Junior Editor

Hi All,

Thankfully it looks like we are moving into Spring and our weekly Saturday competition for Juniors is now up and running. We would like to welcome our new junior members. We have over 20 new juniors who have joined this year. We have allocated all our juniors into the categories of 7Ups, Whites, Reds and Blue as follows:

2024 Juniors Master Spreadsheet (30 April 2024)

WhatsApp groups have been set up so also you know which group your child is in. As we go through the season we will communicate through the WhatsApp and the website in relation to our weekly competitions. The target for each child is to move from whatever category they are currently in up to the next category by the end of the season.

A couple of points we would like to bring to your attention:

Time Sheet:

• The timesheet for the Saturday competitions will go live on the proceeding Tuesday evening at 8.15pm. If the lines are full for the category your child is in, please ring the pro-shop (01 2875308) and they will provide more lines for that category. Just because a timesheet is full, this does not mean your child cannot play!
• If your child is on the timesheet but can’t play, can you please remove their name by Friday evening latest. This allows us to plan the afternoon golf.
• At times we will have to change pairings and timings on the timesheet so can you double check the timesheet on a Saturday morning to see the time your child is playing (using the BRS App).
• We would encourage all players to arrive 30 minutes before their tee time to give plenty of time to check in and spend some time on the putting green and chipping green.

Safeguarding:

• We would encourage all parents to review the Junior Members handbook with their child and in particular the behaviour we expect of our juniors on the course and around the clubhouse.

https://www.greystonesgc.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Greystones-Golf-Club-Junior-Members-Handbook-2024.pdf

• As part of our safeguarding policy we attach a juniors code of conduct sheet and a parents code of conduct:

Code of Conduct sheets

• We request that these forms are signed and returned to the office by email or hard copy. We would appreciate if this could be done within the next two weeks so our Junior Committee members can focus on providing golfing activities rather than chasing up on admin!

Pace of Play:

• It is important that all juniors are aware of pace of play in competitions. The competitions are stableford and if a player can’t score on a hole they must pick up and move on to the next hole, irrespective of which category they are playing in.
• Our competitions are run with each category playing in a three-ball format. For our Blues, this means 18 holes should take no longer than 3 hours 30 minutes, for Reds nine holes should take no longer than 1 hour 45 minutes and for our Whites and 7Ups, six holes should take no longer than 1 hour 15 minutes.
• Unfortunately we have had some instances of very slow play in the first few weeks of competitions. If you are holding up the group behind, you are playing slow. If you lose ground on the group in front, you are playing slow. When we hit peak season, we hope to have over 60 boys and girls playing each week. We can only do this with everyone maintaining an acceptable pace of play.
• For our Whites and 7Ups, it is the responsibility of the parents to ensure that this pace of play is maintained.
• The competitions are not for practice! All juniors are encouraged to use the junior practice green at anytime during the week to practice so that competition time is for playing! Similarly, on course coaching from parents is not allowed. We fully appreciate that golf is a difficult game and we all hit bad shots. Encouragement and not coaching is what will get the kids through the round if they are having a bad day!

Parents Accompanying Groups:

• Each White and 7Up group must have an adult accompanying them on the course. The Junior Committee actively encourages all parents to caddy as it can be very difficult for one parent to manage three children who are new to golf.
• We have moved a lot of boys and girls from Whites to Reds this year. Over the past few years we have found this to be a big transition, not only playing extra holes, but also doing so with no parent walking with the group. With this in mind, and with a view to ensuring as smooth a transition as possible, we are actively encouraging parents of new Reds to walk with their child’s group the first few months. The Junior Committee believes this will greatly benefit all of those boys and girls transition in a more meaningful way.

Parents Competition Roster:

• Given the number of boys and girls playing each week, we can only run our competitions with the help of parents.
• We run a parents roster, split into Blues, Reds and Whites/7Ups whose primary tasks on the day are:
• Starting: ensuring each player had paid their competition entry, has a score card, knows their handicap, marks their attendance and playing group on the Attendance Sheet and ensures they tee-off on time;
• Mark all score cards after the competition; and
• Present all prizes for that category once all scores are in and marked.
• The roster leads for each category are: Blues: Neil Lawless; Reds: Brian Murray; Whites/7Ups: Niall Kavanagh
• We need 10 or more parents for each category who can commit to ideally one Saturday every five weeks – one as the starter and one as the scorecard marker and to present the prizes. This will be an hour or twos time commitment, without which we will not be able to run our competitions.
• For the Reds roster, this will also include one parent who will drive around the front nine in a buggy to ensure that the pace of play is maintained.
• Neil, Brian and Niall will be in touch with you through the relevant WhatsApp groups over the coming days.

Handicap Management:

• Blues play an 18 hole competition every Saturday, while Reds play 9 holes and both the Whites and 7Ups play 6 holes. The timesheet is set up by category, so a Red for example can only play in the Red competition in the designated time slots with two other Red category members. Please note that Whites and 7Ups cannot mix either.
• The boys and girls move between categories as their handicaps reduce:
• 7Ups start with a handicap of 54 and move to Whites when their handicap reduces to 24
• Whites start at 54 and move to Reds when their handicap reduces to 18
• Reds start at 36 and move to Blues when their handicap reduces to 18 (subject to Junior Committee assessment)
• The Junior Committee manages handicaps for all 7Ups, Whites and Reds (except for those with a WHS handicap) and all category changes are subject to Junior Committee approval. All handicap cuts are based on completed competition scores only. All Blues receive WHS handicaps and their handicaps are managed accordingly.
• Any changes in handicaps and category will be advised in our weekly competition results post which follows every Junior Competition.

Weekly Prizegiving:

• Golf is a social game, and it is very important that our boys and girls enjoy the social side as much as the golf itself.
• We hold a weekly prizegiving in the Clubhouse and the Junior Committee actively encourages all children who play, and their parents, to attend. For some, the nuggets and chips are the highlight of the golfing day, and Ali, Liz, Olivia and Lucas are always on hand to feed the hungry kids.

2024 Majors

• The Junior Committee is currently reviewing the playing calendar and will announce dates for our “majors” over the coming weeks – Captains Prize, Presidents Prize and Professionals Prize.
• The cost of entry for our majors this year will be €10 (including prizes and food afterwards). We had to subsidise the cost of our majors in recent years so we hope everyone will understand the decision taken to increase the entry fee.

The Junior Committee