Opinion on AJGA Ranking?

[heavy_hitter]

10 hours ago, kcap said:

All this hate.  
 

Well, i like the AJGA. Not sure about the girls but the boys competition is awesome.  Give me another tour where you need to shoot close to par over two rounds just to make the cut and need to shoot well under par to win.

 

 

 

FJT

SCPGA

SJGT

 

[heavy_hitter]

9 hours ago, tiger1873 said:

 

Here is what I don’t understand if you exempt you can can pick and choose at will.  Also there is a good chance many of these same kids get invited to invitationals.

 

 

 

This is 100% false for guys.  Sergio Garcia has a plethora of FE on the alternate list.  It goes by ranking.  Then they let kids in "Sponsors Exemption" over the kids that deserve to be in.  Justin Thomas is the same way.  FE doesn't get you into everything.

Edited March 9, 2023 by heavy_hitter

[heavy_hitter]

2 hours ago, Jkhogbear said:

There is a lot of hate in here about AJGA and I don’t get it either.  We have had nothing but positive experiences with it. 

It isn't hate, it is reality.  You can have positive experiences within an institution all while the principles/philosophies of that institution being a train wreck.  AJGA, AAU Hoops, AT&T, Facebook, Comcast, United Way all fit that bill along with a ton of other organizations and companies. 

Edited March 9, 2023 by heavy_hitter

[tiger1873]

16 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

This is 100% false for guys.  Sergio Garcia has a plethora of FE on the alternate list.  It goes by ranking.  Then they let kids in "Sponsors Exemption" over the kids that deserve to be in.  Justin Thomas is the same way.  FE doesn't get you into everything.

 

Even more reason to just wait a month or two and play stuff that makes sense.  I know for boys playing AJGA is even more frustrating. If your exempt you can pretty much get into a bunch events after all the first 5 events that everyone who exempt thinks they have to play.

 

From June - sept it should be pretty easy to find 5 events you want to play.

 

None this needs to be like this either.  All they need to do is do away with the whole star system and come with a way to gain status and have more events spread out.

 

There is no reason they don't have more spots at qualifiers and incorporate them into rankings so you can gain status.

 

 

[tiger1873]

Something else that hasn't be said. People say just do qualifiers and while that is technically true you have no idea how many spots are available until you play.

 

You really show up them blind and have no clue if there is 6 spots or 1 spot available.  With 1 spot available you could easily have a great day under par and still not get in and leave with 1 star.   While at another qualifier you can shoot 90 and still get in.

 

 

[Movingday]

30 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

FJT

SCPGA

SJGT

 

Sneds Elite

[tiger1873]

51 minutes ago, heavy_hitter said:

FJT

SCPGA

SJGT

 

 

I do agree these events have good competition the biggest issue is they regional in nature. Technically AJGA is supposed to be a national competition.

 

The problem is that is what they advertise but when I look at the events they have same kids that play the same tours you listed. 

 

At the end of the day it's just like any other events these kids play but with AJGA on the starting tee.

 

I will be the first admit we come with reasons why we need to play AJGA but at the same time I have ask would you be as excited to play the same fields if AJGA tent wasn't at the starting tee?

 

Are you ok with traveling and spending $300 a night for a hotel for an event just because it's AJGA. 

 

The truth is I wouldn't be as excited about it and neither would a lot other people. I can say this with absolute confidence because I see the same fields played every week on other tours and no one cares about that.

 

 

Edited March 9, 2023 by tiger1873

[Jkhogbear]

12 minutes ago, tiger1873 said:

 

I do agree these events have good competition the biggest issue is they regional in nature. Technically AJGA is supposed to be a national competition.

 

The problem is that is what they advertise but when I look at the events they have same kids that play the same tours you listed. 

 

At the end of the day it's just like any other events these kids play but with AJGA on the starting tee.

 

I will be the first admit we come with reasons why we need to play AJGA but at the same time I have ask would you be as excited to play the same fields if AJGA tent wasn't at the starting tee?

