Golf Vic Vol 60 No 2 2019

Junior participation being key to the growth of golf isn’t even a question. But exactly how do you get youngsters not just interested but engaged enough to persevere, to improve and eventually to progress within the game? How do you take them from having a swing to taking part in a full round, learning etiquette and forming friendships with playing partners? That’s where the MyGolf Junior League comes in. Played over five Sundays in February and March in regions all across the country, it’s an extension of the MyGolf junior introductory program and gives children their first taste of competition within a friendly and forgiving environment. “It’s a big jump from doing a MyGolf program to then getting a handicap and playing junior pennant,” says Tony Collier, Golf Australia’s Regional Development Officer for Ballarat and Wimmera Region. “MyGolf Junior League fits that gap really well. They play a modified nine-hole event, a two-person ambrose, so it takes the pressure off them playing every shot from the proper markers and they enjoy it so much more.” Twelve-year-old Gemma Gale came to MyGolf through one of its school programs. Having not come from a golfing family, she had never swung a club beforehand but enjoyed it enough to continue into a longer MyGolf program with Ballarat Golf Club professional Angela Tatt, and eventually into the Ballarat and Wimmera Region Junior League. “It was good to play with kids my own age,” Gemma says. “I just kept playing more and more and got into it and absolutely loved it!” Gemma loved it enough to continue with one-on-one coaching at Ballarat, and continued to improve throughout the five weeks of the Junior League. She played with the same partner, Jack, each week and the pair didn’t just form a friendship, they were able to develop strategies to help them around the course. “Having the same partner every time, we knew our tactics and got better as we went through,” she says. Collier believes the social aspect is an important one, particularly for girls given the disparity in male/female participation is reflected in the junior ranks. “It’s the friendships that really make it work for them,” he says. “You might have a girl member at one club and two girls at another and they sort of fall away, but if you get them together regularly… if they play every event, there might be a dozen opportunities where they come together. “It’s very noticeable that at the start, a lot of the girls don’t know each other but then if you put them in the group to meet new girls, their friendships start to develop… It increases their chances of sticking to golf by a fair bit, we’ve noticed.” But don’t dismiss the importance of friendships when it comes to the boys. Eleven-year-old Ben Crellin, who also takes part in the Ballarat and Wimmera League, has also enjoyed the chance to make new friends and hang around with existing ones. “I’ve been enjoying it really well,” he says. “It’s quite fun doing it, going out with some of my friends, and playing golf against some other teams. “I have made a few friends through golfing and through MyGolf… some of my friends I already know play as well.” Meaghan Densley, the Regional Development Officer for the Mornington Peninsula and South East Melbourne, runs Learning etiquette and making friends is an important part of MyGolf Junior League. Photo: Paul Shire The Mornington Peninsula and South East Junior League group with Meaghan Densley (back left) at The National Long Island course. Golf Victoria 39