General

The NEXT Golf Tour Powered by TrackMan will be conducted as a series of six 18-hole individual stroke play tournaments. The maximum number of entrants for the first two events is 250. In addition to those 250 entrants, the NEXT Golf Tour and TrackMan have the right to distribute additional spots in the tournament, conditioned on payment of the appropriate entry fee. Field sizes for events 3–5 will be announced later. The sixth tournament is limited to the top 100 players and ties on the NEXT Golf Tour Order of Merit through five tournaments.

Each event is played in the same manner as a traditional outdoor tournament. The same rules of golf as they pertain to indoor/virtual/simulator play apply. Accordingly, a player must not start a tournament round with more than 14 clubs. If he/she started with fewer than 14 clubs, or damages a club in the regular course of play, he/she may add or replace a club(s), provided the total number does not exceed 14. Tees may be used on the tee box only.

Players may not place alignment sticks or other objects on the hitting surface to guide shot direction. This does not include the hitting mats themselves, which are generally placed in alignment with the screen, as they are considered part of the basic design of a golf simulator.

In some golf simulators, a “strike zone” is marked on the hitting surface for the purposes of radar calibration and indicating where the ball should be placed for optimal tracking. While this could be regarded as an indirect aiming aid — even though it does not help the player hit in a particular direction — these indicators are not a violation of the NEXT Golf Tour rules. It is also acceptable to mark the target calibration point on the hitting screen itself.

General rules from the R&A can be found at the www.randa.org

Prize Money

Each of the first five tournaments has a guaranteed minimum purse of $100,000 plus the accumulated entry fees (excluding VAT). For example, with a 250-player field, the total purse will be $125.000. $35,000 of that amount is allocated to side games. The remaining $90,000 is allocated to the top 30% of the field. Payouts are distributed algorithmically based on the number of entrants. Tiebreaker rules will apply.

Unofficial prize money distribution for each round can be found on the Prizes page. Amounts shown are estimates only and do not reflect ties. Official payouts are listed on nextgolftour.com/news/breakdown-of-player-earnings after the verification process is complete.

In the season finale, the top 100 players (plus ties) will compete for a $100,000 purse. $90,000 will be distributed algorithmically to the top 30% of finishers. The remaining $10,000 will be allocated to side games (50% split evenly among Social Standouts, 50% to top three Aggregate Closest to Pin).

The top 10 finishers on the season-long Order of Merit (tournaments 1–6) will receive an additional payout as follows:

1. $15,000
2. $9,000
3. $6,000
4. $4,500
5. $3,500
6. $3,000
7. $2,625
8. $2,250
9. $2,125
10. $2,000

Order of Merit

This season-long ranking is based on prize money earned, with 1 USD = 1 point. This distinction is made to accommodate amateur players, who have a limit on the amount of money they can receive while maintaining their amateur status. See the Amateur Status section for more details.

TrackMan Trophy

The top finisher on the NEXT Golf Tour Order of Merit will also receive the TrackMan Trophy.

Side Games

Each tournament will include a number of side games not related to the order of finish, with substantial cash payouts to winners. The fixed $35,000 prize pool in tournaments 1–5 will be distributed as follows:

• Aggregate Closest to Pin - $12,000 1st: $6K, 2nd: $4K, 3rd: $2K
• Social Media Standouts - $10,000 $2K/ea to top five
• Longest Drive (Men and Women) - $3,750 1st: $2K, 2nd: $1,250, 3rd: $500
• Longest Birdie (or Better) Streak - $2,750 1st: $1,500, 2nd: $850, 3rd: $400
• Most Greens-in-Regulation $2,750 - 1st: $1,500, 2nd: $850, 3rd: $400

There are no tiebreakers on side games. All players sharing the same scores/stats will share the prize amount. Side games are subject to change at the discretion of the Rules Committee.

Amateur Status

Per the rules of amateur status established by the governing bodies of golf, an amateur playing in a scratch competition is allowed to accept any prize, including prize money, up to a limit of $1,000 in value, per competition. For amateur players participating in a NEXT Golf Tour event, the $1,000 prize limit is the accumulated amount won in stroke play competition and simultaneous side games.

