High School Golf Thread

[GolfSRQ]

49 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

They are not regulated by the government, but heavily influenced.

I would like to know who is getting a kickback for making us use that iwanamaker app

[MB19]

7 hours ago, heavy_hitter said:

Of course, nothing the FHSAA does has made since after Dearing left.

Dearing vs Livings battles were so epic, as is some of Dearing's legacy in our area.  

 

Also, I saw Pomar today--I guess he's the JCHS girls golf coach now.  Team looks super young and green, but he's zen enough to deal with that I think.

[iteachgolf]

I don’t understand some parents. Have 3 kids that were in Billy Horschel AJGA pull out because of high school districts on Monday.  I told them to not play districts but they/parents don’t get it

[Noles]

11 hours ago, iteachgolf said:

I don’t understand some parents. Have 3 kids that were in Billy Horschel AJGA pull out because of high school districts on Monday.  I told them to not play districts but they/parents don’t get it

I guess it depends on what their goals are.  

[Noles]

We had our District Championship yesterday.  Our team won by 3.  In the individual competition, only 2 spots available to advance to states, so little margin for error.  Also playing in 25-30 mile per hour winds on a course with a lot of fescue.  On the 16th hole, a player hits his drive left into the fescue.  He hits a provisional in the fairway.  More than 3 minutes passes and the ball is not found.  The boy hits his provisional ball on to the green.  Then 2 coaches arrive on site.  This player's coach and my son's coach.  Their coach asks if it was a hazard and my son responds with "it is not marked, it's not a hazard."  The coaches agree to call the pro shop and ask them.  Now realize that nothing has been said about playing areas of fescue as hazards and other kids have played balls lost in fescue as a lost ball.  This was stated to the two coaches by another coach. Not the mention how strategy off of the tee has been altered with the thought that hitting it into the fescue would probably result in a lost ball.   The pro shop tells them that members play the fescue as a hazard.  The two coaches, despite the objection of my son, allow the player to take a drop and play another ball with the fescue being a hazard.  He makes bogey on that ball and picks up the provisional ball that would have had a 20-25 foot bodey putt.  This boy goes on to finish in a tie for 1st place so he and another player advance.  My son and a teammate finish 1 shot behind and are T-3 and do not advance.  My son is not happy about it but is glad his team advanced so that cushions the blow a little bit.  Dad is a little more pissed about it.  I know what our coach was thinking.  We were going to win the team competition and he doesn't want anyone to think they were getting screwed, so he just goes along with what they want.  The problem is that he screwed two of his players out of a chance to advance in the individual competition.

[heavy_hitter]

1 hour ago, Noles said:

We had our District Championship yesterday.  Our team won by 3.  In the individual competition, only 2 spots available to advance to states, so little margin for error.  Also playing in 25-30 mile per hour winds on a course with a lot of fescue.  On the 16th hole, a player hits his drive left into the fescue.  He hits a provisional in the fairway.  More than 3 minutes passes and the ball is not found.  The boy hits his provisional ball on to the green.  Then 2 coaches arrive on site.  This player's coach and my son's coach.  Their coach asks if it was a hazard and my son responds with "it is not marked, it's not a hazard."  The coaches agree to call the pro shop and ask them.  Now realize that nothing has been said about playing areas of fescue as hazards and other kids have played balls lost in fescue as a lost ball.  This was stated to the two coaches by another coach. Not the mention how strategy off of the tee has been altered with the thought that hitting it into the fescue would probably result in a lost ball.   The pro shop tells them that members play the fescue as a hazard.  The two coaches, despite the objection of my son, allow the player to take a drop and play another ball with the fescue being a hazard.  He makes bogey on that ball and picks up the provisional ball that would have had a 20-25 foot bodey putt.  This boy goes on to finish in a tie for 1st place so he and another player advance.  My son and a teammate finish 1 shot behind and are T-3 and do not advance.  My son is not happy about it but is glad his team advanced so that cushions the blow a little bit.  Dad is a little more pissed about it.  I know what our coach was thinking.  We were going to win the team competition and he doesn't want anyone to think they were getting screwed, so he just goes along with what they want.  The problem is that he screwed two of his players out of a chance to advance in the individual competition.

 

This is why the PGA professional from the course should be running the event.  Coaches should have no say in rulings.  If it wasn't said when they teed off then it doesn't matter how the members play it.  The course should have been marked if it were a hazard.  I would have also asked for the local rule and if the players were aware of it at the tee.

