The 2020protour, co-founded by Chris Hanson & Adam Walker, is the first gender-equal tour with an equitable policy. Golfing Herald met up with European Challenge Tour player Chris at Huddersfield Golf Club to chat about this history-making golfing venture.
(Since interviewing Chris the schedule was initially disrupted by the ‘British Weather Gods’ and as a consequence, the opening event at Huddersfield Golf Club on 24th February and the second event at Rockliffe Hall Golf Club on 2nd March were both postponed/rescheduled, with the inaugural event eventually played on 16th March at Crosland Heath Golf Club…then, after the first two events all golf courses in the UK were closed due to COVID-19 so the 2020protour schedule is now on hold until further notice)
Conception
Golfing Herald (Paul): Chris, how and when did the idea all start for the 2020protour?
Chris Hanson (Chris): I have played on all of the main tours in the UK and in Europe and I would say about 5 years ago it just felt like something could be done differently, especially in Yorkshire and the North East. There was definitely space for another tour and definitely enough players to make something happen. It’s been the subject of ‘small talk’ for a long time.
(Paul): What was the catalyst to advance your thinking from this prolonged period of ‘small talk’?
(Chris): About November last year (2019) I was playing in a European Tour Event in Madrid and my good friend Adam Walker was caddying for me. He has caddied for me quite a lot over the years and he has played these tours as well. We just got chatting one night after the opening round in Madrid. I had my little notebook doing my golf notes on how I had played that day. I turned the notebook to the back page and we started writing some notes on how we would see a mini-tour running. Who do we know that could help us? What courses could we go to? Who would want to play? By the time that tournament finished the notebook was almost full of notes and within another 7 days we had 12 venues lined up and it got to the point of ‘we had to do it!!’.
Working Together
(Paul): That’s incredible how in less than 2 weeks you have gone from capturing notes over a glass of wine and dinner in Madrid to ‘we can’t turn back now’…have you and Adam worked together previously on other business ideas or ventures?
(Chris): Yeah…I think we are very similar characters in that we have always had lots of good ideas over the years but never followed anything through. We just never took the plunge. Adam was really keen to want to do something as he is passionate about golf. We just got to the point where we had to do it. We were obviously a bit worried about starting this tour but we are passionate about it, felt it could work, nothing like it this side of the Pennines, so we went for it!!
Gender Equality
(Paul): Was it always your intention for this tour to have a framework aligned to a ‘gender-equal tour with an equitable policy’?
(Chris): Five years ago it was just a case of thinking mini-tour but back in November, we thought about creating a gender-equal tour. If you look at the events female golfers can play in, such as the Ladies European Tour (LET) and below that the LET Access Series which has very low prize money for such a high expense to travel around Europe. Then below that within the UK, there is nothing really. There are a lot of good female golfers based in the North who if they are not playing on the Access Series Tour, where do they play? There are not really any playing opportunities available. We just felt the idea of this tour was just perfect.
Format
(Paul): What is the format for each event in this Tour?
(Chris): Each event will be 18 hole strokeplay. There will be no playoffs as mini-tour golf is all about players turning up, playing and then travelling home…though there would be a playoff if there is a tie in the Tour Final.
Naming
(Paul): How did you and Adam come up with the name ‘2020protour’?
(Chris): We threw a few ideas around such as the ‘Northern ProTour’. Then we thought that if one day we did want to expand the tour then that name would (potentially) be limiting. 2020 is the start of a new decade, a fresh start and then we got someone to look at logos. The zeroes in the logo are made up of the male and female gender symbols. The response to the name 2020protour and to the logo has been really positive and well received.
Putting the Players First
(Paul): Following on from deciding a name for this new tour, how did you decide on the strapline ‘Putting the Players First’?
(Chris): From personal experience, and maybe because I am a Yorkshireman, you feel like you want to get value out of your entry fee. For us to feel that this tour was going to work for the players, effectively putting them first, then giving back all of the prize money out of the green fees was the best way of achieving that objective. It is £99 to enter so very competitive relative to other tours. The green fee will be deducted from the £99 entry fee and the rest of the money will go into the prize fund. The tour will take no money from that (prize fund). Hopefully, the players will think that is great, very ‘black and white’.
(Paul): On that point, one of the aspects of the 2020protour website that I really like is the transparency…nothing is hidden from the players and is really easy to understand.
(Chris): Yeah…that is exactly what we set out to do. We have also set up a Membership Benefits Scheme.
(Paul): What does the Membership Benefits Scheme entail?