 

Are you ok with traveling and spending $300 a night for a hotel for an event just because it's AJGA. 

 

The truth is I wouldn't be as excited about it and neither would a lot other people. I can say this with absolute confidence because I see the same fields played every week on other tours and no one cares about that.

 

 

Yeah not sure that’s accurate.  I picked a random Florida ajga tournament from last year (Sung Park).   There are girls from NJ, NC, Mexico, GA, China, Nebraska and Ohio among others there.

[allenartlab]

1 hour ago, Jkhogbear said:

Yeah not sure that’s accurate.  I picked a random Florida ajga tournament from last year (Sung Park).   There are girls from NJ, NC, Mexico, GA, China, Nebraska and Ohio among others there.

Yes most players in an AJGA open event are from the region but still many participants have travelled. For us, AJGA is the only venue to travel to if we want attention from coaches in regions different from home. 

[tiger1873]

1 hour ago, Jkhogbear said:

Yeah not sure that’s accurate.  I picked a random Florida ajga tournament from last year (Sung Park).   There are girls from NJ, NC, Mexico, GA, China, Nebraska and Ohio among others there.

 

 

In florida we see a lot the same girls from out state play FJT, HJGT and other events all the time.  A lot those kids actually live in Florida during the winter.

 

The invitationals on the other have have a lot better fields and kids from all over.

[wegobomber31]

My son played in one of the early AJGA events and is likely doing the Justin Thomas in April. The advantage of playing early is you can pivot as needed for the rest of the summer. If he locks up Fully Exempt status early, I would have him target the Open’s with the best competition and not worry about a top 5. 
 

If the AJGA were to add tournaments, I’d like to see them add a “Freshman Open”, “Sophomore open” and maybe “Junior but not yet verballed Open”. Really give college coaches the opportunity to target exactly what they might be looking for. 

[golfortennis]

4 hours ago, heavy_hitter said:

This is 100% false for guys.  Sergio Garcia has a plethora of FE on the alternate list.  It goes by ranking.  Then they let kids in "Sponsors Exemption" over the kids that deserve to be in.  Justin Thomas is the same way.  FE doesn't get you into everything.

 

Are you saying you see kids who shouldn't be in the field come out of the woods and get in?

[heavy_hitter]

2 hours ago, golfortennis said:

 

Are you saying you see kids who shouldn't be in the field come out of the woods and get in?

Yes.  Happens all the time with AJGA.  A donation, sponsor exemption, host facility gets a couple of exemptions.

[heavy_hitter]

3 hours ago, wegobomber31 said:

My son played in one of the early AJGA events and is likely doing the Justin Thomas in April. The advantage of playing early is you can pivot as needed for the rest of the summer. If he locks up Fully Exempt status early, I would have him target the Open’s with the best competition and not worry about a top 5. 
 

If the AJGA were to add tournaments, I’d like to see them add a “Freshman Open”, “Sophomore open” and maybe “Junior but not yet verballed Open”. Really give college coaches the opportunity to target exactly what they might be looking for. 

If he isn't fully exempt, is he getting into the JT?

 

One of the issues with AJGA is allowing kids with a Signed Commitment as a Senior to continue to play Opens.  A committed Senior has no business playing in them.  This allows more opportunities for other kids to play.  

Edited March 9, 2023 by heavy_hitter

[wegobomber31]

1 hour ago, heavy_hitter said:

If he isn't fully exempt, is he getting into the JT?

 

One of the issues with AJGA is allowing kids with a Signed Commitment as a Senior to continue to play Opens.  A committed Senior has no business playing in them.  This allows more opportunities for other kids to play.  

he’s fully exempt for this year, not yet for next year. 

[Tannerbug33]

I sure would love to see the AJGA chime in on this. Would be nice to see some reasoning are a least know they are a little concerned. 

[Noles]

2 hours ago, heavy_hitter said:

If he isn't fully exempt, is he getting into the JT?

