Event Information
Presenting sponsors: Titleist, FootJoy, Cobra, Buick & Club Car
Dates: June 19-22, 2008
Site: Reynolds Plantation – Great Waters and Reynolds Landing Courses, Greensboro, Ga.
Exclusive Media Partner: GOLF CHANNEL
Defending Champion: Chip Sullivan, PGA Head Professional, Ashley Plantation, Daleville, Va.
Prize Money and Awards: The 2008 PGA Professional National Championship features a $550,000 purse. The 2008 Champion's name will be inscribed on the Walter Hagen Cup, which is enshrined at The PGA of America national headquarters in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. The 2008 PGA Professional National Champion also receives exemptions into the following:
The Walter Hagen Cup: Presented to the PGA Club Professional Champion, the Walter Hagen Cup is named after the legendary golfer, five-time PGA Champion and one of the 35 original founders of The PGA of America. Hagen elevated the role of the PGA Professional throughout his career. The Haig's inspirational career is reflected in today's PGA Professionals competing in the national championship -- displaying playing skills under a national spotlight while also serving their respective clubs and golf communities as managers, merchandisers and respected teachers of the game. The PGA Club Professional Champion receives a replica of the crystal Walter Hagen Cup, which is 14½ inches high, 12 inches wide and weighs 17½ pounds.
Method of Play: Stroke play, four rounds, 18 holes daily on two courses. The entire field of 312 will compete on each course – Great Waters and Reynolds Landing -- at least once in the first two rounds. Following the first 36 holes of play, the field will be reduced to the low 70 scorers and those tied for 70th place. Those players will compete in the final two rounds at Great Waters. In the event of a tie for first place upon completion of play, there will be a sudden-death playoff.
Eligibility: The field of 312 will be limited to those PGA members who are eligibly employed as golf professionals and in certain pre-established membership classifications as of May 2008. The PGA of America reserves the right to determine whether or not any applicant is so employed and to reject any applicant who does not meet the requirements. No player will be eligible if he or she has played in more than ten (10) combined PGA TOUR, Champions Tour, Nationwide Tour, LPGA Tour, PGA European Tour, Canadian our, Australia/New Zealand Tour, JPGA Tour, The Sunshine Tour (South Africa), The Asian Tour, The Safari Tour, The PGA Challenge Tour, national Senior Tour, European Seniors Tour, JPGA Senior Tour, WPGT, JLPGA, Grey Goose Gateway Tour, Hooters Tour, and SBC Futures Tour tournaments between May 12, 2007 and May 13, 2008. The U.S. Open, U.S. Senior Open, PGA Championship, and Senior PGA Championship are not included in the 10-tournament count. The TaylorMade-Adidas Golf PGA Assistant Professional Champion will be exempt into the Championship, provided that he or she is eligibly employed or in an eligible PGA classification at the time of entry into the PGA Professional National Championship.
Rules and Regulations: The Rules of Golf, which govern play, are determined by the United States Golf Association and applied by The PGA of America Board of Directors. The Championship is subject to the overall supervision of the Board and the PGA Rules Committee.
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To set the right price on a home, you should combine an objective evaluation of your property with a realistic assessment of market conditions.
In good markets and bad, you are more likely to benefit by determining a fair value and sticking close to it than you are by asking an unrealistic figure and waiting for buyer response to sift out the "right" price. And in a buyer's market, setting the right price from the outset may be the only effective strategy.
You could set a fair price and then refuse to bargain. But that would deter all those people who hate to pay full price for anything and like to feel they're "getting a deal."
Better to leave a little room for negotiation by asking slightly more than you expect to get – 5% to 10% above appraised value could be a good starting point. If sales are brisk in your area, you might just end up getting top dollar.
Don't Overprice
What many sellers don't realize is that overpricing can result in their getting less for their house than if they priced it right to begin with. The reason: Knowledgeable agents and buyers often won't bid on a severely overpriced house. By the time the seller wises up, many of his best prospects will have bought other houses, decreasing demand for the now properly priced property. An overpriced house can end up being sold for less than it would have a few months earlier.
Occasionally, an agent may agree to list a property for far more than it is worth – usually at the owner's insistence. The agent knows that, if the owner is serious about selling, the price will have to come down sooner or later. But sometimes an agent who is competing against other agents for a listing will give a seller an unrealistically high estimate of value, to ensure getting the listing. After the house sits on the market awhile, the agent will suggest a new, lower price more in line with what other agents suggested in the first place.
Some sellers who don't have a deadline for selling ("unmotivated sellers," they're called) will cling for a long time to their overly high asking price – say, 20% higher than it should be. They probably won't get their asking price, and even if they do manage to sell a year later for the original price, it will be because a rising market finally caught up with their price.
They might think that they were smart to hold firm, but in fact they were naive, ignoring the time value of money. In the year (or even six months) that they clung to their high price, the rest of the real estate market probably wasn't standing still. The next home they buy may have gone up in value by at least the same margin, and possibly more.
Study the Comparables
Learn the offering and selling prices of similar properties. Find out how long each took to sell.
To be comparable, a house that sold has to be close to yours in age, style, size, condition, and location. You should also know the terms under which a house was sold. Try to find at least three comparables no more than six months old.
If you are listing your home with an agent, this kind of market research should be prepared and presented to you.
Get an Appraisal
If your idea of what your property is worth and the listing broker's recommendation don't coincide, an appraisal may be in order.
Reprinted with permission. All Contents © 2007 The Kiplinger Washington Editors
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