JUNIOR GOLF Spotlight

2020 has, thus far, been a brutal year for youth athletics. About the time COVID-19 reared its ugly head in the United States, you would normally have seen young athletes wrap up basketball season before dusting off their gear for baseball and soccer. All those sports were put on hold, and some aren’t even coming back for the summer.

The first thing to come back online in many areas has been golf. Courses began opening across the country in May and players flocked to them. It wasn’t just seasoned players, it was junior golfers, many of whom had never touched a club before.

Some states have reported an increase in the number of registered players in their respective junior golf programs.

In Medford, Oregon, the Southern Oregon Golf Academy has been back up and running for several weeks. Kids are getting ready to play in events starting in June and have been able to practice and learn using appropriate social distancing techniques.

In Arizona, one of the first states to bring golf back in a big way, juniors are already playing in tournaments again. The Tucson City Junior Championship kicked off what is sure to be a busy summer schedule.

Junior golfers recently took over Papago Golf Course in Phoenix, Arizona

Oregon, Washington, and California junior programs are just now getting their tournament schedules back on track.

In other parts of the country, U.S. Kids Golf, which offers tournament golf to kids 6-18 years old, listed a comprehensive protocol for its dozens of local tours, ranging from social distancing, to players printing and bringing their own scorecards, to nixing post-round handshakes and awards ceremonies.

U.S. Kids Golf has already announced that it will host the 2020 World Championships at Pinehurst Golf Resort in late July. The event will feature nearly 1,500 players from around the world.

Do you have a child just getting into golf? Share your photos with us on Instagram or Facebook!

Golfers in Southern Oregon spread out to study.