 

One of the issues with AJGA is allowing kids with a Signed Commitment as a Senior to continue to play Opens.  A committed Senior has no business playing in them.  This allows more opportunities for other kids to play.  

I agree with this.  My son did not play in any AJGA events last summer.  Both of us were happy to not be involved anymore.  

[Jkhogbear]

14 minutes ago, Noles said:

I agree with this.  My son did not play in any AJGA events last summer.  Both of us were happy to not be involved anymore.  

Yeah I don’t know about that.  In our area, there aren’t many state type tournaments but there are plenty of drivable AJGAs.  It’s actually cheaper for us to go to those than some fly to others.  Your kid is trying to improve and get ready for college competition .  Should they not play in any junior events? No Pete dye junior,  Dustin Johnson junior, or Bubba conlee?  There aren’t a ton of amateur events either.  I’ve seen kids shut it down after signing and regress and aren’t ready for college competition. 

Edited March 10, 2023 by Jkhogbear

[Noles]

1 hour ago, Jkhogbear said:

Yeah I don’t know about that.  In our area, there aren’t many state type tournaments but there are plenty of drivable AJGAs.  It’s actually cheaper for us to go to those than some fly to others.  Your kid is trying to improve and get ready for college competition .  Should they not play in any junior events? No Pete dye junior,  Dustin Johnson junior, or Bubba conlee?  There aren’t a ton of amateur events either.  I’ve seen kids shut it down after signing and regress and aren’t ready for college competition. 

He played plenty of events, junior, state and local.  Just no AJGA.  Our local section is great.  Amateurs all over the mid Atlantic come to play in the amateur events.

[Jkhogbear]

50 minutes ago, Noles said:

He played plenty of events, junior, state and local.  Just no AJGA.  Our local section is great.  Amateurs all over the mid Atlantic come to play in the amateur events.

Yeah, but some regions don’t have great local tours.  Everyone assumes there is this great local tour you can play in besides AJGA.  For most of the geography of the country that is not the the case.   

[Noles]

8 minutes ago, Jkhogbear said:

Yeah, but some regions don’t have great local tours.  Everyone assumes there is this great local tour you can play in besides AJGA.  For most of the geography of the country that is not the the case.   

I was only speaking about my son and myself.

[heavy_hitter]

20 hours ago, golfortennis said:

woods and get in?

It may be a possibility at some point.

[heavy_hitter]

14 hours ago, Jkhogbear said:

Yeah I don’t know about that.  In our area, there aren’t many state type tournaments but there are plenty of drivable AJGAs.  It’s actually cheaper for us to go to those than some fly to others.  Your kid is trying to improve and get ready for college competition .  Should they not play in any junior events? No Pete dye junior,  Dustin Johnson junior, or Bubba conlee?  There aren’t a ton of amateur events either.  I’ve seen kids shut it down after signing and regress and aren’t ready for college competition. 

AJGA is just a tour.  That is it.  DJ, Pete Dye, etc. are more like majors while an AJGA open is not.  Even within a state with no junior events, you could still travel to other state to play in men's or women's AM events.  There are also several College Golf Tours as well as professional mini tours.  Plenty to play in if you look for it.

[leezer99]

AJGA ranking is more important for recruiting than your JGS ranking.

 

Do whatever you have to do to rise in the AJGA rankings to secure your spot on a highly ranked program. 

[Oliver Klozoff]

I have a huge problem with the AJGA.  I played in them way back when and played college and mini tours, and my kids played in a couple of them (and won one).  And my problem is access.  1) kids in certain areas have far more and far easier access to play in these events  2)  if a kid plays another sport (or multiple ones), they are gonna fall behind and not be able to get into events as easily as those that start when under 13 years old.  Which is sad, because not all parents and kids are willing to devote themselves solely to golf at age 12.  But the ones that play only golf will get the stars needed to play in the older age group events.   

