Juniors in Competitions

[markyjee]

I would think that outwith school holidays most juniors are at school midweek, at this time of year they are also limited to playing at the weekends.

We have around 750 members. Next Sunday there is a stable ford. The sheet went up at 11 last Sunday. It is full. There are no tee times available that will get round in daylight. Even in the summer comps are rammed. There is just no room.

I play quite a lot with some of the kids. They are great golfers, and are great fun to play with. Very competitive. But if they are paying 150 odd a year, and are taking tee times from guys paying £1200, on a Sunday, when they can play all week, that is not right. Guys who work deserve to play on the weekends. Sorry, that is life. If they can't get a tee time they will jump clubs, and take their money with them.

 

[DCB]

I can see Murphs point and it has to be remembered that in most clubs, Juniors are in effect associate members. We certainly have reduced Tee availability for Juniors at weekends at this time of year. We don't have Comps through the winter, other than some social team comps and Juniors are usually allowed to enter if they want to.

 

[Yer Maw]

I'd let any play sub 20 handicap but have prizes for best Junior within the field to eliminate any potential for silly winning scores. The big benefit is it brings them on so much more, they learn new stuff from older players, they mature and act better in the presence of adults (usually), and it makes a club a lot less cliquey and more members orientated.
If you have a club that is purely corporate (where it is all about money and status) with no commitment to developing players then fine but that's not the sort of club I'd want to be part of.

 

[wull]

like i said in my previous post the 2 clubs that i play at are for juniors playing in senior comps when they are at the standard to do so and i'm for it.

one reason is if you are showing signs of good ability and a possible future in the game then you need to be playing as much as possible giving you the best oppertunity to reduce you're handicap.

also playing with the older and better players brings you along aswell,i found when i was a junior i use to play my best golf when i played with the older guys who in and around scratch.i use to raise my game because of this and seen some of my best scores.

juniors are the future of the club,a lot of golf courses now are struggling with member numbers and when you look at the age groups there seems to be a lack of 20-30yr olds,keeping the juniors interested will hopefully keep them there through their teenage years and young adult years.......