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WHY PLAYERS CONTINUE TO MAKE BAD DECISIONS!

Wait.....wait.....get ready for it, here it comes........"We told you so".  The iTPC tour is a goner, tanked, out of money, and lead man is ARRESTED.  In fact, you can't even access the www.iTPC.cc website anymore.  They shut down all operations! NO SURPRISE. Over the last 14 years I have seen a lot of players make a lot of bad decisions and they continue to do so today.

Michael Alexander, Rainer, Hackler, Martin, or whatever name he uses, depending on the day of the week, has been arrested and is being extradited back to Florida.  We will post a link for this information soon.  While we are pleased to see that our investigation was accurate, we would be even more pleased to see action taken against other board members and companies that supported this fictitious event. HPST told three board members about this scam weeks before this event but our comments fell on deaf ears. The board members were operating out of GREED and only wanted to further their cause at the expense of honest players.

It took HPST three days to discover that Michael Alexander was a con-artist and intended to run this scam in conjunction with iFOCUS.  It is a shame that over 100 golfers could not see what was coming. Also as time goes by there is less places to play at and players have never understood you must come together as one. Just like the Champions Tour they don't want none of you and they have a way of keeping us out. Know sponsors will put up any money when you can not count on players.

With today's economy and very few places to play, it makes it harder for players as they compete to get on the Champions Tour. But one thing is for sure, these players have made their bed and now they have to sleep in it. When players are spending $600.00 on an entry fee with the intent of only winning $2000.00, they have lost from the start.  Not to mention the owner of the tour makes more than that off the event and walks away smiling. To tell someone you are playing professional golf at this level is shameful when 99% can not break 80.

Here's the catch.  HPST put up $90,000.00 cash in an attempt to assemble a 100 player field to be played in Ponca City Ok.  on a Perry Maxwell G.C. (Builder of Southern Hills)Due to not reaching 100 players for this event HPST cancel the event.  The point is this; the cash was on the table for all to see, however, some players just don't understand. What is wrong with this picture, now go fine you a place to play for $90,000.00 we have our money and will not offer it again. Our point has been proven!

I bet a bunch of players are wishing they were in a boat with some Somali pirates right now!  They would have at least saved $850 plus expenses.

REAL MONEY

Over the last thirty days, we have been approached by over sixty players calling to discuss what could be done to revise the senior golf program. We have agreed to assemble two events in order to see if the players are serious about competing at this level and to assess their willingness to keep senior golf alive. Past and present players are welcome at these events, but most importantly everyone must come together as one, play for real money, and be paid on time. Our new office phone number is 918-943-6690 or 918-645-8942.

The format for these events will be as follows:

120 players

NO CUT

Anyone 47 and up

Winnings are GUARANTEED to be paid on Friday at the course

Entry fee professionals $750.00 (no memberships)

Entry fee amateurs $300.00

Purse $90,000.00

40% of field and ties will be paid

Entries will be added weekly

Jim Kane, Danny Edwards, Gary Hill, Rod Murray, Craig RB, Dean Green, Mickey Telleton, Robert Landers, Tim McGraw, Chip Jenkins, Wayne Wright, Kevin Dillen, Bob Long, Calvin Budd,

First event is at the Great Perry Maxwell course in Ponca City, OK. July 13-17,2009.

Pro-am on Tuesday July 14, 2009 thirty amateurs and thirty professionals, purse $5000.00 - 1st $2500.00, 2nd $1500.00 and 3rd $1000.00.  This event will start on Wednesday and end on Friday.

Second event Ft Sill Golf Club in Ft Sill, OK. July 20-24, 2009 pro-am on Monday July 20, 2009 event will start on Tuesday and end on Thursday.

    PURSE

1. $14,000.00            16. $1,660.00              31. $1,175.00           47. $ 930.00

2. $6,300.00              17. $1,650.00              32. $1,150.00          48. $ 920.00

3. $4,200.00              18. $1,500.00              33. $1,140.00                                           

4. $3,100.00              19. $1,460.00              34. $1,130.00

5. $2,600.00              20. $1,430.00              35. $1,120.00

6. $2,300.00              21. $1,420.00              36. $1,100.00

7. $2,275.00              22. $1,400.00              37. $1,075.00

8. $2,150.00              23. $1,395.00              38. $1,060.00

9. $2,120.00              24. $1,375.00              39. $1,050.00

10. $2,110.00            25. $1,365.00              40. $1,030.00

11. $2,100.00            26. $1,350.00              41. $1,020.00

12. $1,800.00            27. $1,330.00              42. $1,010.00

13. $1.750.00            28. $1,275.00              43. $1,000.00

14. $1.700.00            29. $1,210.00              44. $ 980.00

15. $1.675.00            30. $1,200.00              45. $ 970.00

                                                                       46. $ 940.00

DISASTER IN THE DESERT

Don't predicate your behavior based upon the anticipation of the outcome!  For those of you that are challenged, (John Ross), it simply means "don't count your chickens until they hatch".