 

I would be more concerned with how the state runs the Championship series.  It is honestly stupid.  Every kid that advances on a team should be entered into the individual event.  I don't like everything the FHSAA does, but they have this right.  From Regional, the top 3 teams and top 3 players NOT on a qualifying team advance to the State Championship.  Everyone on a qualifying team is automatically entered into the individual championship.

[heavy_hitter]

13 hours ago, iteachgolf said:

I don’t understand some parents. Have 3 kids that were in Billy Horschel AJGA pull out because of high school districts on Monday.  I told them to not play districts but they/parents don’t get it

 

I see both sides.  As a parent, I think if they committed to playing for the school then they need to play for the school.  If they have enough stars to get into this AJGA open then down the road they can still get into an AJGA.  On the other hand, my kid irritated me this weekend.  He was in an FJT and wanted to withdraw because of Districts on Monday.  My dad put the thought into his head and I am pissed.  I know my son and once that thought entered I knew I was withdrawing him.  I didn't want to withdraw him, but that thought would have made it miserable had he not played well this weekend or Monday.  I reluctantly withdrew him because it isn't about me.  Was his choice.

[tiger1873]

12 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

 

I see both sides.  As a parent, I think if they committed to playing for the school then they need to play for the school.  If they have enough stars to get into this AJGA open then down the road they can still get into an AJGA.  On the other hand, my kid irritated me this weekend.  He was in an FJT and wanted to withdraw because of Districts on Monday.  My dad put the thought into his head and I am pissed.  I know my son and once that thought entered I knew I was withdrawing him.  I didn't want to withdraw him, but that thought would have made it miserable had he not played well this weekend or Monday.  I reluctantly withdrew him because it isn't about me.  Was his choice.

 

 

To me High school golf is a distraction my kid is not old enough to play in them so really don't think about it much  about HS golf but at the end of the Day golf is an individual sport.  I think some kids though like the whole concept of a team and therefor it is more important to them to play in a district event then playing in a tournament and being on their own.

 

Also in the context of this year maybe being around friends is better for them so I sort of understand where people are thinking on this.

 

Generally I would i would not let my kid skip an AGJA event and do a lessor tournament like HS golf but this year is a weird year too. The AGJA events are well run but you can see they lack the volunteers they had in the past and not to mention the reduced recruiting going on so this year they just don't have the same vibe.   I guess in the big picture it's not a big deal.

Edited October 8, 2020 by tiger1873

[heavy_hitter]

8 minutes ago, tiger1873 said:

 

 

To me High school golf is a distraction my kid is not old enough to play on them so really don't think about it much but at the end of the Day golf is an individual sport.  I think some kids though like the whole concept of a team is more important to them then playing a tournament and being on their own.

 

Also in the contact of this year maybe being around friends is better for them if they miss a tournament so I do understand.

 

Generally I would let my kid skip an AGJA event and do a lessor tournament like HS golf but this year is a weird year too. The AGJA events are well run but you can see they lack the volunteers they had in the past and not to mention the reduced recruiting going on so this year they just don't have the same vibe.   I guess in the big picture it's not a big deal.

 

HS golf is what it supposed to be.  Fun.  Kids start playing sports because it is Fun.  Kids hanging out and doing something they like together.  It is more than the team concept.  It is the van rides to events, learning to manage time, camaraderie between the players, lifetime memories, beating other teams together.

 

Believe it or not, if a kid advances to the Florida State Tournament, there are as many college recruiters there as the USGA Junior.  More recruiters than any AJGA I have been to.

[Noles]

20 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

 

HS golf is what it supposed to be.  Fun.  Kids start playing sports because it is Fun.  Kids hanging out and doing something they like together.  It is more than the team concept.  It is the van rides to events, learning to manage time, camaraderie between the players, lifetime memories, beating other teams together.

 

Believe it or not, if a kid advances to the Florida State Tournament, there are as many college recruiters there as the USGA Junior.  More recruiters than any AJGA I have been to.

I agree with the first paragraph 100%.  If HS golf is not for your kid or situation, then don't play but playing on the team and then bailing because something better comes along is BS if you ask me.  If I were the coach I would not let a kid who does this back on the team again, including future seasons.

[heavy_hitter]

13 minutes ago, Noles said:

I agree with the first paragraph 100%.  If HS golf is not for your kid or situation, then don't play but playing on the team and then bailing because something better comes along is BS if you ask me.  If I were the coach I would not let a kid who does this back on the team again, including future seasons.