(Chris): Players will pay £119 to join. For this, the players receive a free P2 grip plus an overall scheme of 20 benefits which they may or may not use. For example, we have tried to create a bit of a European Tour feel so that Membership entitles a player to a free physio session ‘pre-event’. We also have incentives for Members…McClarrons Sport has set up a scheme where if a player has a total of 100 birdies during the 2020protour season then they win a share of £20,000.
Birdies Incentive
(Paul): A very attractive and enticing incentive, especially if only one player records 100 birdies!! So why this particular incentive?
(Chris): McClarrons Sport approached us and we discussed various possible incentives aligned to (insurance) policies, such as ‘a player wins 5 times and wins a large chunk of money’. They (McClarrons Sport) are fantastic and very enthusiastic about the 2020protour and wanted to be involved so, in the end, they offered to take out the 100 birdies incentive policy. We thought this was the best incentive as a ‘birdie is a birdie’ for any player so it is more achievable. You can shoot 80 and still have 4 or 5 birdies!!
(Paul): I have noticed a number of tweets posted on Twitter on this subject from various players so it does appear, even before a shot has been played, to have really caught the imagination.
(Chris): It really has…you don’t have to win an event or the Order of Merit to win this prize. What we are going to do after every event is update a chart (on the 2020protour website), showing the birdie count of the leading 5 players. From a Tour point of view, we are hoping it is an incentive for players to keep playing in the events.
(Paul): If I understand correctly and keeping the mathematics simple if Player A plays in 20 events then they would need to average 5 birdies per event…a tough challenge but achievable.
(Chris): Yeah…and if you have played in the first 10 events and accumulated close to 50 birdies then you are going to carry on playing. It’s going to be fun. Hopefully, come the last event there will be 2 or 3 players pushing for it!!
Targets
(Paul): Have you and Adam set any targets in terms of the number of entrants for each event and the number of players to join the Membership Scheme?
(Chris): Not really. We are trying to work with all of the golf clubs and put on incentives at each event, even if it is just an offer for a sandwich and coffee. Players don’t have to enter each event until the ‘last-minute’, though they can’t join the Membership Scheme after the first event. It is very hard to predict what is going to happen. I would like to think we will attract about 50+ members.
(Paul): Do you have to set a limit on the number of entrants at each event?
(Chris): We are trying to keep the 1-day events very consistent. Tee Times will be very much 09:30 to 12:30 or 09:00 to 12:00, so that equates to accommodating about 60 players per event (on a first come first served basis), but it would be brilliant if I ended up ringing a club and requesting an additional 10 tee times!!. I would like to think they would say yes as it would also mean additional income for the club.
Yorkshire / North of England
(Paul): Returning to a couple of points that you mentioned earlier, namely ‘nothing like it on this side of the Pennines’ and ‘the number of good female golfers based in the North’, was it always your intention to establish the tour schedule within Yorkshire / North of England?
(Chris): I think that about 90% of the local (Yorkshire) courses we approached were through ‘contacts’…such as we knew either the Director of Golf or the Professional or the Manager. So we kind of reached out to people that we knew first and then we widened our approach. We didn’t see us having 22 events for the inaugural tour but then we had a few people saying “Why don’t you try to contact this course?”. For example, Jonathan Thomson’s dad works at Rotherham Golf Club, and he said “why don’t you try Hallamshire Golf Club, it’s a great course, James Glover is the Manger there” and so on.
(Paul): Very much a positive snowball effect.
(Chris): Yeah…once we spoke to them and explained what we were doing, how we were running the tour, that ladies were involved as well, and that as a tour we were not taking any percentage from the Entry Fees, they all thought it was brilliant and very fair. It just grew to 22 courses. I guess I did not want to encroach too much on the North West as they already have a mini-tour. Overall, we only have 3 events outside of Yorkshire. The response has been great. We have also had 6 venues approach us from Wales, Oxford, Lancashire and the North East.
(Paul): Potential for future expansion and growth?
(Chris): It might grow. We don’t know yet. I have been in talks with the guy who runs the Clutch Tour and we have had some good conversations on how they run their Tour. As long as there is no real clash of events between the various tours then that means just more and more playing opportunities.
Schedule
(Paul): Talking of not clashing with other events, was that behind your thinking to run the majority of events on a Monday?
(Chris): We decided to run all of the events bar one on a Monday so that especially for the guys they could play our event on a Monday then they could travel to play EuroPro, Tuesday to Friday. Also, they could travel to the Challenge Tour or the Main (European) Tour, Tuesday to Sunday. Golf Clubs are usually quieter on a Monday. It just felt like fate playing on a Monday.
