Juniors in Men’s comps

[sawtooth]

Are juniors welcome to play in your men’s club competitions?

Our current ruling is that if a Junior is aged 16 and their handicap is 24 or below then they can enter men’s match play comps.

This is probably outdated thinking and are looking to revise entry rules for juniors. I would be interested in knowing what other clubs do.

Personally I have no problem with it as some juniors are better golfers than the majority of men at the club. Others certainly have a different opinion on it though.

 

[Don Barzini]

"If you're good enough, you're old enough".

 

[User101]

You'll win nothing with kids in this game.....oops, sorry wrong sport.

 

[Yant]

No, I don't think juniors should be allowed to compete in mens competitions.

 

[LincolnShep]

No, I don't think juniors should be allowed to compete in mens competitions.

Any reason for that? Have you had issues with Juniors in Men's comps at your club?

 

[Curls]

Strokeplay: We allow Juniors to enter but the cards need to be marked by an adult.

Matchplay: Yep, they're allowed, but they rarely enter. A few of the low ones do (great golfers, I don't care what age they are, in fact all the more impressive seeing as they weight less than their bags) but the higher h/c ones are probably a bit nervous of 1. the competition and 2. the ribbing they'd get if they dumped out a Cat 1 guy giving them 21 shots.

 

[Green Man]

Juniors need to be off 9 or below to enter men’s comps at our place.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

Isn't the issue that kids can improve very quickly as they develop physically?

I have no problem with anyone winning comps because they've worked hard at their game and improved. For a lot of kids though, that must be happening in combination with physical development and being able to hit the ball further, which could mean a lot of quick improvement and a lot of tournament wins across the population.

I might be exaggerating it, but that was always my perception.

As a general rule, I want kids to be properly integrated into a golf club so that it's a seamless transition into the club as a whole. Must be some way of doing it that works well for all concerned? Allowing kids to enter specific comps for example, e.g. Monthly stableford or something.

 

[IanM]

Juniors need to be off 9 or below to enter men’s comps at our place.

Why does a Junior have to be better than most of the other entrants?

Our can play and are encouraged to do so... asked to play with Adult Members too.... integrates them into the Club

 

[Yant]

Any reason for that? Have you had issues with Juniors in Men's comps at your club?

It's a men's competition. Not a men's and juniors competition. Juniors should have their own section to compete against fellow juniors. Juniors do not pay the same subs as full members and (usually) play considerably more golf than full members as they have much more disposable time.

Having been playing since i was 12 (I'm now 42) as a junior member at a traditional golf club, I've experienced what it's like to be in that position.

I do not agree with juniors being able to play in men's competitions. In my opinion, a junior winning the club championships takes away from the gravitas that the winner should hold.

 

[IanM]

In my opinion, a junior winning the club championships takes away from the gravitas that the winner should hold.

Not in a Scratch Comp surely?

If a net event was won off 54, I can understand it, but that's not age based, that's a comment about handicap.

 

[Deleted member 21258]

I don't think junior subs have anything to do with the comps, your subs do not pay for the comps, your entry fee does. In addition I would mention that there is a lot of phasing in of membership costs from junior to 'full level' at clubs now, does that mean those 20 year olds should not be allowed as well.:mmm:

I can understand the outlook of they are rapidly improving golfers but tbh that's the same for any new player to the game. So again think hmmm not really a valid reason.

I am glad that Adam(now 16) is at sensible looking clubs, which allow juniors to enter the comps. He won the net golf champs PM round at one of the clubs, and was buzzing from it and played really well in order to win it.

He loves playing with juniors and also in the proper comps, along with playing with new people and has made many 'adult friends' as a result. Been great for him, his confidence, his outlook at life and so on.

So yeah, juniors should be allowed to play in all comps but then I am all in favour of all comps being mixed comps, as the old school 'men/ladies/juniors banners are just what they are old school imho'

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

In my opinion, a junior winning the club championships takes away from the gravitas that the winner should hold.

I agree with a lot of the comments on this thread but not this one. The club champion should be the best golfer......period. Doesn't matter if it is a senior lady or a junior male, if they shoot the lowest gross score over 36 holes then so be it.

But regular comps are different. Men cannot enter junior or ladies comps, juniors cannot enter senior comps etc. I think a lot of the reasoning is based around junior golfers whose handicaps are tumbling rapidly when they are new to the game and can shoot crazy nett scores and that can hack off a lot of people who have steady handicaps.

 

[ScienceBoy]

Scratch comps IMO if your good enough your old enough.

If a 16yo can shoot a 67 then why can’t they be club champ if the next best player can only nip round in level par or 1 under? Takes away from being club champ if your not actually the best?

Handicap comps I agree needs some limitations as juniors improve quickly compared to similar handicapped adults (generally speaking).

What that limitation is depends on the club an senior/junior membership sizes.

 

[ArnoldArmChewer]

Why does a Junior have to be better than most of the other entrants?

Our can play and are encouraged to do so... asked to play with Adult Members too.... integrates them into the Club

++ as above

 

[7255carl]

"If you're good enough, you're old enough".

I agree with the above completely, I never won a Junior event but my first win in a field with adults came at the age of 13.

 

[jim8flog]

Juniors are allowed to play in our comps but there has to be one adult player in the group.

 

[OnTour]

No issue from me, I think after 5 rounds they also should be able to win also.

When I was a junior off 6 I took down captains day by two shots 42pts yet club rules no junior could win a board comp. So 1990 has a name that never actually won on the day @Hinckley 😕 I did get paid tho.

Took me a long time to get that out of my head ! Sport is for all, your just stopping the growth and holding them back.

 

[duncan mackie]

There is no definition of a Junior in either the Rules of Golf or the CONGU manual.

Prior to the introduction of the ESR and supplemental cards there was certainly an argument regarding the capability of younger golfers to improve faster than the handicapping system could keep up - that is no longer the case.

Interestingly we have seen more supplemental activity from juniors than any other group; the competitive ones want to get their handicap down more than winning a stableford comp! If only everyone had that mentality...

On fees, most clubs now have junior, and intermediate, fee reductions - some even go as far as discounting couples memberships! Presumably those concerned about members who aren't paying the full rate advocate banning all such membership categories from some, or all competitions?

Now, I can see a case for not permitting junior ladies from playing in 'men's competition's' but a young man is exactly that; and should be encouraged to participate and welcomed by the membership as a whole.

Finally, seniors hold senior comps at most clubs, where others are excluded - are those over a certain age also excluded from these 'men's competitions'?

 

[GG26]

I believe that juniors can enter competitions at our place, but they are not eligible for prizes