There is life after a "no card" after all.

In golf tournament play, when a player decides not to turn in the scorecard, it is listed as an NC, or no card. If it happens in any round before the final one, the golfer is out of the tournament.

Not so in last week's Regions Cup tournament at Goshen Plantation Golf Club.

One golfer no-carded after the first round of the 36-hole Goshen Golf Classic, yet played in the final round.

It didn't happen, but a golfer could have skipped the first round and still played in the final round.

How is that possible?

With Spike Kelley running the show, anything is possible.

The irrepressible Goshen co-owner and head pro introduced a new feature into the Regions Cup circuit at last week's event, which made it more interesting for those with poor first rounds.

After the opening round, golfers in the regular or senior flights could elect to go into a consolation flight for the final round. In the consolation flight, their first-round score was wiped clean and everyone started even.

However, their two-day score would not count in the regular or senior flight, and they were not eligible for Regions Cup points. Those points go to the top 20 finishers in the regular division and top 10 in the senior division.

There was another drawback to the consolation flight. The prize money for the top finishers is less than either the regular or senior flights.

Kelley, who previously ran a course in Oklahoma, used this concept at some tournaments there. It was new to the players in the Goshen tournament.

The consolation flights are used instead of having two divisions in a flight, such as a championship and first flight. In tournaments that are flighted after the first round, a golfer who shoots 76 can be at the bottom of the championship flight, and one with 77 at the top of the first flight.

"This way, they make the choice," Kelley said.

"The idea is we have our champions," Kelley said. "Jamie Felder won the open division, and George Bullard won the senior division. We accomplished what we set out to do, which is crown two champions. But we want everyone else to have a good time, too. See how many winners we had?"

Golfers didn't have to declare whether they wanted to play in the consolation flight until just before they teed off in the final round. Of course, the golfer who no-carded in the first round had no choice but to play in the consolation flight. The player, Allen Wingate, came back and shot 83 in the consolation flight and finished second.

Many of the golfers with highest first-round scores welcomed the chance to play in the consolation flight. In the regular division, 14 of the 47 players opted for the consolation flight. The percentage was higher among the seniors, where 17 of the 37 players went the consolation route.

Bobby Gause shot 80 in the first round of the senior division, which put him nine shots off the lead. He elected to play in the consolation flight, where he shot 76 and won it.

"If I'd shot 76 or 77 in the first round, I would have stayed in the regular senior flight, but I was nine shots behind," said the 69-year-old Gause, who lives in Columbia.

Indeed, if Gause had stayed in the regular senior flight, his 156 total would have left him in a tie for 18th place, 12 shots behind Bullard.

Kelley said only one golfer told him he didn't like the consolation flight concept. He didn't name him, but Jim Wallace was one player who didn't like the idea.

"I'd rather have it flighted," said Wallace, who opened with 82, but stayed in the open division. "If you're going to break us up, break it up into flights."

Wallace didn't like the idea behind the optional flight.

"I'm not here for consolation; I'm trying to do the best I can," Wallace said. "If I don't play good enough to get any prize money (in the form of merchandise certificates), then I didn't play good enough. That's the way I see it. I'm out here trying to compete."

Kelley said the players were notified before the tournament of the consolation flight option.

"In the rules we go over this with everyone before they play," said Kelley, who plans to stay with the format next year. "They have the opportunity if they don't like the format to withdraw. I don't force them."

Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.