Fair Play and Fun: Upstate Amateur Players Tour starts new season

By golfclubsc on February 4, 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

By Stan Olenik Editor-Publisher, The Golf Club

*Winning a golf tournament is hard, but when you win on the Upstate SC Amateur Players Tour it is time to lift your trophy, enjoy the win and smile. (APT Photos)*

When you pull up the Facebook page for the Upstate SC Amateur Players Tour you see pictures of a lot of smiling golfers.

They usually have a trophy in their hand after playing a good round in a tournament, but the smiles and the good will come from more than a good score.

“Over the years it has become about more than golf,” said the APT Upstate Director Larry Lee. “It is as much about family and friends as it is about winning a golf tournament,” he offered.

Lee founded one of the first area amateur tours back in 1997. It was a novel idea at the time to create a series of one day tournaments on a variety of golf courses for golfers who just got to play on the weekends.

When Lee talks about the Tour being a collection of friends and family he means it.

In the early stages of his involvement he was joined by his best friend, Roger Mitterling, who helped build the foundation of the Tour

Mitterling fell victim to cancer at the early age of 40 and has been dearly missed by all who knew him and appreciated his contribution to the development of amateurs playing Tour golf in the Upstate.

The family part of the Tour is Lee’s wife Diane and occasionally some help from his two sons.

“Getting things organized is so much better and easier now than it was when we first started a Tour back in 1994. It still is a 12 hour day for each tournament and some during the week getting things set, but I enjoy it as much as I ever did,” said Lee..

APT golfers may be country club members, but the majority of Tour golfers are not members anywhere else. With a core group of golfers the APT Tour is like playing in a private club’s member-guest.

Upstate SC APT Tour Director Larry Lee and his wife Diane and son AJ are part of the Tour helping to run events all during the year. (SCAPT Photo)

“We have always been a blue collar tour. Our golfers work Monday through Friday and love to play on the weekends. Our Tour now and the ones that I worked with before have given so many golfers a chance to do something they love, that they might not have been able to do without our Tour,” said Lee.

Lee took a four year break from operating an amateur tour, but returned three years ago heading up the Upstate APT chapter. When he returned he found a much smaller group than when he left, but with the same interest in playing an amateur Tour schedule.

“The Tour was down to around 60 members, but we were able to get some of the golfers from the other Tour I ran to give us a try and we doubled the membership in the first year,” said Lee.

Last year the Tour included almost 200 members and the early sign up period underway now indicates the number could be even bigger this year.

Setting up a season-long series of golf tournaments and running events almost weekly can produce a lot of stress for the director, but for Lee it is nothing but a day in the park.

Especially when you consider what Lee’s every day job is all about.

It isn’t rocket science, but Lee’s job is pretty close. He is a Nuclear Chemistry Scientist for Duke Energy.

There isn’t a shot on the golf course or a problem running a tournament that tests his nerves as his demanding job does every day..

There is never a shortage of trophies for the top finishers in each tournaments. In addition to the trophy the top golfers in each division can win a Visa Gift Card, Upstate APT golfers also play for additional prizes each week, (Upstate APT Photo)

“When we first started a Tour, computers and the internet were just getting going. We did a lot of work on the phone and through the mail. Now with our website at www.APTGOLF.org it is still work, but it is a lot easier to set things up,” he said.

Lee knows the best way to keep golfers coming back is to make sure the competition is fair.

“There is no doubt in my mind that APT does the best job of keeping “sandbaggers” in line. “We monitor our events to give everyone a chance to win and APT has a “competition committee” to help us, ” said Lee.

Each week all the tournament scores are checked against their individual rating. Keeping in mind every golfer can have a great day, but sometimes when the spread between the top of a flight and the second place golfer is larger than normal, the Tour steps in to even the playing field.

“Golfers tell me they appreciate our attention to keeping things fair for everyone. I think that is the reason we get so many golfers who come back to play the APT every year,” said Lee.

Jody Clary from Shelby was the 2024 Division 1 Player of the year on the Upstate SC Amateur Players Tour. (Upstate SC APT Photo)

Since the post Covid golf boom it has been a little harder to get golf courses for events.In many cases the green fees have gotten much bigger and some of the prices have also gotten bigger.

Another reason is the variety of courses and affordability.

“When I set up the schedule I have to take into account that our golfers like to play very good courses, but we can’t always get dates at the price level we want. I try to mix up our course lineup between courses we play every year, with ones that require a bigger entry fee and are new to the Tour,” he said.

The 2025 portion of the schedule starts with a trip to Cherokee Valley on March 1st. Saturday tournaments are also scheduled for the Currahee Club in Clayton, Georgia, Sequoya National in Cherokee, NC, Kenmure, Cleghorn and Reem’s Creek along with favorites like Willow Creek, Fox Run and River Falls.

A complete schedule can be found at the Tour’s website https://aptgolf.org/chapter/amateur-players-tour-upstate-south-carolina/

And if the local Tour does not provide enough playing opportunities for Tour members who may be traveling looking for an event, if you are signed up on any Tour you can play in any of the 46 Tours around the country.

“When you look at the big combined events taking place around the country, golfers who are Tour members could get to play some PGA Tour courses like the one in Phoenix or Torrey Pines or Kiawah Island,” he listed.

Each event crowns a champion in multiple divisions set by their ability. Top finishers win Visa GIft Cards and trophies as well as points for the year end player of the year awards.

5500 yards for some of the higher divisions and seniors to around 6500 yards for the better players in the event.

The Divisions are open to Senior players who step up a tee and still can compete for the Division victory, but that is perhaps the only accommodation made in the field.

Age has crept up on Lee like many of the original members of the first amateur Tour and while he once played in many tournaments now it is more about seeing others enjoy what he has built.

“Even though I’m not playing very often, I am enjoying it way more now than I used to. I think it is because of the comradery of the golfers. Our Tour is just like a country club and it is as much fun to be around the members today as it was almost 30 years ago when it started,” concluded Lee.

The Upstate SC APT played its last event before taking a few weeks off to start the spring season with the Original Icebreaker on Hilton Head Island at the Robert Trent Jones course.

The Division 1 champion was T.J. Hines from Spartanburg.Hines came from two shots off the lead after the opening round to record a one shot victory over Jody Clary from Shelby, NC.