full member priority over juniors - is this stifling the game?

[CGod]

Hello all.

Had some excellent views in my last and first post, so I thought I would get some more opinions about another issue in my club. I have been a member for about 4 years now and have noticed a few things that I feel could be harmful to the club in the longer term. Like many clubs we are not exactly prospering and I am not too sure there is much longer term planning. I work in sports development and am quite passionate about junior development in all sports. At my club we have a limited number of junior members (about 35) and the rule is that they must give priority to full members on the course. A week last Saturday they were waiting on the tee at the first as I came up the neighbouring 11th. A four ball (adults) then approached the tee and took full advantage of their playing status and forged ahead with the juniors having to wait another ten minutes or so to tee off at the first.

Do other clubs do this and do you think it is a good idea?

thanks

 

[RGuk]

My club holds a special commendation (or something) for it's junior program. We have lots of youngsters, many of whom play "right in the thick of it" whenever they feel like.
If there's a medal on, I EXPECT to see a junior 4 ball somewhere on the course. Seeing as they'd all whoop my butt off scratch, I'm hardly going to complain.
Each club needs to work out what's best for the club and membership. At ours, this means encouraging juniors in every respect....

 

[thecraw]

I am 33 now and I can still remember how I was treated by certain seniors at my club.

Due to that I wont EVER ask a junior to step aside, I wont dig them for anything unless its in their interest or in the interest of the club. If I do I speak to them in a polite and friendly way.

I am very pro-junior members, girl boy black or white they are the future and they need to be encouraged, not shunned!

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I do think juniors get a rough ride at a large number (certainly not all) clubs and adult members do seem to see them as a soft target for queue jumping etc often quoting non exisiting rules as a lame excuse to try and justify their actions.

We have a number of very good juniors including a guy who won the EGU Gold Medal event in 2007 (as shown on Sky Sports) and several with low single figure handicaps that have the potential to do well.

The only problem I have with juniors is that they do seem to think that some of the rules don't apply particularly looking in our environmentally protected areas (any ball in there should be deemed lost and no-one is suppose to enter these areas) and when they hit a ball OB. If the course is particularly empty I don't have an issue with the OB but I have seen them go over the barbed wire while others are on the tee. I have mentioned it (especially the environmental area which could have bigger issues for the club) and have been met with loads of "it wasn't me you saw" or "I was on the edge and not in" or "it doesn't matter" and when you try (politely) to explain why their actions could cause them serious grief if spotted by committee, captain or some of grumpier members and that I'm in fact trying to do them a favour their actions don't always help the cause of junior golfers standing at the club.

I actually have a lot of time for our juniors who on the whole are well behaved. I often give up my still godd condition balls (Pro V etc) into the box so some of the younger guys can have decent balls to use. It is just the older ones that lead the others astray that cause the problem

 

[Herbie]

I tend to agree that some clubs are complete swines to juniors. Some club rules I have seen designed purely to keep juniors 'in their place' are awful. Restricting the number of days they can play, in some respects is fair, simply because of the different junior member schemes that are at clubs and the costings, but when they are allowed on courses, they are golfers and should be given equal status and follow the same golf rules as everyone else. Personally I wouldnt restrict them in any way once they are members(excepting certain comps)they are the future and I for one have never had a single problem caused by juniors on courses, perhaps I am just lucky or perhaps others are just errr, well I will leave it there I think..