 

Trust me, I get it.  HS golf is not the pinnacle of golf for all kids, but it is a lot of fun for what it is.  For some, it is the pinnacle of their golf career.  The best players in Florida are playing HS golf.  It isn't because it is great golf, it is because the kids have fun.  It is 12 weeks out of the year they don't have to hear their parents crap.  They can enjoy being with team mates pounding balls rather than doing it by themselves.  Coaches arrange different competitions in practice whether scramble, match play, stableford, guys vs girls, Seniors agains underclassmen.  It is more than playing tournament golf.  Golf is a lonely sport and this allows it to not be lonely.  It is also a great season to work on new things and try it in competition that you wouldn't normally try in a JGS tournament because not every stroke counts until you get to the Playoffs.

Edited October 8, 2020 by heavy_hitter

[tiger1873]

43 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

 

HS golf is what it supposed to be.  Fun.  Kids start playing sports because it is Fun.  Kids hanging out and doing something they like together.  It is more than the team concept.  It is the van rides to events, learning to manage time, camaraderie between the players, lifetime memories, beating other teams together.

 

Believe it or not, if a kid advances to the Florida State Tournament, there are as many college recruiters there as the USGA Junior.  More recruiters than any AJGA I have been to.

 

With High School golf I am going to say this highly dependent on the school you go to and the kids.  Around me the schools that have golf teams and have players my daughter would know are all private.  It would means spending a tidy sum to send my kids there and driving an few hours to pick them up each day.

 

 I am not sure I want deal with the local high school team here. They used to practice on our course and most those girls couldn't hit a club and would have arguments on the course. I think the boys were a little bit better behaved but they didn't play much either.

 

My daughter is not in High School so I haven't really worried about about it all but we been doing more regional and national events and my daughter has made a lot friends playing in tournaments and always looks forward to playing with them.

 

[iteachgolf]

3 hours ago, Noles said:

I guess it depends on what their goals are.  

Their goals are to be elite and earn a scholarship to a top college program. 

[Noles]

1 minute ago, iteachgolf said:

Their goals are to be elite and earn a scholarship to a top college program. 

Then their decisions are not matching their words.  Sounds like there are things they are not willing to sacrifice to achieve their goals.  Not uncommon with kids.  I used to see this in basketball a lot.  Some kids have that drive and some don't.

[Noles]

Side note.  Check out the women's PGA champ this week.  The course is about 20 minutes away from me.  I worked there as a valet in college just so I could play on Mondays.  The course will look so good this time of year and without grandstands you can really see the course.  The BMW championship won by Keegan Bradley was there a few years ago.  Check it out.

[heavy_hitter]

37 minutes ago, tiger1873 said:

 

With High School golf I am going to say this highly dependent on the school you go to and the kids.  Around me the schools that have golf teams and have players my daughter would know are all private.  It would means spending a tidy sum to send my kids there and driving an few hours to pick them up each day.

 

 I am not sure I want deal with the local high school team here. They used to practice on our course and most those girls couldn't hit a club and would have arguments on the course. I think the boys were a little bit better behaved but they didn't play much either.

 

My daughter is not in High School so I haven't really worried about about it all but we been doing more regional and national events and my daughter has made a lot friends playing in tournaments and always looks forward to playing with them.

 

You can home school and send to a Private School to play.

[iteachgolf]

1 hour ago, Noles said:

I agree with the first paragraph 100%.  If HS golf is not for your kid or situation, then don't play but playing on the team and then bailing because something better comes along is BS if you ask me.  If I were the coach I would not let a kid who does this back on the team again, including future seasons.

The parents are the issue. The kids on the team are all virtual school students who teamed up to play together on a public schools team.  The parent of one of the 2 kids not in the field complained and the others weren’t allowed.  I firmly believe as an upper classman in this recruiting situation you have to take every chance you get.  These kids don’t even attend the school they are playing for. 

[Noles]

Just now, iteachgolf said:

The parents are the issue. The kids on the team are all virtual school students who teamed up to play together on a public schools team.  The parent of one of the 2 kids not in the field complained and the others weren’t allowed.  I firmly believe as an upper classman in this recruiting situation you have to take every chance you get.  These kids don’t even attend the school they are playing for. 

Then why did they play to begin with?  

[iteachgolf]

8 minutes ago, Noles said:

Then their decisions are not matching their words.  Sounds like there are things they are not willing to sacrifice to achieve their goals.  Not uncommon with kids.  I used to see this in basketball a lot.  Some kids have that drive and some don't.

It’s not the kids decision.  They absolutely want to play AJGA 

[heavy_hitter]

9 minutes ago, iteachgolf said:

Their goals are to be elite and earn a scholarship to a top college program. 

