Masters Starts April 5th for Junior Golfers

By: Nancy Berkley


If you know a child from the ages of 7 to 15 who likes golf or might like golf, then make sure your TV is set to watch the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship on Sunday morning April 5th at 9 a.m EDT. Yes, it's "Masters Week" at Augusta, and this tournament for 80 youngsters opens the week's annual harbinger of the golf season.

This is the second year of the Drive, Chip & Putt Championship at the Masters. You might recall that a young girl named Lucy Li won last year's tournament in her age division. And then she went on to qualify for the 2014 USGA Women's Open as the youngest qualifier in the championship's history.

You have got to give the folks at the Masters and Augusta National Golf Club credit. They make a lot of money producing this premier tournament, but they do have a "give-back-to-the-game" philosophy. And, to their credit, they are focusing on juniors.

A decade ago, leaders in the U.S. golf industry were hoping that retiring Baby Boomers would take to the links and fill the empty tee times left by aging male golfers. That didn't happen.

Instead, the junior segment may hold the key to growth of golf in the country. So it's no surprise that the game's other two major stakeholders, the USGA and PGA of America, join the Masters in sponsoring the Drive, Chip & Putt for girls and boys ages 7-15.

As part of an enlightened Masters marketing strategy, on Monday March 23rd Bubba Watson appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon to promote the Drive Chip & Putt Championship. Bubba's appearance introducing "Pie-in the face-golf" makes marketing sense. It's the Gen-X parents watching the show who will introduce their kids to golf.

The 80 girls and boys competing this year have won their local and regional qualifiers. The tournaments are divided into girls and boys competitions and by age.

It's hard work to make the "cut" for this tournament. To qualify, the entrants must show skill in three golf shots: the drive, chip and putt. Based on their performance in each category, they earn points for how well they do. According to my read of the competition, a "chip-in" may be worth more points than a few more yards on a drive.

It would be great if every young golfer could just go out there and compete with these 80 kids. But most of the young golfers in the Drive, Pitch & Putt Championship have showed great promise at a young age and many are already being seriously and professionally coached. Meanwhile, your son or daughter might not be the next Bubba or Lydia Ko.

So instead, as you sit with your favorite young golfer and watch the Drive Chip & Putt Championship, talk instead about how much dedication it takes to be good at whatever challenge she or he may face. Observe how these young competitors control their emotions. How do they behave when they do well, and what happens when they don't live up to their own expectations?

The way we play golf says a lot about the way we live our lives. Hopefully, the announcers covering the Drive, Pitch & Putt Championship recognize that young people are watching and this is an opportunity to inspire juniors and encourage behaviors that not only may bring success to golf but for living a fulfilling life.

For those wondering whether the child sitting next to them should try to qualify for the Drive, Chip & Putt next year, visit www.DriveChipandPuttt.com for more details.

Nancy Berkley, President of Berkley Golf Consulting, is an expert on women's golf and junior-girls golf. She is a frequent contributor to www.cybergolf.com/womensgolf. Her book, "Women Welcome Here! A Guide to Growing Women's Golf," published by the National Golf Foundation, is an industry reference on marketing golf to women and spotting trends within the industry. She offers information and advice about the golf industry on www.berkleygolfconsulting.com and is often quoted in national publications. Nancy is a member of the World Golf Foundation Women's Committee that launched www.golfforher.com a comprehensive new website for all women golfers at the PGA Merchandise Show in January 2015 in Orlando, Fla. She is a featured speaker at PGA Section meetings and at national conferences. She was a contributing editor of "Golf for Women" magazine and a founding advisor of "Golfer Girl Magazine." Her interviews with women in the golf industry now appear on www.golfergirlcareers.com. Nancy lives in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, Harvard University and Rutgers Law School. After a business and legal career, she decided to write about the game she learned and loved as a teenager. She describes herself as a good bogey golfer with permanent potential.