In today’s golf world, where exploding purses and made-for-TV spectacles benefit players who are already superstars, the NEXT Golf Tour offers a sharp contrast: This is a place for grinders chasing their pro golf dreams, competing on the same courses anyone can play at any Trackman-powered indoor golf center.
Following an exciting sophomore season last winter, Trackman has announced the return of the NEXT Golf Tour for Season 3. Round 1 tees off on December 11, with sign-ups opening on Nov. 27 at NEXTGolfTour.com.
“NEXT is a tour for the many, not the few,” said Klaus Eldrup-Jørgensen, Trackman co-founder and CEO. “The world’s best players will always have a place to compete, and compete for a lot of money. Our goal has always been to help up-and-coming players earn the money they need to keep chasing that dream. We are thrilled that players are using the NEXT platform to go on to bigger and better things.”
Virtual golf. Real money.
Last season, NEXT paid out more than $1.2 million, with 11 players earning at least $20K — led by Jordan Weber, who earned $90,319 and invitations to four tour events in Europe this past summer.
“The NEXT Golf Tour changed my life,” Weber said. “It not only revitalized my professional golf career, but also provided me the best opportunity I’ve ever had to compete at a high level. I can’t wait for Season 3 to get started.”
The purse for Rounds 1–3 starts at $100,000. With a full 1,000-player field, the purse will climb to $200,000, including a cool $30,000 for the winner.
Side games payouts total $20,000 in Rounds 1–3, including $3,000 for closest-to-pin (aggregate), $1,750 for closest-to-pin on each par-3 hole, and $2,500 for both men’s and women’s longest drive. Two $2,000 prizes will be awarded after each round to Social Media Standouts — the top videos submitted by players as voted by followers on Instagram. One $1,000 prize will be awarded to the player who hits the Shot of the Round, as selected by the NEXT Golf Tour media team.
To encourage more women to join NEXT, the top five female finishers in Rounds 1–3 will share $15,000 in bonuses, on top of any stroke play earnings.
How it works
Season 3 of the NEXT Golf Tour consists of three full-field rounds (up to 1,000 players) followed by a Season Finale featuring the top 100 qualifiers. Each round is 18 holes of stroke play on a select Trackman virtual golf course. Rounds can be played in any Trackman simulator worldwide.
Once again, men and women compete straight-up from different tee boxes, and all players with a handicap of 3.4 or better are encouraged to join.
The entry fee remains at $130 (including 25 percent Danish VAT and a small handling fee) per round. $100 of each entry fee is added to the purse, so the more players in the field, the greater the payouts. The top 30 percent of the field in Rounds 1–3 will receive a paycheck.
Popular in-round “side games” — including multiple closest-to-pin competitions and longest drive for both men and women — continue to offer significant earning potential.
Players record their rounds using the NEXT Recorder app (available for iOS and Android) and video is uploaded to the live leaderboard after each hole, allowing fans to follow every shot from every player in near-real time.
“We are very proud of what NEXT has become and where we are headed,” Eldrup-Jørgensen said. “Our technology is changing the way people look at the indoor game, and the early success of NEXT has shown that competitive indoor golf is here to stay.”
What’s new for Season 3
To create an even better experience for both players and followers, the NEXT Golf Tour made a few changes for the upcoming season:
- Rounds 1–3 will now begin and end on Wednesdays, giving players more than seven full days to complete their rounds. Playing windows open at midnight CET on Wednesday (6 p.m. ET in the US) and close at 8 p.m. CET (2 p.m. ET).
- All rounds will be played on Trackman’s new Virtual Golf 3 courses, which feature the industry’s best graphics and a host of other gameplay improvements.
- At the end of the season, four players — top male, top female, top amateur and winner of the Season Finale — will each receive a Trackman 4 device on loan for one year.
- The NEXT Golf Tour continues to make progress on agreements to offer top players invitations to traditional tour events and will provide an update soon.
“Even though we are already in Season 3, NEXT is just getting started,” Eldrup-Jørgensen said. “We will keep working, we will keep learning and growing, and we will maintain a very high standard for the NEXT player and fan experience.
“The journey continues — see you on the virtual fairways!”
To learn more about the NEXT Golf Tour, including the Season 3 schedule, rules and entry details, visit NEXTGolfTour.com. Questions? Please contact Bernd Larsen Linde, Trackman VP of M
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