Girls Golf Tournaments - 18 holes - 9-10 y.o.

[JKgolfer]

My daughter has played the last couple of years in the US Kids Worlds and I think she'll get an invite next year based on her priority level from the scores she shot at Worlds (although she was outside the top 20).

 

She'll be in the 10 year old division next year where they'll play 18 holes each day.  It seems like this will be a significant transition, going from 9 hole tournament golf to 18 hole tournament golf.  We can play 18 hole practice rounds, but its not quite the same as tournament golf.

 

I've looked at other tours and can't seem to find a good 18 hole option for her over the next year to prepare for Worlds.  Hurricane Junior may be an option, but hardly any girls play those in our region (Mid-Atlantic).  US kids is 9 hole locals and Peggy Kirk Bell is only discovery series which is also 9 holes.   Our local PGA section is also 9 holes unless you qualify for the bigger tournaments, and those are geared towards 12-13 year old girls with yardages in the ~5000+ range - that's  high for my daughter at this time.

 

I'd like to find some 18 hole competitions at around 4200 yards or so - any ideas?

[Medson]

5 hours ago, JKgolfer said:

My daughter has played the last couple of years in the US Kids Worlds and I think she'll get an invite next year based on her priority level from the scores she shot at Worlds (although she was outside the top 20).

 

She'll be in the 10 year old division next year where they'll play 18 holes each day.  It seems like this will be a significant transition, going from 9 hole tournament golf to 18 hole tournament golf.  We can play 18 hole practice rounds, but its not quite the same as tournament golf.

 

I've looked at other tours and can't seem to find a good 18 hole option for her over the next year to prepare for Worlds.  Hurricane Junior may be an option, but hardly any girls play those in our region (Mid-Atlantic).  US kids is 9 hole locals and Peggy Kirk Bell is only discovery series which is also 9 holes.   Our local PGA section is also 9 holes unless you qualify for the bigger tournaments, and those are geared towards 12-13 year old girls with yardages in the ~5000+ range - that's  high for my daughter at this time.

 

I'd like to find some 18 hole competitions at around 4200 yards or so - any ideas?

 

At World, I talked with a few parents whose daughters are 10 yo. Almost all of them said their kids are very green in term of multi-day 18-hole competition. In that sense, it is an even playing field.

 

Having said this, a few things I can think of. 

 

  - Improve stamina. The biggest difference between playing 9-hole and 18-hole is if caddie's and kid's stamina can hold up. Walking 18-hole (probably 6-ish miles) a day, with elevation (Southern Pines has lots of elevation), in 90 degree heat and 80% humidity. And you need to do this in 3 straight days and probably add a few practice rounds on top of that. 

 

- Find whatever one-off 18-hole the kids can qualify to play. This will probably take some efforts on your part to find.

 

- Simulate tournament feel during practice rounds. After finishing front 9, challenge the kid if she can go even (or whatever the target score is) in the back 9. 

 

My daughter is in the same age group, and we are on the fence about next year because of the exact reason you outlined. We had fun this year because we got to do some non-golf stuff after 9-hole. It is gonna be a challenge for all of us next year. 

[Bizzle80]

Ditto here!

 

This was our first trip to Worlds and we definitely went for the whole experience...not so much focused on leaderboard. Out late at Cradle with kids every night was not conducive to scoring days 2 and 3. Went from Top 20 to Top 50 to Bottom 60...but had more fun than either of us could handle, which was our goal.

 

All the activities...you really didn't see any of the top kids at stuff like the pool party or out late in the evening at Thistle Du. Now I know why.

 

If we go next year at 10 definitely have to rethink the plan. 18/day in that heat is going to be brutal. I was wiped out physically after 9 and I'm in good shape, can't even imagine what it was like for a 9yo. Friends at So Pines said it was a real grind. We have a couple friends in that bracket that were top 20 and we never saw them because they just went home to rest and recuperate after each day.

 

There are a few regional events for USK that are 18 holes, but not enough to really prep. I figure we are just going to have to play more 18's on our own.