Opening Event
(Paul): Looking ahead to Monday (24th February), why did you choose Huddersfield Golf Club to host the opening event?
(Chris): Adam is a member here and I am a social member here. It’s a good golf course. It’s a dry golf course…in fact, the first 5 venues are all excellent ‘dry in winter’ golf courses, a factor in our planning for the early part of the schedule.
(Paul): Then to wrap up the season, the tour will return to Huddersfield Golf Club on Monday 5th October for the ‘Tour Final’.
(Chris): Yeah…this course is located in the middle of the country, it’s a good course and a great venue and we thought the tour should start and finish on the same course. In fact, we launched the tour here on 29th November (2019) when BBC Look North came down and did a piece on the tour.
Live Streaming
(Paul): I read with interest an article a few days ago which said that ContentLIVE Golf will be streaming the opening event?
(Chris): The plan is to have a live stream through the 2020protour Twitter Feed with a highlights package available to watch later. Content will include some ‘behind the scenes’ such as chats with the players, driving range, putting green…then the opening shots on the 1st Tee, a couple of the greens on the course, players coming down the 18th and some post-round interviews. Very much about ‘Putting the Players First’.
(Paul): Is this live streaming at the opening event very much a ‘trial’ and then decide whether to roll out the streaming to other events?
(Chris): ContentLIVE Golf and ourselves are very keen to do the streaming throughout the year. We are advertising that the first event is streamed but fingers crossed the approach can be rolled out for all events in the schedule.
Spectators
(Paul): That is brilliant that golf fans can watch the event via live streaming or a highlights package, but I assume you are actively encouraging spectators to attend the opening and subsequent events?
(Chris): Absolutely…I am really hoping the first event will attract a good number of spectators. This is where I think the 2020protour will be different, with men and women playing in the same event. In fact, my mum is going to be involved with the helping of the admin side at events.
(Paul): Does she know that yet!!
(Chris): She does!! All her friends are really keen to come and watch the first event. Free entry for all spectators and it would be great if we have fifty people or so around the first tee watching the players tee off…it would be brilliant.
Your Golf
(Paul): Hopefully, I will be one of those fifty!! Slightly changing tack, I can only imagine how much work you and Adam and many others have spent over the past few months to create the 2020protour from scratch to be on the cusp of the opening event…against that backdrop, where has that left your professional golfing career for the season ahead?
(Chris): I had a poor season last year playing on the Challenge Tour and a few European Tour events. Ironically, my best event last year was on the European Tour in Madrid when I finished 30th…where Adam and I generated the ideas for the 2020protour…strange really as I played well but was thinking about something else!! That was probably what I needed as I have never really had a distraction away from my own golf. My season is probably not going to start until about May at an event in Prague. I have a category on the European Challenge Tour which allows me to play about 10 to 15 events and I may also get some (further) invites for the Challenge Tour.
(Paul): Though I did see from one of your Tweets from a couple of weeks ago that Adam and yourself have gained entry to the (unique) Sunningdale Foursomes in March…have you played in the event before?
(Chris): I have played at Sunningdale about 3 times. Adam used to be a Pro but he has now got his amateur status back. We won the Rockliffe Masfab Foursomes last year which was a 36 hole event. He has really got the bug back for playing so we are looking forward to playing at Sunningdale. It’s my favourite venue and Adam will love it!!
(Paul): Good luck, both at Sunningdale and for the playing season ahead.
(Chris): Thanks.
Ryder Cup Pro-Am
(Paul): Returning to the 2020protour, on Friday 25th September you also have a Ryder Cup Pro-Am event at Cookridge Hall Golf Club.
(Chris): We thought it would be nice to get all of the sponsors involved, get some amateurs involved and it just seemed right to coincide with the Friday of the Ryder Cup. There will be a shotgun start for the Pro-Am then a barbecue afterwards with the Ryder Cup on the TV. It is not part of the 2020protour Order of Merit but hopefully, a lot of the (2020protour) Professionals will play.
Amateur Players
(Paul): Hitherto, we have very much focused on the 2020protour from a male and female professional player perspective, but you are also actively encouraging amateur players to participate in each event…so what is the handicap limit for amateurs to enter?
