Junior World Tournaments

[darter79]

On 7/18/2022 at 1:06 PM, heavy_hitter said:

Cobra LTDxLS is the longest driver on the market.

There is no single longest driver out there. Each person miles will vary. But the Cobra is a beast this year. 

[wildcatden]

 

On 6/19/2022 at 10:46 AM, wildcatden said:

 

USKG - Never been. Too expensive to come from the West Coast for me. I hear it is a well run tournament. Apparently, if you win your age group, you are ranked #1 for the year (according to Instagram). 😉

 

IMG Worlds - Been once. Highly recommend but I am biased as the cost is lower. Didn't qualify this year.

 

FCG Worlds - Never been.  Would consider going as it is closer to me. Going to FCG International this year because the FCG Worlds didn't fit schedule. Both of these you don't really need to qualify for like IMG Worlds as they are not as "premiere" as the others.

 

COC - Never been. Never heard of it. No chance we are going unless I win the lottery.

 

How serious? There are reports of parents taking their kids 2-3 weeks early for USKG Worlds to play multitudes of practice rounds.  Hiring local caddies (at least for practice rounds) to get the inside scoops.  Bringing along coaches, mental coaches, etc, etc, etc.....  Keep in mind, this is for kids 12 and under!!  The junior golf arms race knows no bounds.

 

 

 

11 minutes ago, darter79 said:

Not 2-3 weeks. Change weeks to months. The kid in our age group has won 3/4 worlds. They rent a house there for the entire summer. A lot of the kids who finish high do the same thing, and I think getting there a week early helps hahahaha. 

 

Months? That is insanity.

 

[eddiebigeddie]

On 7/15/2022 at 1:57 PM, kekoa said:

Just wrapped up the IMG tournament.  Another great experience with some heavy competition.  Just some advice.  Unless your junior is fairly long off the tee for the age, I'd say its best to try and play ones where you kid is older within a certain division.  My son is average at best on distance so it becomes very difficult to compete with the kids hitting it 260+.  They are normally hitting short irons or wedges into par 4's.  My son was coming in with a lot of 7irons to 5 hybrids.  The distance variance was even worse on the par 5's, which were playing into the wind and long.

 

Just for laughs, this is my son's pairing on the final day.  The kid in the middle won las year and was one of the nicest 16 yr olds I have ever met.  LMAO!!

 

 

Don't worry, it will come for your son too.  My son from age 13 to 14 (literally in a 5-6 month window) sprouted up out of nowhere.  He went from hitting it 215-220 to 240-245.  Then his freshman year (this past year) he grew another inch maybe two, but had a weight lifting class all school year.  Now at 15 and heading into his Sophmore year he's hitting it 275 with ease and getting over 300 when he actually swings hard.  It was an eye opener for me to see his change in that 1.5 years and especially in that first 6 month window.  Best of luck to your son in whatever tourneys he plays.

[heavy_hitter]

17 hours ago, eddiebigeddie said:

Don't worry, it will come for your son too.  My son from age 13 to 14 (literally in a 5-6 month window) sprouted up out of nowhere.  He went from hitting it 215-220 to 240-245.  Then his freshman year (this past year) he grew another inch maybe two, but had a weight lifting class all school year.  Now at 15 and heading into his Sophmore year he's hitting it 275 with ease and getting over 300 when he actually swings hard.  It was an eye opener for me to see his change in that 1.5 years and especially in that first 6 month window.  Best of luck to your son in whatever tourneys he plays.

Weight lifting is the key.  

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CgPxgMOgebu/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

[MRx747]

Crazy stuff.... went to the Ireland COC and caught covid the last couple of days since the fever didn't kick in until my first day back, been back for about 3 weeks and is feeling much better these past couple of days.

 

Here to share my experience. ( Golf )

 

They said it was summer there, and some were sweating like crazy in the sun, but I couldn't tell at all, it was colder than Cali winter to me, lucky I packed winter clothing for my family. I had on a jacket all 4 days out on the course, while some were in polos and shorts.

 

It was very fresh to see a lot of new faces, most are from Europe, but was surprise to see around a dozen or so kids from the states as well. Definitely a different crowd compare to the junior world level tournaments like the IMG and FCG. There were some from the States, a few from South Africa, a couple from Asia, and Australia, so it was more like a European Champions. Very different from the IMG and FCG.

 

The age tier was a huge gap, made it very uncompetitive for the younger kids in certain tiers. I can only speak for the U12 where my boys played in. We heard the top 3 kids were all 12 turning 13 a couple weeks after the tournament, I actually heard from the runner up kid say the winner of the U12 kids was actually already 13. I personally think they should have made the age groups a little closer, but heard from a few locals, with only 250 total competitors, its the only way to give each age group that junior world numbers vibe. 

 

The resort ( Lough Erne ) they held the tournament was very nice ( rooms were on the more expensive side ), they had two course on the same resort, so day 1 was on the older course and day 2 and 3 it was held on the newer and nicer course. It was around 4500-4600 yards if I remembered correctly which is about right for 10 year olds, definitely short for the older kids, although I must admit, the day 2 and 3 course ( The Faldo Championship course ) did not give much advantage to longer hitters on certain holes, but we all know driving 240-250 yards by the 12yo holds such an advantage over the 160-170 by the 10yo, they were playing the PAR 5's like Par 4s and they made the PAR 3's very long due to the hole in one prize they don't really want to give out, so the Par 3 and 5's were big advantages for the older kids, or kids with longer distances.  Another thing was the no coaching rule, supposedly all a parent caddy can do is push the cart, no yardages, club sections can be given, but seem like it was more smoke to push pace, I saw so many parents coaching without getting a 2 stroke penalty like they said they were going to. Aside from this, everything was very well ran, they carry probably the coolest tournament name of all the junior world tournaments, "The Champion of Champions".

 

We actually enjoyed our time there so much, we are making plans to go back next summer, of course lots can change, but it is definitely a well ran and organized tournament.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MahalNeneng]

Almost every winner on the PGA over past years their best stat for the week as been Approach (sprinkle in some driving, short game and some putting) Tough to make birdies/eagles without hitting the green consistently.

 

 

 

 

[Ray Jackson]

On 7/21/2022 at 9:16 AM, heavy_hitter said:

Weight lifting is the key.  

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CgPxgMOgebu/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

My son is 13, will be 14 close to the end of this calendar year. He works out at least 4 days a week, mainly weights to increase strength (deadlifts/bench/ pull downs) and 1 or twice a week with a Fit for Golf workout (speed/mobility/band work). He’s 5’5 and about 127lbs and carry’s it 265. Now if we can just improve his short game and wedges. 

[Galvin Lux]

Why would anyone travel to Ireland to play unless it's a vacation?