 

College coaches use AJGA and JGS to justify their own existence.  They want to be able to say ... my recruit was #84 on JGS/AJGA and that makes their AD think they are doing a good job.  But the reality is except for the top tier schools getting the top 50 recruits (where they are obviously dedicated and aweomse) ... the coaches should be looking for things that are gonna make a kid good at age 20, not that made them good at age 15.  Like are they gonna get better, are they consistent, can they handle pressure, how did they do against adults in state ams, hand eye coordination, and more importantly the willingness to work to get better when there are better things to do in college.

 

Sadly it's a game you have to play for your kid to play college golf, but having been at a top level in college and playing pro events ... my opinion is a lot of these college coaches are mostly clueless van drivers

Edited September 7, 2023 by Oliver Klozoff

[Oliver Klozoff]

12 minutes ago, golfofbust23 said:

 

You do not need stars to play AJGA events. All you need to do is play qualifiers to get in.  The biggest issue with AJGA is it out of reach for middle class kids.  Poor Kids get free money from the ACE grants and families who can afford it end up playing the most.

 

Those kids then end up playing the most and get into invitationals which will almost guarantee your kid in a top 100 spot in JGS.

 

Yes, but the qualifiers are tough.  Most took 71 or better to get in for like 4-6 spots.  The kids with the stars built up from the under age 13 tournaments got in automatically.  Sure, you are supposed to be good enough to shoot 71 and fortunately my kids usually did.  But there were certainly kids that didn't qualify that were better than the lower level exempt kids that were in like IMG and game the system from a young age.  There were a number of kids that would injury withdraw at each event simply not to have a bad finish. 

 

We gave up because of mostly the travel involved and my kids decided going to a great academic school was better than playing lower level D1 golf.  They had that option and given how hard it is to carry golf  through to a career I am glad they did. 

 

Personally I'm more impressed with the 15-17 year old that wins their state open, gets deep into the state am match play, or wins amateur invitationals than the kid beating other 16 year olds.

Edited September 7, 2023 by Oliver Klozoff

[John119]

8 hours ago, leezer99 said:

AJGA ranking is more important for recruiting than your JGS ranking.

 

Do whatever you have to do to rise in the AJGA rankings to secure your spot on a highly ranked program. 

Not true! 

Why you think that? 

[leezer99]

4 hours ago, John119 said:

Not true! 

Why you think that? 

Everyone knows JGS is a sham. 

[RobS]

11 hours ago, Oliver Klozoff said:

I have a huge problem with the AJGA.  I played in them way back when and played college and mini tours, and my kids played in a couple of them (and won one).  And my problem is access.  1) kids in certain areas have far more and far easier access to play in these events  2)  if a kid plays another sport (or multiple ones), they are gonna fall behind and not be able to get into events as easily as those that start when under 13 years old.  Which is sad, because not all parents and kids are willing to devote themselves solely to golf at age 12.  But the ones that play only golf will get the stars needed to play in the older age group events.   

 

College coaches use AJGA and JGS to justify their own existence.  They want to be able to say ... my recruit was #84 on JGS/AJGA and that makes their AD think they are doing a good job.  But the reality is except for the top tier schools getting the top 50 recruits (where they are obviously dedicated and aweomse) ... the coaches should be looking for things that are gonna make a kid good at age 20, not that made them good at age 15.  Like are they gonna get better, are they consistent, can they handle pressure, how did they do against adults in state ams, hand eye coordination, and more importantly the willingness to work to get better when there are better things to do in college.

 

Sadly it's a game you have to play for your kid to play college golf, but having been at a top level in college and playing pro events ... my opinion is a lot of these college coaches are mostly clueless van drivers

Hard to disagree with this.  It's a game and if you don't play it right, you're on the outside looking in.  Even if you do play it right, the travel, time and expense is a heavy lift.  The Executive Director makes around $1m a year.  I almost feel on the floor when I discovered that.

[allenartlab]

17 hours ago, leezer99 said:

Everyone knows JGS is a sham. 

Some college coaches still use that as a reference. Actually, I begin to think the only motivation to maintain a higher JGS ranking is for recruiting purpose. Correct me if wrong, there is hardly any big tournament you can get in based solely on JGS ranking.