AJGA and other National Tournaments

If you want to be recognized by college coaches then you need to play national tournaments. AJGA is the most recognized and most important of them all. I would also play the US Junior Am qualifier as that is a big tournament as well. Case and point, the more nationally recognized tournaments you play and the better you do in them the more you will be recognized. High School and local golf tournaments are not enough, College Coaches do not care about these hardly at all. You need to play against the best players in national tournaments and succeed to get their attention. Also keep in mind that the AJGA uses a performance based entry system so if you do not have that much experience it is unlikely you will be able to jump right in and get into a lot of their tournaments.

if you feel you can win, then go for it. if not work on your game till you feel you can

[quote name='UNCC Golf#1' post='2156807' date='Jan 2 2010, 05:35 PM']I've never played in any of the AJGA and other national ranked tournaments (partly because of travel costs and entry fees). Is it worth to at least get out there and try them. I don't know if I'm good enough or even long enough to play. Any advice?[/quote]

What do you shoot?
Where are you from?
What is your graduation year?

I am a 4 to 5 handicap, and I am from Del. I play in the Philadelphia Junior Tour now

Does the Philadelphia tour have AJGA exemptions to the winner of tournaments? It is really hard to start AJGA without any tournament exemptions or performace stars.

No, the other problem with it is that the course yardages are only 6300 yards or so not 7000

Playing in the qualifying during the events is fine isn't it? You can shoot good scores then qualify for that tourny.

Hmmm yea go for it sign up for AJGA and if there are any tournaments within driving distance go and play in the qualifier and if u get in they sweet.

I'm a little confused on the exemption system and stars with the AJGA how does it work for new people like me to sign up for qualifiers and the tournament itself

1. Play the qualifiers for the AJGA. You just give them your money show up and play.
2. If your area host an AJGA, you might be able to get a sponsors exemption to play.
3. Check Delaware Golf Association for: State Junior Championship, U.S. Junior Amatuer Qualifier, and play both as they are likely ranked...any other tournaments DGA might have for Jr's that might be ranked.

For the AJGA and these Ameatears what range do you think I'd have to shoot to compete for a top10 or win

[quote name='UNCC Golf#1' post='2156903' date='Jan 2 2010, 07:28 PM']I'm a little confused on the exemption system and stars with the AJGA how does it work for new people like me to sign up for qualifiers and the tournament itself[/quote]

If you sign up for an AJGA membership you get 1 performance star and if you are a senior you get 1 more performance star. Otherwise it is all based on play. Once you get 4 stars you earn a tournmanet exemption. For all open AJGA tournaments (non invitationals) there are 3 ways to get in. First all the fully exempt players get in which usually fills about 1/3 of the tournament. Then all the players who have earned tournament exemptions get in. The more exemptions you have the higher your priority. Usually the other 2/3 of the tournament field is filled with this categories, however, if it is not there are a spots for those with performace stars but no tournament exemptions. There are many ways to earn stars but they all come from playing good. Your best bet is to try and qualify for an AJGA tournament and then perform, if you can rack up a couple good finishes you will really improve your exemption status. Here is a helpful pdf showing you how to earn performance stars: [url="http://www.ajga.org/TournInfo/PBE/2009_Boys_PBE_Table.pdf"]http://www.ajga.org/TournInfo/PBE/2009_Boys_PBE_Table.pdf[/url]. If you are a 4 handicap then you have some work to do but you can definitely make it. Keep in mind that the courses they play average around 7000+ yards and are set up tough so you probably need to improve if you are playing 6300 yard courses. Good luck!

[quote name='UNCC Golf#1' post='2156949' date='Jan 2 2010, 08:05 PM']For the AJGA and these Ameatears what range do you think I'd have to shoot to compete for a top10 or win[/quote]

I would recommend visiting AJGA.org and browsing the results to get a feel. It really varies depending on the course but top 10 is usually almost always around even par or better for 54 holes. All the top ranked players are + handicaps and they play well. The AJGA provides the highest level of competition for juniors and the scores reflect that.

I only hit the ball like 230 to 240 is that a big problem

below par to win....no more than 3 to 5 over par total for 54 holes for top 5 to 10 in most AJGA events.

To qualify for AJGA tournament shoot 74 or below (onpar 72...not more than 2 or 3 over).

To qualify for the U.S. Jr Amateur most likely below par.

Unless you are a outstanding with fairway woods/log irons, and have a better short game...hitting it 230-240 is a problem for the 15-18 age group....particularly on par 4's.

Would it be an issue for these tournaments if I hit the ball only 230 to 240. all the way up to a 6 iron I can hit up to 180 than I struggle with distance. I am working on it now though.