After eight weeks of misleading so many folks the truth comes out. Many folks bought into this scam from the start, and we gave our opinion.  We only wanted folks to look at the writing on the wall.  There wasn't a $286K purse, are you surprised? When you have a $25,000 pro-am and the winner gets paid $200.00, you better call the police.  It is said that players left without payment in hand.  It has further been said that cash would be paid, then that mysteriously changed to checks being sent out via Fed Ex next Monday.  I am really anxious to see if anyone will get paid.  What kind of business is this?

On Monday when the money didn't show up in the bank account of iTPC, David Lundstrom, one of the board-members, did what all good men would do, he left town. This was a red flag for so many, but some just don't understand that Santa Claus doesn't come in May.

Yes, many things about this didn't add up from the start, but many players didn't care, so now what do they do? I would hate to think how much, on average, each player spent of their own money to get to this tournament.  Think of this as a good lesson for those of you that jumped without thinking or researching.  Next time, check things out, and proceed with caution. This has been going on for fifteen years and it is time players beware.

HPST has learned that past board members are looking to sue for breach of contract by Michael Alexander. This should be an interesting story, more to come!

Pirates anyone?

iTPC Tour MISLEADING PLAYERS

Last week I received seven e-mails from John Ross, one of the so-called owners of this new tour iTPC Tour. To make a long story short, he wasn't impressed with our attempts to shed light on his deceptive practices.  Further, he discounted our claims and proceeded to chastise my grammar and went as far as wishing that I would make peace with god. Never once did Mr. Ross challenge the content of my first article and how it relates to iTPC or IFOCUS.

Although Mr. Ross stopped short of giving me any facts about his tour, it was easily noted that he was outraged because we discovered his weakness coupled with these half-truth practices.

The goal of HPST was to simply report to HPST members our fair and balanced view of the iTPC.  They have engaged in what we believe are deceptive practices and felt our members should know. We never asked Mr. Ross to comment on what we intended our members to read.  Obviously he is a little worried the truth will be told.

We have since learned there are many players' names on their membership list that are not members and have not paid the $750.00 membership fee. I strongly feel this is a misleading practice and is unwanted, uncalled for, and sets the stage for a failing tour. Trying to fool players with numbers and mislead them into thinking something other than the truth is WRONG.

iTPC will not guarantee  the purse of $200k, and to add to the confusion,  following events have no purses on them, one is a TBA. It is obvious why they extended the cut-off date for entries and offered free exemptions for signing on.  For those of you that are misinformed, it is because they don't have enough players.  Doesn't look like they will need those Q-schools they were promoting. 

iTPC hired Blue Edge Technologies to design their website in March of 2009 which goes a long way to prove the infancy of this program.  IFOCUS, their sponsor started their website in July 2008.  The site is registered to some unknown company in Funchal, Madeira Portugal that provides a domain discreet identifier and a fictitious email address.  While this could be a simple oversight, keep in mind, most legit companies announce full details as to who they are and who they belong to.  Use caution!

And finally, in a wonderful display of pure ignorance, Mr. Ross went on to call me arrogant and boasted about his unsuccessful Champion Tour experience.  Arrogant: Having an exaggerated self opinion, or overly convinced of one's superiority and importance!  How intriguing. Apparently it takes arrogance to be in this business for 14 years. Being in this business does require one to be imperious, haughty, pompous, proud, and very smug.  All of which are simple synonyms of Arrogant!  I am guilty! I hope my grammar doesn't confuse Mr. Ross.

That little orange boat in the Gulf of Aden with three Somali Pirates is looking even more tempting!

HERE WE GO AGAIN, PROMISES PROMISES

Here we go again, don't hold your breath...breathe easy while I try to explain this.

