Youth Golf Tournaments around Houston...where to play?

[Johnny]

My 13 yr old son absolutely loves Golf and we play every weekend since baseball season ended back at the beginning of Fall. Honestly, he whips the you know what out of me every time. We have been playing select baseball on a premier level since he was 9 yrs old which has taken us to many of places across the country. I have been ready to start gearing up for the Spring season till my son dropped a bomb on me. "Dad, I really don't want to play baseball next year with the Banditos, I want to play Golf." To say I was shocked is an understatement. I'm still a bit numb over it since big things were on the near horizon with him and his future in baseball. All he thinks about his Golf and he can't get enough of it....a totally different world for me.

I haven't made the final decision but I can't keep him from doing something that he loves like this. I'm really not sure how good he really is? He plays anywhere from an 82 to an 88 (playing whites) when he plays a round of golf while I hit a 101 to a 115. He can drive a golf ball just a hair shy of 300 yards and accurately. He's got a darn good iron game as well. He hasn't taken a lesson....just watches/learns by watching golf every single day and working on his game at the driving range or putting greens.

With that said, if he doesn't play Spring baseball then he will want to play Golf competitively. I have no idea where to go or how to do this....whole new world to me and I don't know any other kids/friends of his that play golf.

If anyone has any pointers on pointing us in the right direction I would appreciate it. Thanks.

[TXJIM]

Check out HGA (http://www.hga.org/Enter_JrSite.cfm) and AJGA (https://www.ajga.org/Getstarted/starthere.asp)

[Jaybo31]

13, assuming he's in jr. high? Do they have a golf team?

On a side note...you won't have to worry about getting cup checked throwing batting practice for a while

[Spener54]

there will be some city sponsored junior tournaments for your area. Go out to the local pro shops and ask around. I know of several adult amateur "tours" here in the dfw area that play based on handicap not age. The best people to ask will be those at your local club.

[Johnny]

13, assuming he's in jr. high? Do they have a golf team?

On a side note...you won't have to worry about getting cup checked throwing batting practice for a while

Yes, 8th grade. They do have a Golf team but that doesn't kick off until March. I think his golf team does a few small local tournaments but that's about it. This is something he wants to pursue a but harder than that.

lol on the batting practice. I'm going to miss the cup checks if this goes that route, that's for sure.

Check out HGA (http://www.hga.org/Enter_JrSite.cfm) and AJGA (https://www.ajga.org/Getstarted/starthere.asp)

Awesome! I will look this over a better this evening. Thanks.

[kck]

Check out HGA (http://www.hga.org/Enter_JrSite.cfm) and AJGA (https://www.ajga.org/Getstarted/starthere.asp)

Played these when I was young. If they're run the same as they were 15 years ago then I highly recommend.

[trhunter]

I feel your pain Johnny, my son is a freshman in High School and doesn't want to play at all anymore. He just hasn't came out and told me yet. He want to play nothing but golf. Tell you the truth I really don't know how to feel. But I guess you can't want it for them.

He told me the other day he just wants to go to college to become a Game Warden. Said he has been playing since he was 4 years old and guess he doesn't love the game as much as I do. Sorry to highjack.

[TXJIM]

Played these when I was young. If they're run the same as they were 15 years ago then I highly recommend.

I have a nephew on golf scholarship at Wake Forest who came up through them, still top notch

[pure lefty]

Pm sent

[Roy D Mercer]

Good advice here but I would get Colton a few lessons from a qualified pro. He needs lessons that may prevent him from developing bad swing habits that will be hard to break the longer he plays. Don't just get a lesson from the first pro with a PGA shirt on ask around for a good swing coach. Next if it looks like he is going to stick with it he needs to be professionaly fitted with clubs.

[Jaybo31]

Yes, 8th grade. They do have a Golf team but that doesn't kick off until March. I think his golf team does a few small local tournaments but that's about it. This is something he wants to pursue a but harder than that.

lol on the batting practice. I'm going to miss the cup checks if this goes that route, that's for sure.



