Golf Vic Vol 60 No 2 2019

a Junior League in her area as well. She sees the benefit not just for the kids but for the clubs as well. “The golf clubs have provided the courses for us free of cost to encourage junior participation,” she says. “This is their opportunity for kids going from lessons to on-course competition.” Both the Ballarat and Mornington Peninsula leagues have seen significant growth in participation in this, their second year. “We had 24 kids playing My Golf and this year that’s jumped up to 36,” says Collier. “So we’d like to think that would keep going. “The first year’s always a bit of a trial and error because it’s an unknown, but we were probably lucky that we pretty well nailed a concept that we thought would work and it did.” Though this is Densley’s first year running the Mornington Peninsula league, its first iteration last year saw similar success. “All kids who played last year have gone on to be selected for their Junior Pennant or they’ve continued playing at their courses,” she says. “That’s exactly what it’s meant to do: encourage them to participate, to play and to be part of the competitions.” In the Ballarat and Wimmera Region, Junior Pennant isn’t just the next step along the path, it’s part of the day, with the pennant players teeing off first, the MyGolf Junior League players then following, and a field of younger, less-experienced players after them. It helps MyGolf Junior League become both a feeder system and an easy source for emergency call-ups to Junior Pennant. But the three-tiered structure also has benefits for both players and parents. “If Junior Pennant is struggling for a player, we can call up some players from the MyGolf Junior League, because some of them have handicaps,” says Collier. “Then we fill their spot from some of the reserves. So it’s a good little buffer for each competition, because if you have just a standalone, sometimes it’s harder to fill in the gaps on short notice.” For the MyGolf Junior Leaguers, it’s a chance to see what they could become with practice. And for parents, it’s one trip where it could have been two or more. “The kids on the bottom one or two levels can see what they can aspire to and it can actually help motivate them,” says Collier, “and with quite a few of them, their siblings are playing above them as well. “We’ve got quite a few families where they all play but they might be at different levels, so the whole family can come over and help as well.” Andrew Crellin, Ben’s father, has another son Nicholas playing Junior Pennant. “It’s quite handy from my point of view,” he says, “because the boys are on the same courses at the same time, so it makes it easier for transport.” It’s a format Densley hopes to implement on the Peninsula. “It makes a hectic day but the environment and atmosphere is cool,” she says. “I had a chance to see it and that’s my aim: to do something similar to that.” Of course, bringing it altogether requires quite a few hands on deck. The Ballarat and Wimmera Region needed a team of four to bring it to its current level: Ron Adams, the Ballarat District Secretary, helping with the Junior Pennant; Andrew Milligan, the Ballarat District Junior Coordinator, bringing together the administration and the structure; and Andrew Cartledge, the Ballarat Junior Golf Academy professional whose midweek junior program has 94 kids. “If we only had one or two of us, it’s too much,” Collier says. “On one of those Sundays, three people is the minimum you want, because there’s a lot going on in different areas to make it run smoothly.” And even then, it wouldn’t be possible without the support of the parents. “You need an adult in the group to have supervision,” says Collier. “And they’re really great as well because a lot of them are golfers and they’re just giving little extra tips, with the etiquette, the structures and the scoring. It’s been really good having them.” 40 Golf Victoria