(Chris): It was 2 originally but it is now 4. We had an enquiry from an amateur player at Rockliffe Hall Golf Club who said: “I am off 4 and I would really like to play”. So we just thought if he really wants to play then we shouldn’t stop him. It is a scratch tournament but if he has got the aspiration to play and test himself then we will let him play. There is another amateur player in Leeds who practices with one of the Professionals who has entered and he wants to join and ‘test himself’. You have to be off a handicap of 4 or better to undertake PGA Training so it very much aligns to that entry qualification. We are not expecting loads of amateurs but we have had about 10 or 15 amateurs register so far. If they want to turn professional in the future then it will be a great experience for them. We won’t shy away from putting them in the draw alongside a Simon Dyson or a Jonathan Thomson.
Success Criteria
(Paul): Earlier, we touched upon the setting of targets for the inaugural season of the 2020protour…linked to that topic, have you an Adam sat down to think about and discuss what you would deem as ‘success’ once the Tour Final has been played?
(Chris): Not really…obviously it is a new concept, but it would be fantastic if say 30% (or higher) of the professional players who get involved during the season were female. In fact, we have played the last couple of weeks at Fulford Golf Club with 4 ladies and 4 men to try and get a feel on how it will work and to make it as fair as possible for all players.
(Paul): Have those trials gone well?
(Chris): Yeah, they have gone OK. We are adopting the 11% rule which falls in line with the event I played in Jordan last year.
(Paul): Is that an 11% distance reduction on each hole or on the total yardage of the course?
(Chris): That is the course total. Some holes might be the same yardage for all players but what we have found is that the biggest difference is on the Par fives. If the guys can reach the green on a Par 5 in 2 shots, the course has to be set up to enable the ladies to also reach the green in 2 shots. Sometimes that is not going to be possible but so far the courses we have spoken to know what we are doing and are very keen to help us. The way the policy works on the Challenge Tour is that you don’t play your second shots from the same place but you play with a similar club…so the female players maybe 20 yards ahead of the male players but then all players hit a similar club. Very much trial and error as the season unfolds.
(Paul): Will you be soliciting the views of the players during and at the end of the season?
(Chris): Yeah…we are very keen to receive feedback and adapt accordingly. We all want both sexes to be competitive.
Looking Ahead
(Paul): To finish, what are your hopes/dreams for the 2020protour next year and beyond?
(Chris): Initially, we kind of saw the tour growing from 1-day events to 2-day and 3-day events and expanding wherever it will take us. But we have talked about it on a number of occasions and we think what is so good about the 1-day format is that it appeals to everyone. It appeals to the Club Pro who can have a day off work. It appeals to the guys and girls who are playing on the various tours and other tournaments. It is affordable in that most players will have no need for overnight accommodation. At the moment we see it staying as 1-day but spreading further afield. Create bigger prize funds through working with clubs to reduce green fees and bringing in event sponsors. If it goes really well and the exposure keeps growing then maybe secure a title sponsor for the tour.
(Paul): A great way to finish…Chris, a huge thanks for your time today and for sharing the journey that Adam and you have been through to bring a vision to reality in such a short space of time. All the best for what I am sure will be a very successful first season for the 2020protour. Also, many thanks to Huddersfield Golf Club for the warm welcome and kind hospitality.
Please visit the 2020protour website by clicking 2020protour to read all the news and information about the tour, schedule, sponsors, results, prizes, the order of merit, incentives and much more…
(On 10th January 2023, it was announced that the 2020protour had partnered with IT Retail Systems Ltd and that the tour will now be known as the ITS Tour powered by the 2020protour)
Acknowledgements
Massive thanks to:
- Professional golfers Charlotte Austwick and Joe Dean who have kindly shared photographs to augment this article.
- Rotherham, Garforth, Huddersfield, Crosland Heath and Worsley Park Marriott who have kindly shared an array of stunning photographs from their respective courses.
Simon Monsey says
Fantastic article Paul and as a golf fan I applaud this vision that Chris and Adam have created. I am a big Hanson fan and met him at Close House in 2017 when he had just shot an amazing round of 64 in the first round. He is such a humble guy and I wish him and Adam every success. Hoping to attend a few of the events to see the new talent coming through.
Best regards, Simon Monsey.
Paul @ Golfing Herald says
Hi Simon
Really pleased you enjoyed the article…you are absolutely spot on to say Chris & Adam should be applauded for their vision. I had never met Chris before we met up for our chat on the 2020protour and as you say he is such a nice guy. The photo I used of him within the article was from the British Masters at Close House in 2017, though it was not from the 1st round!!. I am hoping to be at Huddersfield for the opening event on Monday then some of the other events throughout the inaugural season…please keep in touch as we might be able to meet up and have a ‘cuppa and a catch up’ at one of the events!!.
Best regards
Paul