Fifty and Sixty year old men trying to beat forty-five year old men doesn't work.  This would be comparable to Arnold Palmer taking on Tiger Woods in match play! Unfortunately our age is directly proportionate to our golf game; meaning, the older we get, the higher scores we shoot.

Yes, there are 45 year olds out there that want to compete on mini-tours in order to increase their chance of making the Champions Tour.  But let's not forget the older folks that have resorted to mini-tours to reach the competitive level they long for on a daily basis.  With the looks of some tours like iTPC, the future of competitive golf is looking really bad for fifty and sixty year olds

This honestly brings my attention to the iTPC tour!  Their Tour sponsor is a company called IFOCUS.  Who is IFOCUS?  What do they do?  There are many questions like these that remain unanswered.  The IFOCUS website won't let you register unless you fork out $50 but according to the press conference, their services and access to their site are FREE.  I am calling a foul on this one!  They want $50 dollars for a processing fee!  Unreal!

iTPC says it has a goal of a minimum $200k to $500k purses.  In today's economy I would have to say that might be a little too ambitious.  It appears they have one tournament set up for the $200k purse but my question is "what fool in today's economy would even consider putting up $200k purse for a golf event or doing six events for $1.2 million with no return on their investment." iTPC, in their less than stellar press conference eluded to the fact that these purses rely heavily on their ability to grow their business.  How long will it take to grow their business from ground zero? Will they be able to grow their business?  iTPC is hinging their future and YOUR purses on IFOCUS being able to grow their unknown company.

To complicate things further, iTPC is having two Q-Schools and you must attend one of them if you have not been a member on the PGA, SPGA, or European PGA tours.  They even opened it up to amateurs with the notion of accepting players with less than a 3.0 handicap index.  How will they pay these amateurs?  Will amateurs then go pro?  Will these amateurs be sand-baggers?  Once again, more unanswered questions about a tour that nobody knows about.

On the heels of The Champions Tour canceling four events this year for the lack of sponsorships, the iTPC claims they are STILL waiting on sponsors!  In my experience I can bet they will be waiting for quite some time.

Over the last 14 years I have seen them come and go.  I would recommend extreme caution be used here.  This tour is new, the tour sponsor is unheard of, and their boasting of 200k to 500k purses seems a little far fetched for a mini tour. 

As of April 17, 2009 (Press Release) they are begging players to enter. Now you can get five (5) exemptions for 2009 and 2010 if you enter by April 24, 2009, ten days after closing time of the first event (does that tell you anything) for their first event at McCormick Ranch. Look like the Qualifiers are out the door. You don't need a qualifier if you don't have the entries for the first event.

On their schedule they don't use the word GUARANTEED PURSE, also their is no purse money for the other events on their schedule, and to have a TBA this late for big time golf is questionable where they are going.

Many players have called and said their names appear on the membership list but they had not paid the $750.00. 

Two questions remain, who is iTPC and who is IFOCUS? Instead of taking my chances with an unknown mini-tour, I would rather take my chances in the Gulf of Aden, in a little orange boat, with three Somali Pirates!

2009 SEASON IS 30 DAYS AWAY

We will open the 2009 season at  the Links at Lands End, in Yantis, TX. This is the home course of the great Jackie Cupit. We will    play on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday April 1, 2,3, 2009. Followed by playing  Chickasaw Pointe Golf Club in Kingston, Okla on April 7,8,9,2009. We look for a great turn out for the 2009 season. We have thirty-seven members at this time. Entries are open for the first two events.

With  so many players wanting to play in 2009 we knew this would be a great year for everyone. Our new phone number is 918-366-1946 or 918-645-8942. We have thirty- seven members at this time.

Wounded Warrior Senior Classic!

WOUNDED WARRIORS SENIOR CLASSIC:

After 12 years, 237 events later and donating over $8.2 million to different charities, Heartland Players Senior Tour had it's brightest moment.

July 14,2008 was a special day.  To be involved with so many that has given so much to others comes home in a big way. To be around them only makes you understand why so many have sacrificed so much for all of us. This is a day that I will remember forever, I'm so proud to be a part of this wonderful event at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Those that were part of this event know what it is all about.

Detroit Tiger great Mickey Tettleton nips front runner Rod Murray and Dave Jennings by a shot in the first Wounded Warriors Senior Classic.

The top three amateurs were Albert Johnson, Bret Penick and Paul Curry.

We want to take this opportunity to thank so many that made this event a great success.

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