Long post(s) coming so you might wanna go grab a cold one and some chips... 
I don't know if I would so much call this a tournament, but more of a free flow challenge, as it doesn't involve people meeting at a specified location on a specified date, and would take planning of a better part of a year, but here's the idea.
How it works:
Participants would go around and play courses on a single calendar day. The courses are on a specified list of options for that particular competition. You would not have to play them all (ideally there would be so many choices that this would be impossible), nor would you be required to specifically play any of them. You would also not have to play them in any specific order.
The thing is you would get points for completion of holes, with the number of points you receive on a hole relative to a number of factors, the most important being how well you scored on it.
Hole score:
Each hole, regardless of length, foliage, etc. would have a base value of 100 points which could be bumped up to a higher number on a number of factors. Your score on that hole would then be calculated by taking the hole's value and dividing it by your stroke score on it. If you were to ace a '100 point' hole, you'd get 100 points. A deuce would be 50 points, a three would be 33 1/3, a four would be 25, and so on.
Course nomination period:
In each localized area (which can be a city, or other location with a lot of courses within a reasonable drive, members of DGCR (or whomever else wants to participate) plan an event for that area. It is then the responsibility of each participant to "nominate" a course for inclusion to that event. It can be any number of holes, but must be within radius of a certain fixed point. Should all of courses within that area get nominated, the radius can be expanded accordingly.
The first means by which the value of a hole will be bumped up is if by PDGA par guidelines (PDF) you have a hole that is a legit par 4 or 5. Par 4 holes will be bumped up 50 points. Par 5 holes will be bumped up 100 points.
The second means is by choice of that course's nominator. The nominator will get to choose a set number of holes for a 25 point bonus depending on how many holes are on the course.
Number of holes Bonus Holes
7 or less = 1
8 to 12 = 2
13 to 17 = 3
18 to 22 = 4
23 or more = 5
Holes under 200' would be ineligible for a nominator's bonus.
Bonuses are allowed to compound. So if a course has a Par 4 that is already bumped up 50 pts. for being a Par 4, and the nominator wants to make it bonus hole, it is now an additional 75 points. A highly unlikely ace would be 175 points, an eagle would be 87.5, a birdie three would be 58 1/3, etc.
Quality course election period:
At a set date, the course nomination period will be closed to compile the fixed list of courses which nominators will vote to pick the "quality" courses from the rest. Each nominator will get a number of votes equivalent to approximately one-third of the list. They are not required to use them all. If you say have 30 courses on the list, each nominator could vote for up to ten. When all the votes are tallied, the courses with the most votes to put them in the top one-third will be elevated to 'quality' courses. ALL holes on these courses will have their values bumped up 25 points.
Superior course election period:
You could skip this idea if you have a relatively small number of courses (less than 20). But it essentially repeats the quality course election using only the courses on the quality list. Only 1/4 of the courses on the 'quality' list will be bumped up to 'superior' status, with an added rule that two quality courses cannot be within a certain radius of one another (so people near those courses don't have too much on an advantage over those who aren't). Again, courses that get elected will have the value of ALL of their holes bumped up another 25 points.
Hole lottery:
Once the status of quality and superior courses are set. Every hole on every course whether it be basic, quality or superior will then get a virtual "ball" (you could make this easy using a random number feature on a spreadsheet), which will be "drawn" just like lottery numbers. 15% of the holes will be picked and those particular holes will be given another 25 point bonus.
So conceivably if you had a hole....
Base value = 100 points
That was a legit Par 4 = + 50
And was picked by the course's nominator for a bonus = +25
And the course got bumped up to quality status = +25
And then up to superior status = +25
And then got picked in the hole lottery = +25
...that hole would be worth 250 points....if you were to ace it.
Compilation of values and preparation period:
All of the hole value information on each course would then be compiled and then uploaded to the internet (preferably on a spreadsheet app to make the math easy), or printed out on paper, so participants could see what holes/courses were worth what, and start to strategize what courses to play and in what order.
Play period:
This period should be at least a month long, and ideally centered around the summer solstice. Some in hotter climates might opt for a different period where a balance between temperatures and daylight hours can be reached. Some might think restricted sunlight would make things more challenging. (Night play would be perfectly legal).
Players would simply go and record their stroke scores as they usually would. When the day is done, they would then go plug their scores for all the played courses into the spreadsheet which would convert them into scores for the competition. They would then upload their scores, details and all, for competitors to see. At the end of the competition period, the one with the highest score for a single day is the winner.
You could also make side challenges for best score on single course, or a set of courses, or just the quality/superior course lists, two day competition, nine holers only, etc.
So if I still have your attention (wouldn't blame you if I didn't), what do you think of this? Any questions, or suggestions on how to improve it?
