THOSE PESKY JUNIORS!!

[Mike_j_golf]

Hi,
The juniors in our club are allowed to play in all the comps but not collect the prizes as is the case in a lot of clubs as far as i know the reason behind it is that they improve as a rapid rate with all the pratice they are able to put in over there summer hols when they start out a lot of them have played very little golf so have handicaps that are too big they pratice a lot and can win every comp they play in for a couple of months if there are a lot of them playing in the mens comps they should have there own section.
Mike

 

[HogansAlley]

Money! Money! Money! Is that really all that it comes down to? What a country we live in where people will, seemingly, forever knock people who do well. I couldn't care less who wins what at my club, good luck and well done to them. I'm just trying to shoot the best score I can.

 

[Screwback]

Hi
At our club we have always let juniors play in competitions and through this we have some very high quality golfers coming through in our club. However i can see where you are coming from as 300 pounds is a lot of money but it if that keeps their enthusiasm in the great game of golf perhaps it is a good thing!!!

 

[freddielong]

Juniors are the lifeblood of any club, and I hope that if your club brings in these antiquated rules, they vote with there feet and join a club that respects and enjoys their success.
I played at a couple of clubs whilst a junior and have to say never came accross such backward ideas but if I had would have joined somewhere else.

 

[Robobum]

So have I got this right?? Juniors are excluded because they have a lot of time to practiceand improve??

So anyone who doesn't have a full time job, anyone who is retired, anyone who lives close enough to have x amount of hours practice after work, anyone on shifts who practices when "off shift", in fact anyone who doesn't have to work every hour god sends.......are they all to be excluded from comps as well??

Crikey! What chance does this game stand of getting the next generation of golfers to come through and keep all our fine (and not so fine) clubs alive with attitudes like that?!?!

 

[clubchamp07]

I'm glad the rest of you seem to be on the side of the junior's. Gladly people like sandy are a thing of the past. Golf clubs are beginning to move forward and look after their junior's.

I think people like sandy should take up fishing

 

[HogansAlley]

Well said Robobum and Freddie. Don't get me wrong, there is a tiny, small-minded, Daily-Mail-reading part of me lurking in the very lowest part of my gut that wished the juniors didn't win everything, but then I remember what it was like to a be junior and realise that all adults who love the game have a responsibilty to encourage juniors to love the game as much as they do.

 

[Robokolo]

Hi guys as a junior thought i would have my opinion.

As sandy has been completely misinterpreted as an old codger who hates juniors by some people ^cough^ I thought his comments were fair. How come juniors are allowed to compete for the same prize money as everyone else when they pay so much less? Maybe having two memberships memberships for juniors, one that giver them the rights to play in junior comps and the other to play in all comps (minus seniors and ladies)

My junior section at my club is brilliant and i love the amount of competitions there is in a year but we do not play for prize money just trophies and shields so there is less pressure.

 

[SandyBalls]

I'm glad the rest of you seem to be on the side of the junior's. Gladly people like sandy are a thing of the past. Golf clubs are beginning to move forward and look after their junior's.

I think people like sandy should take up fishing

I say champ, you are very opinionated. But fair enough. But you will see from the poll result that I'm not quite as far out as you would like to think. There are many people in my camp, which was actually the latter of the boxes. Let them play but only when they have a level handicap.

I am very pro junior golf. I took three of our teenagers out on the longest day this year and we played 3 rounds in the day. Raising £350 for our captains charity. So don't tar me with a brush that thinks they should be bannished.

I think people like yourself are quick to critise any opinion that you disgree with. But there is little need to be so outright rude.

Good day.

 

[SandyBalls]

Hi guys as a junior thought i would have my opinion.

As sandy has been completely misinterpreted as an old codger who hates juniors by some people ^cough^ I thought his comments were fair. How come juniors are allowed to compete for the same prize money as everyone else when they pay so much less? Maybe having two memberships memberships for juniors, one that giver them the rights to play in junior comps and the other to play in all comps (minus seniors and ladies)

My junior section at my club is brilliant and i love the amount of competitions there is in a year but we do not play for prize money just trophies and shields so there is less pressure.

Thank you young man. I might well be an old codger to some. But actually I'm only 42 and have a terrific rapport with most of our junior section.

The odd thing is that one of my best golfing companions is the junior organiser at our club and has been arguing AGAINST the juniors in this issue for 2 years. But each time the committee vote against him saying they should be allowed.

Your idea of a different level of membership could well work. Reading what has been written since i posted this I feel my idea of a level handicap would not really work. Because what's to say a guy of 40 taking up golf for the first time who is given a handicap of 28 won't improve and lose 12 shots in his first year. My theory is shot.

