Tournaments and Age Verification

[tiger1873]

I was talking to some other parents and they were shocked at how even for local tournaments that we don't need to provide a Birth Certificate prior to playing.

 

I know DCP (after locals) as well as AGJA and I believe US Kids Worlds require a birth certificate to prior playing in the events but we also never been asked at the US Kids local level either. But what is stopping someone from entering older kids in younger ages at a lot tournaments. I assume that if the tour director thought something is wrong then they could ask but still what are the chances of that happing?

 

Even with birth certificates I have a strong feeling some of the foreign players who are backed by their governments may indeed be older then what they state. That is only speculation but would not surprise me since Golf is an Olympic sport now..

[darter79]

anything other than locals us kids requires one. Golf is played on integrity so most assume that will happen. Of course you have some that push it with playing older in younger groups. But even us kids doesn't allow you to play up. I know some kids who use this system in order to play up when they feel their child is ready.

 

really nothing to stop you unless you just want a cheap win for your kid.

[tiger1873]

anything other than locals us kids requires one. Golf is played on integrity so most assume that will happen. Of course you have some that push it with playing older in younger groups. But even us kids doesn't allow you to play up. I know some kids who use this system in order to play us when they feel their child is ready.

 

really nothing to stop you unless you just want a cheap win for your kid.

 

What do you mean by play us. I thought when your kid a certain age you just play that division. plenty of places you can age up if you feel like they can play. With US kids there is plenty of competition at regionals and higher everywhere.

 

I am not aware of anyone playing down kids though but wouldn't be surprised to hear someone who did and wanted to have a cheap win for their kids.

[wildcatden]

We never had to submit a birth certificate to USKG until we played a Regional. Of course, once that is done, that's the age USKG has for you going forward.

[heavy_hitter]

If the tour you are playing doesn't require age verification then the results don't matter.

 

Hurricane

FJT

SFPGA

NFPGA

FCWT

 

 

None of these you have to submit proof of age documentation to.

[tiger1873]

If the tour you are playing doesn't require age verification then the results don't matter.

 

Hurricane

FJT

SFPGA

NFPGA

FCWT

 

 

None of these you have to submit proof of age documentation to.

 

I can add a few more to that list too TJGT and NTJPGA or pretty much any local PGA.

 

One thing I find interesting is on the TJGT site

 

https://www.tjgt.com/tour-information/faqs/

 

"Is There a Proof of Birthdate/Birth Certificate Required to Play?

No, just make sure you input your age correctly on membership registration. We trust your integrity. Please make sure you list your proper graduation class at membership registration. This is very important for recruiting purposes."

[heavy_hitter]

If the tour you are playing doesn't require age verification then the results don't matter.

 

Hurricane

FJT

SFPGA

NFPGA

FCWT

 

 

None of these you have to submit proof of age documentation to.

 

FCWT - page three

 

Hurricane investigates and will ask for verification if there is question.

 

FCWT is brand new.

[kekoa]

Maybe your local tour is different, but I haven't seen many foreign players around these parts playing in locals. Honestly, I don't think they would waste their time. The foreign kids will go to large multi day tournaments such as IMG, Worlds, etc. Several of these kids from Thailand and China are absolutely huge. If I had to guess, there ages are fibbed by 1-2 years, but of course that is just speculation. They are oftentimes successful in tournaments, but eventually the playing field will be evened out and their ability to hit the ball far won't matter as much.

[wkuo3]

Not that there is a lot of financial rewards in Junior golf competition , although it had grown much larger and lucrative then just a few years ago.

People cheat in this stage ( by the parents or the kids, which must also understand their parents were not be truthful ), has already fallen into the loser's category. Even if they could get ahead for now, they will have to face the music very soon.

 

I see people cheat in all kinds of activity in life. I don;t know because they feel they need to cheat in order to get ahead in the competitive world we live in or they're just not too smart. Often times the cheaters would put in a lot of effort to act out their deed, instead of spending the same amount of energy toward success.

One big "cheat" in recent years is the Resume' used for applying new positions. Even application for higher education..... over heard a kid asking his father " but Dad, they might verify the Summer apprenticeship ",, The father answered " don't worry son, I'll put my colleague's name down as reference check and he'll cover for you"......... Sigh. What kind of lesson the father had taught the kid.

Sad thing was, they got the kid into the preferred school of choice with falsified information in the application.

 

My thinking is, enjoy the experience with your kid, winning is not everything at this stage. Sometimes coming in last would be a very important life lesson, for opportunity education.

[mrshinsa]

There is a kid in our local tour, who doesn't look near his age. He's nearly 6' tall and has a mustache, acts very mature while all the other kids at his "age group" are running around chasing after each other.

 

He doesn't show up at the locals anymore, but absolutely dominates the Regionals.

 

I'm guessing age verification process is pretty easy to bypass.