If an amateur finishes in a position that would otherwise qualify for winnings greater than $1,000, the player will still receive a maximum of $1,000.

A player must declare himself/herself as either amateur or professional when they enter the event.

By selecting Amateur, the player acknowledges 1) they intend to maintain their amateur status and 2) they will not accept any stroke play or side games winnings greater than $1,000.

By selecting Professional, the player acknowledges that by playing the event they will forego any amateur status they may have had, even if they do not finish the competition or qualify for prize money.

Because Social Standout winnings are not part of the “tee-to-hole competition,” the prize value limit of $1,000 does not apply. Amateurs are eligible to accept winnings for their social media contributions.

Payouts

The NEXT Golf Tour will make payouts via direct deposit on monthly basis. Within a week of each tournament’s completion, winners will receive an email with a link to a secure website where they will provide their bank account details. If a player has not provided his/her bank account details within 30 days after the final day of the tournament, the prize money will be forfeited. Prizes of $20 or less will not be paid, as bank charges often exceed winnings for smaller amounts. However, the amount will count in the Order of Merit.

Where to Play

Tournament rounds can only be played in a TrackMan simulator running TrackMan Performance Studio 9.1 or newer. NEXT tournaments will not be available in previous versions of TPS. Each player’s score will appear on the live tournament leaderboard as soon as the round is completed.

How to Play

Once players have created a TrackMan account and registered through the tournament website, they are eligible to play. In the simulator, entrants should first sign into their TrackMan account, then select “NEXT Golf Tour Tournament [1–6].” All settings (course conditions, tees, etc.) will be pre-set and cannot be changed.

A tutorial on how to enter and play in tournaments is available in the Players Guide on the NEXT Golf Tour website.

Practice Rounds

As in traditional golf, entrants are allowed to play practice rounds on NEXT Golf Tour tournament courses. On the Schedule page of the Next Golf Tour website, players can find all needed information about the course and course setup (tees and length, pin position difficulty, wind conditions, firmness of greens, etc.). Course settings will be available at least two weeks in advance of the tournament window.

Putting

For all tournaments, putting is handled automatically. Putts will be calculated and added as follows:

< 3 meters/9 feet: 1 putt

3 m/9 ft – 20 m/60 ft: 2 putts

> 20 m/60 ft: 3 putts

Putting rules are subject to change at the discretion of the Rules Committee.

“Pick Up” Rule

If a player picks up the ball (by tapping the “Pick up” button on-screen) before holing out, the score will be a quadruple bogey, regardless of the number of shots hit before picking up.

If a player continues until holing out, then all strokes on the hole will be counted, with no maximum. Accordingly, players are advised to pick up the ball before holing out if they wish to limit their score on a given hole to quadruple bogey.

Tie Rules

In the event of a tie for first place, the following rules will determine the winner:

1. Lowest back nine
2. Lowest score on last six holes
3. Lowest score on last three holes
4. Lowest score on hole 18
5. Lowest score on holes 4–9
6. Lowest score on holes 7–9
7. Lowest score on hole 9
8. Aggregate Closest to Pin
9. Longest Birdie (or Better) Streak
10. Most Greens-in-Regulation
11. Longest Drive

When two or more players are tied for a non-winning position, the prize money will be divided evenly.

Season Finale Tie Rules

Any golfers that are tied for the lead at the end of the NEXT Golf Tour season finale will play a 5 hole Closest to the Pin playoff. Whoever has the shortest aggregated distance from the pin, after five holes will be crowned the winner.

The Closest to the Pin rules are as follows: Players have 1 shot on each of the 5 playoff holes. Proximity is calculated as the distance of the ball from the cup, adjusted for penalties. Missing the green is penalized by increasing your distance from the pin with the following amounts:

• Fairway and fringe: +10% added distance from pin
• Rough: +25% added distance from pin
• Bunker: +50% added distance from pin
• Water: +100% added distance from pin
• Out of Bounds: +200% added distance from pin

Your final score is given by the accumulated distance from the pin, across all 5 holes, plus any penalties incurred.