Thanks for your support tho. This is my first posting on this forum and has stirred some very egotistical loins

 

[Robobum]

I can't see what the redueced membership fee they pay has to do with picking up prize money that comes from an entry fee paid for each individual competition.

Fair enough that juniors can't play at full paying members' usual busy times and if the comp is oversubscribed then yes, I think that the juniors should be balloted out of it.

But that wasn't the OP, if there are spaces available for the juniors to enter these competitions and they pay the required entry fee for it then surely they should be entitled to win the cash just like every other competitior??!!?

 

[DCB]

Don't see the problem of the better juniors being allowed to play in gents medals for handicap purposes. We allow that, but although a junior has indeed been top of the tree on at least one acassion this season, they can't officialy "win" the medal.

I think we also don't allow them to enter the sweeps etc.

Anyway, if their good enough then what's the problem.

Could it just be adults running scared ?

 

[bobmac]

I had complaints about this subject at a club I was attached to a while back.
The good juniors (18 h/cap or less) were allowed to play in adult comps.
The problem was the complaining members were playing golf in the medal to get away from it all at home and ended up 'babysitting' someone else's stroppy kids for 5 hours on their one bit of peace and quiet of the week.
Although most of the juniors behaved impecably I'm sure, you can see their point

 

[freddielong]

I can't see what the redueced membership fee they pay has to do with picking up prize money that comes from an entry fee paid for each individual competition.

Fair enough that juniors can't play at full paying members' usual busy times and if the comp is oversubscribed then yes, I think that the juniors should be balloted out of it.

But that wasn't the OP, if there are spaces available for the juniors to enter these competitions and they pay the required entry fee for it then surely they should be entitled to win the cash just like every other competitior??!!?

+1 Well put if they are paying the same entry fee they should be entitled to win the same as anyone else. The only exception I can see is if the comp is sponsored by an drinks company.

 

[stevek1969]

On a Wednesday Sweep we always take a junior with us they split up amongst the groups at night, most of them are single figure and there fathers are normally out playing as well. There behaviour is spot on or they no we wont go out with them,its a privelage at times to see how well theY swing the club and how far they hit it.We've never had a problem yet but its probably the same at other clubs where you here the old farts grumbling about juniors wining everything and should be allowed ,i personally have had numerous fall outs with these farts about it.
IMO juniors are the life blood of the club, they tend to spend money in the shop and the club whereas the old ones thing there keeping the pro in business by buying 3 balls 10 years ago.

 

[roccokj]

I can't understand where you are coming from. I'm a junior myself and I i have the priveledge of playing golf in adult comps but if I do win a competition (twice this year!) i only get second prize. Our club doesn't run junior competitions. I'd say for some juinors playing in adult competitions is what keeps them playing.

Another point to make: I've never heard any PGA Tour player complaining about Tiger Woods always beating them!

 

[Parmo]

I understand where Sandy is coming from, we have Juniors at our course who are cheeky and disrespectful to the rules and always join up with the best player in the club in a twos match so they use the juniors shots and the cat1's ability to win.

We have over 20 juniors at our course and they are mostly brilliant with the odd exception, I like playing golf with them and most are fine.

 

[Herbie]

I think there are good arguments for not allowing juniors into open or adult comps, not because I dislike them either (actually I would like to see more at clubs) but because juniors pay less and their progression in golf is often far more rapid than many for a number of reasons, giving them better odds of success. It would be much fairer to limit their winnings relevant to their entry fee, even though they may play the same comp. However, If they pay the adult fee, to eneter a comp,why not let them have equal rights?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'm not certain of the current rules concerning juniors at my club bu thave a feeling its 18 years before they are allowed inthe monthly medals. I'm not sure that is right and hardly seems an incentive to stay at the club. I'd prefer to see them in at 16 with maybe a handicap limit. If I cast my mind back to way back when, I'm pretty sure I was in the main events by the time I was 15 or so and think it was based on handicap and not age but there was a restriction in winning any prize money.

I agree with so many of the sentiments on here regarding junior golf and really feel for anyone getting involved in running junior sections now with the added bureacracy involved (CRB, risk assessments etc). I know my club were running free teaching session throughout the summer and the range seemed rammed as I went by most days so I guess that is a positive sign

 

[DCB]

I played in the 36 hole Lamlash Open whilst on holiday on Arran a few years back and the Scratch winner was a junior. He won a dishwasher or tumble drier as one of his prizes. It was probably in the for sale section of the Banner the following week