I don't know if I would so much call this a tournament, but more of a free flow challenge, as it doesn't involve people meeting at a specified location on a specified date, and would take planning of a better part of a year, but here's the idea.
How it works:
Participants would go around and play courses on a single calendar day. The courses are on a specified list of options for that particular competition. You would not have to play them all (ideally there would be so many choices that this would be impossible), nor would you be required to specifically play any of them. You would also not have to play them in any specific order.
The thing is you would get points for completion of holes, with the number of points you receive on a hole relative to a number of factors, the most important being how well you scored on it.
Hole score:
Each hole, regardless of length, foliage, etc. would have a base value of 100 points which could be bumped up to a higher number on a number of factors. Your score on that hole would then be calculated by taking the hole's value and dividing it by your stroke score on it. If you were to ace a '100 point' hole, you'd get 100 points. A deuce would be 50 points, a three would be 33 1/3, a four would be 25, and so on.
Course nomination period:
In each localized area (which can be a city, or other location with a lot of courses within a reasonable drive, members of DGCR (or whomever else wants to participate) plan an event for that area. It is then the responsibility of each participant to "nominate" a course for inclusion to that event. It can be any number of holes, but must be within radius of a certain fixed point. Should all of courses within that area get nominated, the radius can be expanded accordingly.
The first means by which the value of a hole will be bumped up is if by PDGA par guidelines (PDF) you have a hole that is a legit par 4 or 5. Par 4 holes will be bumped up 50 points. Par 5 holes will be bumped up 100 points.
The second means is by choice of that course's nominator. The nominator will get to choose a set number of holes for a 25 point bonus depending on how many holes are on the course.
Number of holes Bonus Holes
7 or less = 1
8 to 12 = 2
13 to 17 = 3
18 to 22 = 4
23 or more = 5
Holes under 200' would be ineligible for a nominator's bonus.
Bonuses are allowed to compound. So if a course has a Par 4 that is already bumped up 50 pts. for being a Par 4, and the nominator wants to make it bonus hole, it is now an additional 75 points. A highly unlikely ace would be 175 points, an eagle would be 87.5, a birdie three would be 58 1/3, etc.
Quality course election period:
At a set date, the course nomination period will be closed to compile the fixed list of courses which nominators will vote to pick the "quality" courses from the rest. Each nominator will get a number of votes equivalent to approximately one-third of the list. They are not required to use them all. If you say have 30 courses on the list, each nominator could vote for up to ten. When all the votes are tallied, the courses with the most votes to put them in the top one-third will be elevated to 'quality' courses. ALL holes on these courses will have their values bumped up 25 points.
Superior course election period:
You could skip this idea if you have a relatively small number of courses (less than 20). But it essentially repeats the quality course election using only the courses on the quality list. Only 1/4 of the courses on the 'quality' list will be bumped up to 'superior' status, with an added rule that two quality courses cannot be within a certain radius of one another (so people near those courses don't have too much on an advantage over those who aren't). Again, courses that get elected will have the value of ALL of their holes bumped up another 25 points.
Hole lottery:
Once the status of quality and superior courses are set. Every hole on every course whether it be basic, quality or superior will then get a virtual "ball" (you could make this easy using a random number feature on a spreadsheet), which will be "drawn" just like lottery numbers. 15% of the holes will be picked and those particular holes will be given another 25 point bonus.
So conceivably if you had a hole....
Base value = 100 points
That was a legit Par 4 = + 50
And was picked by the course's nominator for a bonus = +25
And the course got bumped up to quality status = +25
And then up to superior status = +25
And then got picked in the hole lottery = +25
...that hole would be worth 250 points....if you were to ace it.
Compilation of values and preparation period:
All of the hole value information on each course would then be compiled and then uploaded to the internet (preferably on a spreadsheet app to make the math easy), or printed out on paper, so participants could see what holes/courses were worth what, and start to strategize what courses to play and in what order.
Play period:
This period should be at least a month long, and ideally centered around the summer solstice. Some in hotter climates might opt for a different period where a balance between temperatures and daylight hours can be reached. Some might think restricted sunlight would make things more challenging. (Night play would be perfectly legal).
Players would simply go and record their stroke scores as they usually would. When the day is done, they would then go plug their scores for all the played courses into the spreadsheet which would convert them into scores for the competition. They would then upload their scores, details and all, for competitors to see. At the end of the competition period, the one with the highest score for a single day is the winner.
You could also make side challenges for best score on single course, or a set of courses, or just the quality/superior course lists, two day competition, nine holers only, etc.
So if I still have your attention (wouldn't blame you if I didn't), what do you think of this? Any questions, or suggestions on how to improve it?
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