2011 Brown Deer Junior Program

Players Handbook

The Brown Deer Junior Golf program has been designed with the following goals in mind:

Introduce Youth to the great game of Golf with virtually unlimited play Teach golf etiquette and basic rules to young players Grow the game of golf through a positive youth golf experience and build a lifelong golfer Connect families through the game of golf Provide competitions at little or no cost to youth golfers

Eligible golfer will be 10-18 years of age and make a commitment to following the guidelines of the program. Interested participants are asked to attend an introductory meeting.

The introductory meetings will be held at Brown Deer and each potential participant must bring a parent or guardian to the meeting. Please register by calling 319-248-9300 or by email at [email protected]. Contact Brian if you are unable to attend to make other arrangements.

Cost for the program is $300 per player for the 2011 golf season. This includes introductory clinics on long and short game, monthly emails with tips and course specials, several drop-in clinics, and access to the course during designated hours. ------Monday All Day Note: On weekends we require that juniors must Tuesday Anytime of day before May 4 (Women’s be with an adult unless prior approval has been League begins May 4)After May 4 before 3:30 and after 5:30 pm given. Staff will stay in contact via email to supply Wednesday 11am-3pm and after 5:30pm other playing times that may become available. Thursday 11am-3pm and after 5:30pm Friday 10am-3pm - - Note** Many events are held These are guidelines for playing times and other Fridays, call ahead. times may be available on a walkon basis. Saturday After 1pm Sunday All Day

------NEW FOR 2011!!! – Brown Deer Junior Tour sponsored by Callaway Golf – This new weekly event will be available FREE to all Junior Members. Every Wednesday for 8 weeks (starting June 8) there will be an individual event starting at 7am. Players will be put in age groups to compete for prizes provided by Callaway Golf. Non-members need only to pay a $10 Junior Green Fee to participate. Information on how to sign up will be made available closer to the start of play. Contact Brian at [email protected] for more information.

Brown Deer PGA Professionals Brian Wernimont and Sean McCarty, as well as other club staff, will strive to provide a well-rounded and well-supported golf experience for all members of the Youth Program.

Please feel free to contact Brian anytime with questions and concerns you may have so that we can make this program the unique and positive experience it should be. Brian can be reached at [email protected] or at 319-248-9300. Introductory Clinics – Covering Full Swing and Short Game April 23 @10am May 14 @10am

Additional clinics will be offered throughout the summer June 15 @2pm June 30 @6pm July 7 @6pm July 28 @2pm

Drop-In Clinics – Instructor available for One Hour for basic tips June 12 @1pm June 26 @1pm July 3@1pm July 24 @1pm

Please review the following articles for useful information on etiquette and rules to assist you on your way. This information will also be covered in greater detail during our meetings and clinics throughout the summer.

Junior Golf Etiquette Life Lessons By Lin St. John

In no other sport and in no other competition like a Junior Golf Tournament is there such a powerful dynamic of you competing against yourself. You may believe you are competing against your fellow players or you may believe that you are competing against the . If you truly dig deep, however, you will discover that you are really competing against yourself.

“How so?” you ask. Much like the Book, The Legend of Baggar Vance, how you conduct yourself on the golf course and especially how you conduct yourself during a golf tournament, defines the very essence of who you are. Baggar Vance uses golf as a means of self-discovery. The Legend of Baggar Vance is not completely about winning or losing a golf tournament. It is about understanding oneself. Vance becomes Junah’s caddy and his advisor. The way Junah conducts his golf game and the way he conducts his life are one and the same. The game of golf serves as a road map for who he really is in life.

So what do we mean when we say you are competing against yourself? Starting with the absolute necessity to believe in oneself, all of the golfer’s actions on the golf course and all of the golfer’s emotions on the golf course contribute to success or failure in a tournament. In that way, you are really competing against yourself. Like Junah, you are also showing who you really are in life.

What are some examples of “golfer’s actions on the golf course” and “golfer’s emotions on the golf course” that contribute to your outcome and that define who you are as a person?

Consider these:

Do you do the right thing, even when no one else is looking? If you move your ball in the rough when no one else is looking, you only cheat yourself.

Are you courteous about staying on the putting green until everyone has putted out? Or, are you self-absorbed in your own game to the exclusion of those around you?

Do you give your opponents every consideration of courtesy? Or are you whispering during their swing when they are on the ?

These and many more examples all make up the basic courtesies of golf, or Golf Etiquette. Knowing Golf Etiquette will improve your game, prohibit you from making certain “no-nos”, and show the kind of person you are…your true character.

Why the Rules?

By Jeff Hall Director of Rules

Because it is the right thing to do.

In all sports there are rules. Rules for conduct and participation. This is true from the junior levels through to the professional levels. In organized sporting activities such as Little League baseball, someone, typically an adult, is responsible for administering the rules in a uniform manner without exception. But, when a pick-up game on the local playground gets underway, there rarely is someone there to take up the role of umpire or referee. This results in the participants serving as both players and officials. A tough task to say the least. It is difficult to concentrate on playing the game as best you can while having to worry about calling penalties.

Golf is different, very different. In golf, the player is expected to play their game to the best of their abilities and play by the rules. You see, the player must police himself in golf. This aspect of self-officiating is unique to golf. Have you ever seen a professional basketball player say to an official "you missed that call, I really did commit the foul"? How about a major league pitcher saying to the home plate umpire "that last pitch was much too high to be called a strike, change the call to ball four"?

What's the coolest aspect of this self-officiating? It takes place when you and a friend tee it up just for fun, or when great players, such as Arnold Palmer, Nancy Lopez or Tiger Woods, play in major championships. It applies to all golfers at all times. Yes, there are officials at all of the prominent golf tournaments around the world, and probably at each of the competitive events you play in. But by and large, golf officials only get involved in a ruling when the player has called for help.

The are uniform for all who play. The Rules are not different based on one's age or ability. Playing by the Rules of Golf is then a voluntary thing. Players do it because it is part of the game and expected of them. By receiving the same treatment under the Rules, all golfers have a means of comparing themselves based on their individual talents. The superstar professional does not get a better deal than the beginner. All that separates the two is skill.

The Rules of Golf define the game and help to preserve its challenge. They have existed for over 200 hundred years and through that passage of time, the essence of the game has remained essentially unchanged. If we were to peek in on the golfers of 100 years ago we would find the challenge of the game to be nearly identical to that of the modern game. The goal should be to preserve the game's identity through the next 100 years as well. Preserving the Rules of Golf and playing by them will go along way in accomplishing that.

Finally, and most importantly, the manner in which the Rules of Golf are applied - placing the responsibility to call penalties on yourself - develops your character, integrity and honesty. All of these invaluable attributes are crucial in the larger and much more important game of life. Why play by the Rules of Golf? Because it is the right thing to do.

Thanks for taking the time to read the material provided, and we hope to see you on the a lot this summer!!!

Brown Deer Golf Club PGA Professionals Brian Wernimont and Sean McCarty