October 9, 2012

WARREN, PA — The #1 tournament in amateur golf brought aboard a new requirement and date for its players effective last June 2012. The 2013 Carl Spackler Open will be held June 6-9 and golfers attending are required to submit at least 2 scorecards between June 10, 2012 and their 2013 signing date.

"The Carl Spackler Open has a new requirement," says Chairman of the Captains Club Greg Long. "The Captains Club is no longer accepting registrations without at least two scorecards posted online at poststats.com. Scorecards must be posted after June 10, 2012. This is a long-term move towards improving the golf event."

Golfers are encouraged to pre-register. Golfers can also pay their non-refundable non-transferrable deposit, however registrations and deposits will not be accepted until the scorecard requirement is met.

"This is going to be a work in progress," says Greg Long. "We understand people are busy and also realize the scorecard requirement will most likely result in smaller attendance moving forward. The change is a step forward towards 2020 and beyond. We plan to reassess the scorecard requirement and late-entries this winter and make changes as needed."

The Carl Spackler Open has been held for 12 years in 10 different states with 194 different players. The 4-day event has been held in mid-April and early-June for the past 11 years. The Captains Club is expecting a decline in attendance this coming year due to the new scorecard requirement and multiple high school graduation conflicts.

The event acquired 10 bids and made 4 scouting trips with a goal of moving the date. In the end, the club found the May 15-18 date would not work at the best venue choices for seasonal and climate issues, however will be revisited for the 2014 event.

"A date sounds simple and without thought," says Captains Club member Don Creighton. "There are hundreds of date conflicts. We understand that golfers will not be attending this year based on the selected date, but believe the event has limited choices without giving up quality. We would like to communicate the June 2013 date as soon as possible."

Jason Watson continued to read the press document on behalf of the club. "The club made every attempt to move the event to the 3rd week of May or 4th weekend of June for its first year," said Watson. "The proactive attempt to escape a conflict with high school graduations failed. We will continue to explore a date change aggressively."

The 2013 Carl Spackler Open will be played Friday through Sunday with the practice round held on Thursday. The date for returning home will be Monday, June 10. The decision to play Thursday-Sunday was decided upon using multiple June 5 conflicts, June 11 conflict, Sunday rates equal to Wednesday rates, and cheaper airline tickets on Monday.

"We do love our bermuda grass very green and our northern oaks in full bloom," says Jeremy Myers. "The inaugural tournament was held in Myrtle Beach in a very cold March 2001. The tournament immediately pushed towards a summer classic by holding the 2002 Carl Spackler Open in mid-April. The championship moved to the weekend before Father's Day in 2003. It has remained in early June with the exception of 2010 for 9 years. The 2010 event was moved to mid-April for a once-in-a-decade golf trip to southern Texas."

The traditional June event date does conflict with high school graduations. Randon Mineweaser skipped the 2005 tournament for a high school graduation. Matt Pritchard skipped in 2012. Both Matt Pritchard and Mike Davis will be attending high school graduations on June 8, 2013. The number of graduation conflicts is expected to rise quickly and peak by 2020.

The event date and scorecard requirement could drop attendance from 96 in 2011 to 48 in 2013. The event is expecting between 48 and 60 golfers, which would be the smallest attendance since Tanglewood Park in 2004.

The Captains Club returns to its focus on a 2013 tournament location. The golf tournament is expected to be held in West Virginia or Maryland.

"I have plans to return," says senior member Jason Ridgeway. "I learned this year that majors and my attendance go together like Rick Dosky and hacking."

The Captains Club continues to work through final negotiations with the remaining vendors to achieve the best bid. A decision on venue is expected prior to Halloween.