NEXT golfers that are tied for the lead at the end of the NEXT Golf Tour season finale are required to be able to participate in the Closest to the Pin playoff in the play-off window between 3rd April to 5th April. If a player who is tied for the lead is not able to participate in the Closest to the Pin playoff, the other player(s) will compete for the first prize. Secondary prices are shared by the runners-up.

Validation of Results

Each entrant must video record each round in full in order to validate round results. A smartphone camera is sufficient. The video recordings may be reviewed by the Rules Committee and cross-referenced with TrackMan data to confirm the round was completed according to the rules of golf and the NEXT Golf Tour. If a complete and unedited video recording is not provided to the Rules Committee upon request, the round will be disqualified.

Please refer to the Players Guide on the NEXT Golf Tour website for current video upload guidelines and best practices.

Video Uploads and Rights

A central part of The NEXT Golf Tour is promoting the tour and the players via social media. Players are urged to share videos and pictures related to their tournament experience. Players retain all ownership rights to the content they share, but grant the NEXT Golf Tour and TrackMan a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform that content in connection with the NEXT Golf Tour.

By participating in a tournament, players also grant to NEXT Golf Tour a perpetual, royalty-free, fully paid-up, worldwide, right and license (with the right to grant sublicenses) to copy, display, distribute, edit, host, store and otherwise use their name, logos, trade or service marks, nickname, initials, likeness, image, photograph, animation, avatar, autograph, voice, video or film portrayal, public persona, game play data and statistics, biographical information and/or backstory for purposes of advertising the NEXT Golf Tour.

Rules Committee

The Rules Committee consists of representatives from the Danish Golf Union and TrackMan. The Rules Committee has exclusive authority over all aspects of the NEXT Golf Tour and is the final arbiter of all rulings, disputes and any other issues that may arise.

Disclaimer

Registration, entry into and participation in a tournament does not in any way imply any guarantee of specific results or prizes, and neither TrackMan nor NEXT Golf Tour can always control, foresee or anticipate technical or other difficulties which may result in loss of tournament data or other service interruptions. Therefore, by entering into a tournament, each player accepts that the tournament is provided on and “as is” and “as available” basis, and neither TrackMan nor the NEXT Golf Tour are or can be held responsible for any issues that may occur while at a facility including, but not limited to: power/internet outages, simulator not working properly, failure to save the round, failure to complete the round, etc. Any and all disputes related to technology issues that affect gameplay and/or the order of finish will be addressed and resolved at the sole discretion of the Rules Committee.

Technology Issues

Note: The NEXT Golf Tour website has a comprehensive Help section including guidance on most issues that may arise before/during/after play. Please study this carefully before contacting support.

As with any technology platform, there may be issues that arise during gameplay. Examples include ghost shots (i.e., a shot that was tracked without being hit), untracked shots (i.e., a shot that was hit but not tracked) and system crashes.

In the event of:

1. Ghost shots (and/or other clear glitches) — The issue should be noted with video and details and submitted to the Rules Committee for review. If it is an obvious glitch and has been properly video documented, then drop the ball to its original position with one penalty shot (click "Re-hit +1") and continue play. The Rules Committee will then review the video and edit the score as needed. If not deemed a glitch by the Rules Committee, the shot(s) will count.
2. Untracked shots — The player will need to rehit/putt until the shot is tracked.
3. System crashes — The player/facility should restart TPS, sign back in and tap “Resume Round.” Be sure to document any such issues to share with TrackMan support and/or the Rules Committee.
4. Other issues — Document and share with TrackMan support and/or the Rules Committee as needed.

TrackMan will review log files to verify any system errors. Restarting the round will not be allowed by the software. Each entrant is entitled to only one attempt at completing a tournament round.

Dispute

In the event of any dispute(s) during the course of play, the simulator facility owner may make a preliminary ruling based on the information available. The facility owner will be required to sign off on the validity of the round if any dispute(s) arise. The facility owner is asked to send an email to the Rules Committee with an explanation of any dispute(s) and ruling(s). Upon request or in situations where the preliminary ruling remains in dispute, the Rules Committee may review video recording(s) and TrackMan data to make a final ruling.

