How “good” do I have to be at golf to play in tournaments?
Actually, we are not real concerned about how “good” a player is at golf. If you have played in High School Tournaments, you are ready for junior golf. Our goal is to give junior golfers a place to gain a lot of experience at playing tournament golf.
Our basic expectations are: 1.) you know how to play golf, 2.) have a basic understanding of the Rules of Golf, 3.) you are be able to walk 18-holes while carrying your own golf bag. We have several players as young a 9 years old who play in our tournaments.
What kind of Scores do players shoot? Scores in our tournaments range from even par to +120 for 18-holes.
But it’s not just about scores. Tournament Golf is about getting use to the pace of play, learning the Rules of Golf, playing with a Group of players, being able to play well at other golf courses and under different kinds of weather conditions.
A Tournament Golfer can play well on any golf course, in the heat or cold, wet or dry or windy conditions. That is what you are trying to learn how to do as a junior golfer who competes in golf tournaments. And to become good at playing in tournaments – you have to play in tournaments – a lot of tournaments!
LET’S GET STARTED!
FIRST:
Join the AJGO . Only AJGO Members can play in AJGO Tournaments.
We do not have any requirements as far as how many tournaments you play.
You can JOIN online using our AJGO Online Shopping Cart. Click this link to Join the AJGO Online
SECOND:
Enter an AJGO Tournament.
How often should I play in tournaments?
Just like any sport, “playing in a game” is a lot different from practice. We recommend practicing everyday if possible. Some days practice might be chipping golf balls into a 5-gallon bucket.
You should play in at least 1-tournament every month. A tournament every month will help keep your golf game “sharp.”
During the Summer Junior Golf Season, most players enter 8 to 15 tournaments. (Now you are starting to appreciate why we keep the Entry Fee at $40 a tournament!)
You can Enter Tournaments online using our AJGO Online Shopping Cart. Click this link to Enter a Tournament Online
Here are some Tips on How Things Work at AJGO Tournaments:
1.) We post Tee Times 2-days before the Tournament. We will typically update the Tee Times 1 or 2 times – so check the Tee Times the night before the tournament.
2.) When you get to the golf course – come into the Club House and Check In so we know that you have arrived for the tournament.
3.) Get to the golf course about an hour before your tee time – that will give you time to hit some range balls and putt.
4.) Get to the Tee where you are Starting at least 10 Minutes before your Tee Time
5.) We will have your Scorecard at the Tee and we will give you your Instructions for Tournament Play.
6.) It will probably be hot, so bring plenty of water.
7.) DON’T PUT A LOT OF PRESSURE ON YOURSELF! You are playing to have fun. Focus on playing YOUR BEST. Don’t worry about other players and their best scores. Golf is an individual sport: it’s you and the golf course.
“Your Best” right now may be 114 on 18-holes and that’s perfectly okay. In fact I like to see players starting out with scores in the 110 to 120 range, because they have room for rapid improvement. But you will find that with practice and more tournament experience, that “your best” will get better and better.
When my son, Will, was playing junior golf, I always told him to just play “your best” and ignore what everyone else is doing. And one day “your best” at a tournament will be “the Best” and you will win. Will had a “The Best” two weeks ago when he won his 1st professional golf tournament! Even today, Will goes into each tournament thinking I want to “play my best.” It’s never “I want to shoot a 62 today.“ At the Professional Golf level course conditions change so much in a tournament that all you can do is “play your best” and some days it is a score of 73 and other days it is a 63. But you know that you played the best that you could that day, so there is no need to be disappointed.
So don’t worry about your score. Just go out and “play your best.” Of course, what goes into making you the best that you can be is an entirely different matter. Depends on how far you want to go – but you have plenty of time to figure that out.
In fact, if you score 114 in your first tournament at the start of the summer, with some hard work, you can realistically take 15-strokes off your score by the end of the summer. And it happens every summer – junior golfers make unbelievable improvements in their golf game over the summer. But it’s important to keep playing – don’t stop playing in tournaments in the Fall and start back playing the next Spring because you will lose your “edge” and will have to spend a lot of time getting back to the level you were playing at the previous Fall.
Weather :
We can’t choose the weather for the date of a tournament. So if the Golf Course Staff has “Opened the Golf Course for Play” we play golf. That means it could be rainy, windy, cold or hot. You will play in tournaments under all types of weather conditions – now it the time to start learning to adapt your game to the course conditions.
During Tournaments we play “Ready Golf”
“Ready Golf” allows the golfers within a group to take their swings when each member of the group is ready to play. If you reach your ball and are ready to hit, while other members of your group are not yet prepared (like they are looking for their golf ball), then go ahead and hit. So after you and Nick tee off, you will walk up to your own golf ball and figure out your yardage and what golf club you want to use – then get ready to hit the ball. On the putting green, if your putt is inside of 2 feet – you can go ahead an putt out if you want to.
We play “Ready Golf” to keep the Groups moving – so we are looking for each Group to finish 9-holes in 2:00 hours to 2:15. So you should finish your 18-holes in 4 hours to 4 hours and 30 minutes.
Whatever you normally shoot during a practice round at your home golf course – players normally shoot about 10-strokes higher in their first year or so of tournament golf. So if you normally shoot a 96 on your home course, don’t be discouraged if you shoot a 106. I wouldn’t worry about your score too much – you mainly just want to start getting use to Tournament Golf.
The idea is to start getting use to playing in golf tournaments – carrying your golf bag and walking for 18-holes. Figuring our yardages on your own and deciding what club to hit. And figuring out rulings – and if you are not sure about a rule – ask your playing partners – between you and your playing partner you can figure it out. If in doubt, play a second ball – keep score for both balls – and we will determine which ruling was correct and what your score was on the hole.
During tournaments, parents have to stay on the cart path and cannot help with club selection, yardages, score-keeping, or rules. Basically the only thing that parents get to do is watch.
