2026 Tournament and Policy Changes

The Board approved the following changes/updates to the CHMGA tournaments and policies, effective with the first tournament of the 2026 Season (November 1st). These changes are based on membership feedback we’ve received throughout the year and via the annual survey, as well as problems/issues we’ve found as the season progressed. 

The method of allocating Cinnabar Cup points in 2025 for each tournament was based on how a player finished in their FLIGHT. This method created a number of problems when we flighted our tournaments, and limited our flexibility to build flights in ways that are fun for the participants. To address these issues, Cinnabar Cup points in 2026 points will be allocated based on how each member finishes compared to the entire FIELD using NET scoring. In this way, every member will be competing against EVERYONE in the field for Cinnabar Cup points. We’ve done extensive analysis of the impact of this change, and it does not advantage/disadvantage any particular group of players.

  • Tournament purses/payouts will remain flight based, and be calculated separately from the Cinnabar Cup point calculations (and can still be based on GROSS scoring). As such, the results in Golf Genius will now include: 1) a leaderboard showing how players/teams finished against their flight using the scoring method (gross or net scoring) for that tournament, and 2) a second leaderboard showing how players/teams finished against the field using NET scoring.
  • To facilitate the above, we’ll change our point allocation table from the current PGA NENY table, to the actual FedEx Cup point table used by the pros. We’ve modeled this change as well and see no negative consequences of making this change. You can find the FedEx Cup point table we’ll use at this link: 2026 Cinnabar Cup Point Distribution Table.
  • We’ll retain the Closest to the Pin (CTP) contests, however we will no longer allocate Cinnabar Cup points to CTP winners given the inability to handicap CTP contests.
  • The purse for the top 22 Cinnabar Cup points winners will stay roughly the same as 2025 with the top prize being $1,000 and can be found at the following link: 2026 Cinnabar Cup Race Purse.

Changes to the Club Championship/NET Championship/Match Play tournaments are currently under discussion by the Board. We’ll be finalizing these changes at out next board meeting in October and they will be communicated then. We expect the purse to remain consistent with the 2025 purse regardless of any changes made

To improve the “currency” of the tournament scores included in each members Tournament Index (TI) calculations, we’re making two changes to these calculations in 2026:

  • First, we’ve increased the number of postable rounds in our 2026 tournament schedule. In 2025 we found we had too many rounds that were non-postable, especially early in the season, which caused TIs to stay static across a number of tournaments, even though the playing abilities of members were changing.
  • Two, We are modifying the calculation of TIs to be based only on scores from the current season plus the past TWO seasons. This will ensure “very old” scores that may no longer reflect a members playing ability DO NOT count against their TI.

To ensure equality in team events, in 2025 we required all members competing in a team (2 or 4 person) to hit from the same tee box (play the same course, same conditions). Several members have requested we allow teams to consist of players hitting from different tee boxes. In 2026, we will allow members to do this, for all events except NCGA qualifiers and Majors, but teams consisting of mixed tee players will be flighted in a single “Mixed Tee” flight so they are competing against similar teams for purse/payouts.

In 2025, CHMGA sponsored and paid for members to play in 4 NCGA events (the Zone Championship Qualifier, the Four-Ball Qualifier, the Senior Four-Ball Qualifier, and the NET Amateur Qualifier). Based on membership feedback, in 2026 we will no longer sponsor and pay for the Senior Four-Ball Qualifier. We will still notify members of their option to play in this qualifier, but if they choose to play in it they will need to pay any entry fees for it themselves.

The 2026 Closest to the Pin Contests will be organized by tee box played, similar to how they were organized in 2025. The purse for the CTP contest will be based on the number of players playing from each tee box.

While we will keep the $25 late cancelation fee for members who cancel their participation in a CHMGA tournament less than 48 hours before the event, we are modifying the policy in two ways: 1) To clarify that any cancelations due to medical issues (emergencies, sickness, etc.) will not incur a $25 fee, and 2) all members will get 1 free no-excuse withdrawal without penalty.

NCGA rules allow for NCGA members to use caddies in NCGA events. Members have asked if they could use caddies for CHMGA tournaments as well. After discussion, the Board has decided NOT to allow members to use caddies in CHMGA tournaments.