Awesome! I will look this over a better this evening. Thanks.

Gotcha. Call the Walden Golf Club and talk to Ron Herridge or Danny Jones. Danny is the head pro and Ron is the PGA head instructor. They may be able to tell you about some circuits, as I know they do alot of jr. golf programs and host tournaments as well. I live in Walden

[hardtner]

Johnny, in my former life I played youth golf tournaments from California to Florida every year from 13 until college. I quit baseball at 13 and took up golf very seriously and my dad had a similar reaction. I'm headed a school Christmas program right now so im busy but I can answer a lot of your questions. The basics are find a good pro and get him enrolled in lessons. HGA hosts great entry level youth tournaments all thru the summer, usually on Mondays when courses are closed. This will be a great start and an inexpensive way to gauge his interest. You have a great advantage being in the Houston area. Really cuts down on travel. I'll be glad to answer all of your questions. Feel free to get my cell from Jason and text or call me.
Andrew

[Johnny]

I feel your pain Johnny, my son is a freshman in High School and doesn't want to play at all anymore. He just hasn't came out and told me yet. He want to play nothing but golf. Tell you the truth I really don't know how to feel. But I guess you can't want it for them.

He told me the other day he just wants to go to college to become a Game Warden. Said he has been playing since he was 4 years old and guess he doesn't love the game as much as I do. Sorry to highjack.

This blind sided me, that's for sure. I really don't think he was really burned out...just found something that interested him a whole lot more. I guess I will have to go with the flow but still won't be easy for me. lol Good luck to y'all in whatever path your son decides.

Good advice here but I would get Colton a few lessons from a qualified pro. He needs lessons that may prevent him from developing bad swing habits that will be hard to break the longer he plays. Don't just get a lesson from the first pro with a PGA shirt on ask around for a good swing coach. Next if it looks like he is going to stick with it he needs to be professionaly fitted with clubs.

Great advice Roy and really appreciate it. Lessons will definitely be in his future.

Gotcha. Call the Walden Golf Club and talk to Ron Herridge or Danny Jones. Danny is the head pro and Ron is the PGA head instructor. They may be able to tell you about some circuits, as I know they do alot of jr. golf programs and host tournaments as well. I live in Walden

Cool. Will definitely look into that!

[Johnny]

Looks like I need to give you a holler soon Andrew. So did you enjoy your experience traveling and playing tournaments?

[hardtner]

Looks like I need to give you a holler soon Andrew. So did you enjoy your experience traveling and playing tournaments?

Yea it was an unbelievable amount of fun. I was the luckiest kid in the world to be able to do it. He will get to play a lot of nice courses and meet some cool people. He will learn alot about himself. Its a lonely feeling when its just you against the course. The feeling of playing tournament golf cant be duplicated in a casual round of golf. There is golf and there is tournament golf. Night and day difference. Tournament golf is 100x more fun. Colton is probably alot like me when I was his age. I was a baseball junkie that played on every team I could and really loved it. I didn't wake up one day hating baseball, but golf suddenly captivated me and was a new challenge so I wanted to pursue it. I bet he feels the same way.

The most gratifying thing for him will probably be how quickly he will improve once he starts playing tournaments. They say iron sharpens iron. It will be humbling the first few times he gets smoked by a punk kid but it will drive him to work harder at it. There is no better way to make drastic improvements in your game than to play against better competition. If he decides to take playing tournaments kinda serious, then he needs to somehow get hooked up with some kids his age that are better than him to play with on a regular basis. If he is driven to improve, he will. We can get into this more later.

The most important thing to remember is golf is a game you can play and enjoy the rest of your life, unlike baseball. It can open a lot of doors. Get him some lessons to help him improve, give him the opportunity to succeed and the chance to fail, and just make sure he has a good time.