 

It is about commitment.  If they committed to play for the high school team then they should play in Districts on Monday.  That is what they committed too when they signed up and the school paid for the Polo, Hat, bag, etc.  They knew what was ahead of them in terms of tournaments.

[iteachgolf]

2 minutes ago, Noles said:

Then why did they play to begin with?  

Because they didn’t know it’d overlap months ago. COVID kinda messed things up.  

[Noles]

1 minute ago, heavy_hitter said:

 

It is about commitment.  If they committed to play for the high school team then they should play in Districts on Monday.  That is what they committed too when they signed up and the school paid for the Polo, Hat, bag, etc.  They knew what was ahead of them in terms of tournaments.

I agree with HH on this.  No one forced them to play HS golf.  You signed up, honor your commitment.  Sounds like the parents are the ones that "get it" in this situation.

[iteachgolf]

4 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

 

It is about commitment.  If they committed to play for the high school team then they should play in Districts on Monday.  That is what they committed too when they signed up and the school paid for the Polo, Hat, bag, etc.  They knew what was ahead of them in terms of tournaments.

School didn’t pay for anything. They don’t have bags and had to purchase all their own polos and hats.  Same for most schools in this area.  We just aren’t gonna agree on this. The school “practices” by chipping on the baseball field and don’t even have playing privileges anywhere except when they play matches.  It’s a joke 

[heavy_hitter]

1 minute ago, iteachgolf said:

Because they didn’t know it’d overlap months ago. COVID kinda messed things up.  

District Tournaments in Florida have been on the FHSAA website since June.  That has not changed accept for Region 4, but the dates are still the same.  A couple of districts were scheduled on 10/14 which is the Pre-SAT date and they had to recently reschedule.  Covid hasn't messed anything up thus far in terms of scheduling the state tournament.

[heavy_hitter]

3 minutes ago, iteachgolf said:

School didn’t pay for anything. They don’t have bags and had to purchase all their own polos and hats.  Same for most schools in this area.  We just aren’t gonna agree on this. The school “practices” by chipping on the baseball field and don’t even have playing privileges anywhere except when they play matches.  It’s a joke 

But the kids committed to the "Joke".

 

I respect your opinion.  But it is incorrect when it comes to teaching kids right and wrong.  It is far more than golf.  It is like the dad who let's his kid quit the football team because he is bored, doesn't get to play, it is too hard.  When you start something you finish it.  

Edited October 8, 2020 by heavy_hitter

[iteachgolf]

15 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

But the kids committed to the "Joke".

 

I respect your opinion.  But it is incorrect when it comes to teaching kids right and wrong.  It is far more than golf.  It is like the dad who let's his kid quit the football team because he is bored, doesn't get to play, it is too hard.  When you start something you finish it.  

I can assure you they didn’t know what it’d be like as they were all going to play for a different school and switched like 3 days before school started because the school they were planning to play for decided not to have a team this year.  And they weren’t given the choice to play high school golf or not.  Tried to convince their parents to let them not play high school golf all summer.  

[GolfSRQ]

9 minutes ago, iteachgolf said:

I can assure you they didn’t know what it’d be like as they were all going to play for a different school and switched like 3 days before school started because the school they were planning to play for decided not to have a team this year.  And they weren’t given the choice to play high school golf or not.  Tried to convince their parents to let them not play high school golf all summer.  

Yes , but they did play.    I don’t think it’s good to teach the kids it’s ok to bail  on their team.  

[iteachgolf]

5 minutes ago, GolfSRQ said:

Yes , but they did play.    I don’t think it’s good to teach the kids it’s ok to bail  on their team.  

But it’s cool to make them play high school sports?  I dont think it’s bailing to miss one event that they will easily get through even without them. They would have played in regionals and state’s only missing districts. 

[tiger1873]

9 minutes ago, GolfSRQ said:

Yes , but they did play.    I don’t think it’s good to teach the kids it’s ok to bail  on their team.  

 

This isn't bailing on the their team. The kids don't go to the school even if they did they should pursue there best opportunity .    AJGA is a National tournament kids are playing against kids from all the world.   The team shouldn't be that dependent on them the team otherwise it really isn't a team.   It's not like we are talking about deep comitment here to the school based on what we know.

[heavy_hitter]

18 minutes ago, iteachgolf said:

But it’s cool to make them play high school sports?  I dont think it’s bailing to miss one event that they will easily get through even without them. They would have played in regionals and state’s only missing districts. 

 

So what do you tell the kids that played in Districts who won't get to play in Regionals?