How to get a JGTO card?

My gosh. If I knew it would be this difficult to get a damn golf tour card...hehe, ya, I'd still do it. Dude, if Japanese procedures weren't complicated enough, there are no loopholes to use to my advantage to get my application pushed through. So here's what I've encountered so far:

Let me say first off, the JGTO does not submit 2007 applications until late April and it must be turned in by June 8th. The timeframe I have to obtain material from Japan and the items they request cut my deadline very close. Bastards.

1. To apply for the JGTO (Japan Golf Tour Org), you must fill out an "ORIGINAL" application from the JGTO headquarters. So basically, I can't have the bastards fax me a copy nor can I download it from the net. They purposely don't have it on the net for that very reason. I received the application in the mail but I don't see the big deal.

2. Must show proof of a 3-handicap or better authorized by the USGA of America (for American players). I've never had to get my handicap because nothing on the US Tour requires it because there's other methods of proving your ability. I have a letter from my own golf instructor AND an official letter of my play on the Pepsi Tour. Still, no go. I had to get a USGA handicap established, which by the way, took me a month to get.

3. Must show proof of liability insurance. Not only do I need insurance that will be covered in Japan, but I have to freakin show proof. For some reason, our Homeowner's Insurance doesn't cover out of country property so I've had to apply for "renter's insurance."

4. A payment receipt for the entry fee must be attached to the application upon submittal to show proof of payment into the organization's personal banking account. Here's the tricky part. To wire money internationally, there's a wire transfer fee. The JGTO doesn't know that amount but their bank does. When you fill out the application, you also need their address which isn't listed on the application. So not only do you have to overpay to compensate the fee, you need to call Japan (international rate phone bill) to get their damn address and routing number. PAIN IN THE @$$.

5. Your chosen location of play is not guaranteed. So basically, if I chose to play in Chiba, Japan and it got filled up so I was transferred, all AFTER purchasing plane and hotel tickets, you're screwed. Why can't I just plan those things after I receive confirmation? By the time I receive confirmation of my play location, plane tickets or hotel accommodations may not be available or at a reasonable price.


NOW...if I get past all the discrepancies, how does my play earn me a card?

1. There are 4 stages you must pass. You must pass each subsequent stage to continue to the next stage...so if I fail to pass the first stage, I may not continue to stage 2 and so on.

2. They take the top 20~25 players + ties to advance to the next stage out of a given field at each testing site. (Each stage has approx. 5 different testing sites to choose from.)

3. Research shows that any score under par has qualified past all 4 stages. Stage 1 has three rounds, stage 2 has four rounds, stage 3 has four rounds and stage 4 has six rounds. As long as my combined score in each stage is under par, my chances of receiving a card is very high.

4. In stage 4, the top 50 advance to the highest golf tour level in Japan. The top 150 will be allowed to play in "open" events as well as their "Challenge Tour" events (equivalent to the US Nationwide Tour).


The funny thing is, it would seem that passing the qualifier is MUCH easier to accomplish than properly filling out the application process. Headache.