[quote name='UNCC Golf#1' post='2157121' date='Jan 2 2010, 09:24 PM']Would it be an issue for these tournaments if I hit the ball only 230 to 240. all the way up to a 6 iron I can hit up to 180 than I struggle with distance. I am working on it now though.[/quote]

If you only hit it 230-240 off the tee and are only consistent from 180 or less yards out then that means you can only reach a par 4 of 410-420 yards consistently. On a 7000 yard course there will most likely be more than a few par 4s that are much longer than that so you are probably going to struggle. Not to mention the fact that none of the par 5s would be reachable. Without a outstanding short game there is no way you are going to be able to score well. I would start working on your strength and improving your swing so you can hit the ball farther. Additionally I would try and improve your long game. You need to be able to hit more than a 6iron consistently to play the kind of golf you want to play. AJGA is not the only choice it is just the best choice. You are probably better off spending your money on lessons/improving and playing is local tournaments until you feel your game is ready.

I just read all about the AJGA. I am actually doing strength and conditioning @ my school after now til golf season (we play in spring). When is the deadline to sign up for a membership

They will take your memebership money anytime...you usually have to apply for tournaments a month or so in advance. Hitting the ball for distance isn't just about strength...though that helps.

[quote name='UNCC Golf#1' post='2157178' date='Jan 2 2010, 09:55 PM']I just read all about the AJGA. I am actually doing strength and conditioning @ my school after now til golf season (we play in spring). When is the deadline to sign up for a membership[/quote]


work a ton on abbs, trust me, i have an extra yards on my drives because i worked my abbs hard...youtube abb ripper x.

[quote name='UNCC Golf#1' post='2157178' date='Jan 2 2010, 08:55 PM']I just read all about the AJGA. I am actually doing strength and conditioning @ my school after now til golf season (we play in spring). When is the deadline to sign up for a membership[/quote]

Don't forget to stretch as well. Being flexible will help you use your strength, but being strong won't help you become flexible. So focus a lot on flexibility.

Wait let me understand: you hit your driver 230-240 and your 6 iron 180? Either you have a really strong 6 iron or a very bad driver fitting. I would check into that.

As far as the AJGA goes, it's a very tough junior tour. I would check into some FCWT or IJGT events if they have any in your area. Those could be good to gain some experience before teeing up in the AJGA. I would definitely sign up for some qualifiers and try to do well in those.

To answer your question about winning or coming in the top 10 at a US Junior Am qualifier, it's probably close to par for 36 holes. Check out the USGA website for results from last year. They are usually pretty tough.

The tough part about the IJGT is that the entry fees are like 400 dollars, but they are more local to where I live. AJGA is like 225 for open tournaments, idk if it's more money for a qualifier and I can play in like 3 or 4 tournaments in PA or NY.

On the issue of distance its weird. I'm a pretty big dude, I just hit my 6 iron and up right, but after that I just can't seem to get much more compact or distance. My issue with these tournaments is reaching these 460 or 450 par 4's in two without hitting driver 3 wood.

I would do the AJGA qualifiers--if you get in great, you'll get a shot...some of the other big tours are very proud of themselves as evidenced by their fees...we are fortunate in our area to have the Southeastern Jr GOlf Tour that is respected by the college coaches in the South...$185 to join, $175 to play.

Is there any difference when signing up for a tournament for AJGA and the qualifiers?

And

Does every open tournament for the AJGA have a qualifier before the tournament itself?

Where I live I play through the Philadelphia Junior Tour, but for college I want to get to play some national tournaments.

Prettt much every tourney has a qualifier. What year do you graduate highschool [b]UNCC Golf#1.
[/b]

2011

Has anyone tried playing the FWCT or the IJGT?

Are they worth playing in compared to the AJGA?

[quote name='UNCC Golf#1' post='2158667' date='Jan 3 2010, 04:10 PM']On the issue of distance its weird. I'm a pretty big dude, I just hit my 6 iron and up right, but after that I just can't seem to get much more compact or distance. My issue with these tournaments is reaching these 460 or 450 par 4's in two without hitting driver 3 wood.[/quote]

Define "big dude". If you are anywhere near 6 feet and driving it 240 then you should focus on that first before entering tournaments. If you are hitting your 6 iron 180 then you should be able to drive it a lot farther. If you cannot hit anything more than a six iron well then I think you need to work on your swing. AJGA and other national tournaments are great but I don't know how you can expect to play well if you cannot hit more than a 6iron. You haven't given us that much information and I do not want to sound discouraging, it just seems you have some serious ball striking problems. 240 drivers and 180 yard 6 irons just do not make sense.