Disqualification

We want every player on the NEXT Golf Tour to have fun and compete with integrity. All scores will be carefully monitored. Entrants are encouraged to win with grace and lose with dignity. Any form of cheating or attempt to gain an unfair advantage will not be tolerated. TrackMan and the Rules Committee reserve the right to disqualify and/or ban players from future participation if there is a suspicion of cheating in general or anyone is believed to be breaking the official rules. This includes but is not limited to impersonation (including using another player’s TrackMan account, creating multiple accounts, or men playing from women’s tee boxes).

Timing

Each player must finish their tournament round during one uninterrupted session within the defined tournament window for their score to count. The tournament window opens at 06:00 CEST on the first day of the tournament and ends at 23:59 (11:59 p.m.) CEST on the final day of the tournament. Entry fee will not be refunded if a player does not complete the tournament round within the tournament window.

Registration and Entry

Registration for tournaments takes place on the Join page of the NEXT Golf Tour website. The entry fee for both professionals and amateurs is $130 ($100 entryfee, $4 administration, $26 Danish VAT). Entrants may need to pay an additional fee separately for access to a TrackMan simulator.

Players who wants to enter NEXT tournament no. four and five must do so online prior to the closing date, which is at 06:00 (CEST) the first day of competition. The maximum number of entrants for NEXT event number two to five is 500. It is the players responsibility to make sure they are able to complete the tournament before it ends at 23:59 (11:59 p.m.) CEST on the final day of the tournament. Immediately after registering entrants will receive an email from TrackMan with the tournament invitation. Entrants must use the same email address associated with their TrackMan account to receive the invitation and enter the tournament. Entrants may also verify the tournament invitation via the TrackMan Golf app.

In addition to limited 500 entrants, the NEXT Golf Tour and TrackMan have the right to distribute additional spots in the tournament, conditioned on payment of the appropriate entry fee.

TrackMan Account

A TrackMan account is required to enter and play in a tournament. Entrants who do not yet have a TrackMan account can create one in the TrackMan Golf app. Entrants are allowed to create and use only one account while participating in the NEXT Golf Tour. TrackMan and the Rules Committee reserve the right to disqualify any entrants who are found to have used more than one account.

Player Eligibility

The first five events on the NEXT Golf Tour are open to all men and women in all player categories (AM, PGA, NA, REAM). There are no handicap restrictions, but a handicap of maximum 3.4 is recommended. The sixth tournament is limited to the top 100 players and ties on the NEXT Golf Tour Order of Merit list after tournament number five.

Gender Policy

The NEXT Golf Tour has adopted the LPGA Gender Policy (“Policy”) to provide transgender athletes an opportunity to participate in the events, and to assure fair competition for all participants. The Policy can be found here: https://www.lpga.com/gender-policy

Results

Official results are not final until all entrants have completed their rounds and scores have been validated. The final results will appear on the Leaderboard page of the NEXT Golf Tour website.

The live leaderboard that will be updated throughout each tournament is preliminary only and may be revised before the final results are posted.

The Order of Merit and side games leaderboards will be updated shortly after the completion of the tournament.

Limitation of Liability

As a condition to participating in a tournament and to the greatest extent permitted by law, each player agrees to hold harmless TrackMan, NEXT Golf Tour, and its and their respective related parties from and against any and all claims or demands arising out of, relating to, or in connection with such player’s participation in a tournament. In no event shall any player have, and each player hereby irrevocably waives, any right to sue, and covenants not to sue, based upon its participation in a tournament.

Resolution of Disputes

NEXT Golf Tour has final, binding authority to decide disputes with respect to breach, termination, enforcement, or interpretation of any part of the above tournament rules.

Any dispute, claim or controversy that NEXT Golf Tour may have against an entrant/player or that an entrant/player may have against NEXT Golf Tour, and any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to the above rules or the validity thereof, including the determination of the scope or applicability of these rules to arbitrate, and that is not otherwise subject to NEXT Golf Tour’s final, binding authority, shall be finally and conclusively settled by arbitration in Copenhagen, Denmark, in accordance with the rules of the simplified arbitration procedure adopted by The Danish Institute of Arbitration.