of their employees, social leagues that are there for the purpose of making friends or business contacts, church leagues, women’s leagues, singles leagues, indoor leagues, leagues run by our respective city recreation services and we must not forget the ever popular fantasy leagues.

As you can see there are many different types of leagues and clubs out there for the recreational golfer. Some leagues are open to all and some have restrictions. You may not be able to participate in a singles league if you are married, or play in a women’s league if you are a man. The leagues themselves have tournament schedules varying from once a week to once a month and longer. Most have tournaments at least once a month. League play for the most part is scheduled for either Saturday or Sunday.    

There are a few leagues that have been around the valley for a number of years that offer flighted competition for all golfers. They play at different courses once a week and have prearranged schedules so that you know where you are playing months in advance. One of these leagues is a member organization of the Arizona Golf Association (AGA) and the Arizona Women’s Golf Association (AWGA) and it is known as the Saturday Golf League (SGL). Golfers in this particular league can elect to become members of the AGA or the AWGA through the Saturday Golf League (www.saturdaygolfleague.com). The Saturday Golf League plays tournaments every Saturday morning from September through the end of May and every other Saturday or so in the summer. This league has several different types of competitions that go on in conjunction with the normal tournament play each Saturday. They have the SGL Challenge which mimics the Kodak Challenge on the PGA Tour where one or two holes are selected each Saturday for inclusion into a best score for 18 holes. In addition, the league plays one course five times during the course of the year and this is known as “The Ringers Tournament”. Each time a player plays the course he or she will post the lowest score achieved on a hole, which is used to then compile your lowest and best round. They also have a match play tournament as well as the SGL Cup which is a season long event based on play and participation. Points are awarded for every event throughout the year and then the points are reset prior to the last four tournaments. The last four tournaments together comprise the league championship.

Another one of our valley leagues that offers competition every Saturday is The Valley Golfers Association (www.valleygolfers.com). They also offer league play on Wednesdays, as well. They too are open to all and the winners are selected by the best low net score (no flights). Players can choose which tees they want to play. The membership fee also includes membership in the AGA, very similar to the way it’s done in a typical men’s club.

The 40 + Golfers Association (www.golffusion.com/fortyplus/clubinfo) is as the name suggests, a league for those over the age of forty. The league started out many years ago as a singles league known as the Singles Plus Golf Association. Some of the players ended up getting married and were no longer eligible for play within the league so they changed the restrictions to those over forty years of age. They are a well established league that plays events every Saturday. The players can join either the AGA or the AWGA.  

There are a few leagues in the valley that set up tournaments once a month. One of these leagues is known as The Just 4 Fun Golf League. They are open to all and they are also affiliated with the AGA for handicapping purposes. You can find them at www.golffusion.com/jcaga. 

Another league that has tournaments once a month is The Arizona Sunset Golf Association (ASGA). They are an older established golf league that has member affiliations through the AGA and the AWGA. Membership in the ASGA is open to those over 18 years of age. They arrange their tournaments for play on Saturdays. Their web site is www.azsunsetgolf.com.

If you are just learning the game or you just want to try competitive golf for the first time, then you should check out U-Hack. They do not play by the rules, they require you to pick up your ball if you have already scored double par. They have a couple of other rules that are in place to maintain the pace of play. Play is a laid back version of the game, mostly on Sundays but sometimes with weekend tournaments. They are open to men and women of all ages and currently have members with handicaps from 0 to 36.  Check them out at www.kapsite.info/U-HACK/uhack.

All of the leagues that are mentioned in this article have one thing in common they were formed for our enjoyment. They are clubs without real estate. Take a few moments and consider joining a golf league to fill in those open dates on your calendar. We are very fortunate to live in an area with an abundance of fine golf courses, and when you belong to a league you have an opportunity to play many of these great layouts. A league membership will offer you tournament pricing, prime tee times, the challenge of flighted competition and the possibility of meeting new friends. Join a league today.