This past week was a special week. I was able to bear witness to the launch of what I believe will be a new destination for competitive junior golfers from around the globe! In the small rural town of Kinder, Louisiana comes glistening lights, prodigious drives, dart accurate iron shots and big dreams! Getting to stand alongside a few of the nation’s best junior golfers and to know that among them are two of GPC’s very own, Lydia Welborn and Elias Kennon, was a fun thrill. It was great to see these young competitors go head to head with some of the nation’s best and hold their own. More importantly, to see student athletes from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds getting a chance to compete at this level was truly amazing. I look forward to more of these barriers to be broken down, especially if The Golf Performance Center and Junior Golf Hub community can contribute.
Kudos to Notah Begay III and Ryan Burr for having the vision for such an event — to open the competitive junior golf marketplace to include more opportunities for families to participate with an “open” tournament entry format. Sign up and play – no need to join a junior tour or earn stars or points to compete, or have to join a “club” or tour. I am proud to say the Junior Golf Hub is a partner in growing the game and hopefully changing the lives of many of these young participants by opening more doors to accessible competitive golf opportunities. Topping it off with the chance to be on national television via the Golf Channel, how fun is that?. Tune in December 9th for the airing of the competition at 7pm EST!
What did I learn? I learned that at 9 years old you can be a Master Chess player. I learned that at 13 years old you can be an author of published poetry. I learned at 14 years old you can be an inventor. I learned at 9 you can be a journalist writing a story about the “King”, Arnold Palmer. I learned that a champion, a leader and success comes in many different shapes, sizes, colors, genders, rich or poor.
No matter what your background is, it can happen to you! You can become a champion, a leader, and a success; all it takes is a dream, curiosity, ambition, hard work and a lot of determination. These are things I heard from all of the young players with whom I spoke. If these junior players can do this, you can do this too! Get after it today, set your goals, take the PDI Self Assessment on the Junior Golf Hub.com as your first step. Begin writing your story!
Enjoy Your Journey!
